THE NATION'S leading university in sustainability is the University of Virginia? Really? A growing university that gets 70 percent of its energy from coal and whose alumni have pursued sustainability "without institutional goals" amid a "frustratingly conservative" culture is the standard-bearer for environmental initiatives?
Yes, really. Current and future students will look back proudly at their time here because, contrary to popular belief, there is more to a sustainable experience than electricity production. The Board of Visitors passed the first ever sustainability resolution in summer 2011. This resolution called for a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2009 levels by 2025, but more importantly, it declared that "the university will utilize the highest standards of environmental stewardship and resource conservation and will address other areas of concern beyond greenhouse gas emissions... The university will educate and engage its students, faculty, staff, and the larger community; contribute to knowledge through research... and foster public service related to these sustainability principles."
With carbon reduction underway, let us look at where else the University is becoming a leader in making Grounds more sustainable.
Jim Galloway, associate dean for the sciences and environmental sciences professor, and his team developed the first nitrogen footprint calculator, which visualizes the amount of nitrogen lost because of food production and transportation. For transportation purposes, the University just joined Zimride, a thriving ride-sharing network, and is hoping to install the largest bike-sharing program of any university in the country.
The University is also exploring the twin goals of sending zero waste to landfills and using some of the 400 million gallons of rainfall on impervious surfaces each year to help offset the 500 million gallons we currently consume each year. Coupled with the successful storm water initiatives at the Dell Pond and John Paul Jones Arena, as well as the University Bay Game's research about our impacts on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, we have the knowledge and the tools to lead by example.
Charlottesville also happens to be surrounded by a booming breadbasket of local food. Students, faculty, staff and community members passionate about food engage in the University's interdisciplinary UVA Food Collaborative. Finally, it is tough to find a more beautiful location than the one on which Thomas Jefferson constructed the Academical Village. 90 percent of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is green space with ten vibrant gardens and the iconic Lawn.
Those initiatives are great, but where does a university, an institution of learning, capitalize on these opportunities? After all, although producing less waste makes a more sustainable campus, leaders and ideas are the main ingredients for a sustainable university.
It is possible to incorporate sustainability into the University's central mission by creating opportunities for students and faculty to engage in research and education related to this goal. As of November 2011, the University has done so by allowing students and faculty to serve on new task forces for reducing our environmental footprint in all major areas. A similar initiative in Charlottesville, the Better Business Challenge, has successfully paired 36 students with 22 time-strapped local businesses to help them pursue sustainability.
Academically, this top-tier university has a popular new minor in sustainability and a growing demand for related coursework. Even though the interdisciplinary courses and research opportunities on topics related to sustainability currently lack sufficient institutional support, research teams and networks such as EcoMOD and ESAVANA have achieved national and international recognition.
Lastly, you would be hard-pressed to find a place with such active students who take as much pride in student self-governance. Students not only participate in more than 50 sustainability-focused organizations at the University and in the community, but also engage in conversations and decisions at most levels of the University.
Environmental leader and activist Bill McKibben says that "not many people get to say that they are in the most important place doing the most important work... but students get to say that!" After hearing McKibben's words and seeing the enormous opportunities for University students to embark on a journey in sustainability, I realized that it is we, the University's students, who have the privilege of doing the most important work at the most important place at the most important time.
Sheffield Hale is the undergraduate representative on the University's Committee on Sustainability.
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