Sustainability on Campus: Stories and Strategies for Change (Urban and Industrial Environments) [Paperback]

Peggy F. Barlett (Editor), Geoffrey W. Chase (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0262524228 | ISBN-13: 978-0262524223

These personal narratives of greening college campuses offer inspiration, motivation, and practical advice. Written by faculty, staff, administrators, and a student, from varying perspectives and reflecting divergent experiences, these stories also map the growing strength of a national movement toward environmental responsibility on campus.Environmental awareness on college and university campuses began with the celebratory consciousness-raising of Earth Day, 1970. Since then environmental action on campus has been both global (in research and policy formation) and local (in efforts to make specific environmental improvements on campuses). The stories in this book show that achieving environmental sustainability is not a matter of applying the formulas of risk management or engineering technology but part of what the editors call "the messy reality of participatory engagement in cultural transformation."In Sustainability on Campus campus leaders recount inspiring stories of strategies that moved eighteen colleges and universities toward a more sustainable future. This book is for faculty, students, administrators, staff, and community partners, whether hesitant or committed, knowledgeable or newcomer. Scholars and activists have recognized the crucial role that higher education can play in the sustainability effort, and each chapter in the book is full of ideas about how to get started, revitalize efforts, and overcome roadblocks. Human and at times joyful, these stories illustrate many forms of leadership, in new courses and faculty development, green buildings and administrative policies, student programs, residential life, and collaborations with local communities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anyone who wishes to stem global warming in ways sensitive to the practical realities of running schools and businesses -- or who simply wishes to be an effective leader in any walk of life -- will want to read this terrific contribution to the field of higher education stewardship."--Julian Keniry, Director, Campus and Community Leadership, National Wildlife Federation, author of *Ecodemia: Campus Environmental Stewardship at the Turn of the 21st Century*

"[A] must-read... take notes, and be amazed at the number of ways to achieve campus sustainability." Steve Lachman Environment

This is a hopeful book, and I found every story within it to be a gem. The editors and authors have done a great service through their work over the years and by sharing their stories in this unusually compelling book. Instead of preachy admonitions, these aremoving personal testimonials with broader community significance. Julian Keniry, Director of Youth and Campus Ecology, National Wildlife Federation, author of Ecodemia: Campus Environmental Stewardship at the Turn of the 21st Century

From the Inside Flap

"This is a hopeful book, and I found every story within it to be a gem. The editors and authors have done a great service through their work over the years and by sharing their stories in this unusually compelling book. Instead of preachy admonitions, these are moving personal testimonials with broader community significance."
--Julian Keniry, Director of Youth and Campus Ecology, National Wildlife Federation, author of *Ecodemia: Campus Environmental Stewardship at the Turn of the 21st Century*

"This book's strength lies in the diversity of case studies and approaches to campus initiatives to lessen their 'environmental footprint,' as well as the honest reflections by most authors upon the successes and the failures, the joys and the heartaches, of their efforts."
--John M. Meyer, Department of Government and Politics, Humboldt State University

"Societies look to universities for leadership, and nowhere is that leadership more crucial today than in the struggle for sustainability. The stories presented here are inspiring models of success that show how the lessons learned on campus can illuminate the way to broad social change."
--Gretchen C. Daily, editor of *Nature's Services* and co-author of *The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable*

"Barlett and Chase do not simply wish to spray paint campuses a superficial green, but instead have probed the depths of what sustainability really means in academia, 'the grove of trees where scholars once walked and talked.' In bringing together cutting-edge thinkers and practitioners like Jenks-Jay, Orr, Faulstich, and Uhl, the editors have given me hope that universities and colleges can lead rather than lag behind in efforts to forge a future that will leave the next generation of students enriched, not impoverished."
--Gary Nabhan, Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments, Northern Arizona University, and author of *Coming Home to Eat*

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (April 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262524228
• ISBN-13: 978-0262524223
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful stories for sustainability leaders, October 30, 2004

By 

D. Paulson (Laramie, WY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sustainability on Campus: Stories and Strategies for Change (Urban and Industrial Environments) (Paperback)

This is a collection of very helpful stories about attempts to green university campuses around the U.S. The authors include faculty, staff and students who found themselves muddling through, learning and finally leading campus sustainability efforts at their own institutions. As a faculty member about to embark on a class on campus sustainability, I found the stories gave some invaluable insight that I used immediately in designing our course. The diversity of stories and experiences-- all of which include honestly portrayed problems and failures, as well as successes--give a succinct source of information and inspiration for anyone who aspires to move their own campus toward sustainability.

3.0 out of 5 stars Case Studies, September 21, 2008

By 

Joshua Clements (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sustainability on Campus: Stories and Strategies for Change (Urban and Industrial Environments) (Paperback)

This book is a respectable collection of case studies of sustainability/greening activities on college and University campuses in the 1990s and early 2000s. Each group of case studies is accompanied by a lesson or narrative for how to begin similar activities on your campus. Although each case study is instructive, the movement has gone far beyond the lessons contained in this book.