Cap and Trade! 80% by 2050! Carbon Taxes! The polluter pays!
Climate change and subsequently lowering GHG emissions is becoming the major topic of discussion; the presidential candidates are talking about it, college and university presidents are doing something about it, students are winning campaigns to get their campuses to embrace clean energy, and Europe already […]

In late December, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law. The Act included language introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) that authorizes $250 million annually in grants and another $500 million in direct loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects at higher education institutions, public schools, or local governments. […]

If your school is planning for a future in which carbon emissions are regulated and restricted (which it should be!), then you will want to understand what may be coming down the pipe as far as legislation goes. This quick guide to carbon policy solutions can help!

The Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA) has taken another major step forward. On November 9, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller unveiled the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (HR 4137), which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act. At the request of many of the 17 co-sponsors of HESA, Chairman Miller […]

 
Great news! Yesterday (Nov 15) the House Education and Labor Committee unanimously approved a five-year reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which contains in its entirety the Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA).
Through a competitive grant program, HESA promotes multidisciplinary education, research, and outreach programs that address environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. It […]

Twenty prominent higher education associations, including AASHE, have endorsed HESA to date. This is greatly helping to attract Congressional attention to the bill. But only ten individual schools are on the list (see below). We have only two weeks left to build support - and we’ll need more co-sponsors than we have now to get HESA passed. Please try to get your school to endorse HESA, and most importantly, contact your Representative and Senators as soon as possible to ask them to co-sponsor HESA.

In my last post I announced the great news that the Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA) was reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Rick Boucher (D-PA), and David Wu (D-OR). In this post I’ll let you know how you can help. But first a […]

An article in the New Republic, “A Manifesto for a New Environmentalisms” argues that regulation, while necessary, is not the solution to climate change. Rather than imposing limitations, as regulation generally does, it is most productive to unleash possibilities. For instance, the author states that academic programs in new energy sciences; post-graduate fellowships […]

On September 25, 2007, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore) and Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) introduced the Higher Education Sustainability Act of 2007, H.R. 3637, which would authorize a $50 million competitive grant program to universities and institutions of higher education to develop, implement and evaluate sustainability curriculums, practices and academic programs. This is great news for […]