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ENVIRONMENT

Sustainability
What Is Sustainability? Sustainability Tips*
• Sustainability is the capacity to maintain a certain process or state. It is most frequently • The 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) stipulate that people should buy less, reuse more,
used in connection with biological and human systems. and recycle products that are no longer useful.
° In an ecological context, sustainability is the ability of an ecosystem to maintain • For high school and college students, there are several ways to help the environment and
ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future. follow the 3Rs without spending a lot of money or none at all.
• Sustainability can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth: • One method of Reducing is to consume fewer products, as a lot of energy and water are
° Different levels of biological organization, such as: wetlands, prairies and forests. needed to grow or extract raw materials from the Earth, and the same is true for turning
° Human organization concepts, such as: eco-villages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities. those raw materials into new products.
° Human activities and disciplines, such as: sustainable agriculture, sustainable ° An alternative to buying new products is using programs that allow individuals to rent
architecture and renewable energy. products from neighbors or anybody else nearby who is willing to make his/her items—
• For humans to live sustainably, the Earth’s resources must be used at a rate in which they ranging from lawnmowers to golf clubs—available.
can be replenished. • Students can further Reduce by cutting down on the amount of junk mail they receive;
• There is clear scientific evidence that humanity is living unsustainably, and that collective the average U.S. household receives about 100 pounds of junk mail per year.
efforts are needed to return human use of natural resources to sustainable limits. ° Catalog Choice is a free service that lets individuals decline paper catalogs they no
• Research on a global level into the issue has resulted in a number of key goals: longer wish to receive, reducing the amount of unsolicited mail in one’s mailbox.
° Providing future generations with the same environmental potential as presently exists. ° The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) offers a free service to remove one’s name
° Managing economic growth to be less resource-intensive and less polluting. from pre-screened credit offers in order to reduce unwanted mailings; call toll free
° Integrating environmental, social and economic sectors when developing sustainability policies. 1-888-567-8688. The DMA’s Mail Preference Service also allows people to receive
° Maintaining and enhancing the adaptive capacity of the environmental system. more of the mail they want to receive and less of the mail they do not wish to
° Preventing irreversible long-term damage to ecosystems and human health. receive by adding and removing their names to individual organizations.
° Avoiding unfair or high environmental costs on vulnerable populations. • The concept of Reuse comes in handy for students who want to acquire new products
° Assuming responsibility for environmental effects that occur outside areas of jurisdiction. without having to buy them, using one of the many Web sites available to trade new and
• Encouraging people and communities to investigate problems and develop new solutions. used books, DVDs, CDs and video games with others.
• Instead of swapping, students can Reuse items that have been left by others who no
Poverty & Sustainability* longer need them.
• Efforts to practice better sustainability within the environment also include ° Enroll in the Freecycle Network (www.freecycle.org) and join a local email group where
aiding those who live in extreme poverty. people list used items that they no longer need and are willing to give away for free.
• The World Bank defines extreme poverty as not having enough income to ° Local members who need or want the items—ranging from couches and cabinets to
meet the most basic needs for adequate food, water, shelter, clothing, coffee tables and Cuisinarts—arrange to pick them up.
sanitation, health care and education. • Another way to Reuse is to buy refurbished products—items that were returned to stores
° In 2008, 1.4 billion people around the world were living on less than within 30 days of purchase, had damaged packaging or a slight cosmetic defect, were
$1.25 per day. used as in-store display items, or were simply overstocked.
° South Asia is the region with the largest number of people living in ° Refurbished products also frequently sell for less than 50% of the retail price.
extreme poverty—a total of 600 million, including 455 million in India. • Reuse a canvas bag for shopping instead of relying on paper or plastic bags.
• Aid for people suffering from extreme poverty usually comes in the form of • In terms of Recycle, various companies are working to prevent the dumping of electronic
financial donations and supplies, often provided through charitable campaigns run by items in landfills by taking used computers and electronics back while paying cash to
groups that include the World Health Organization (WHO), GiveWell, Population Services those who send in the items.
International (PSI) and Oxfam International. ° Such an endeavor is especially important when it comes to cell phones; the
° In addition, high school and college students are encouraged to volunteer in programs Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that across the United States, more
like Student Partnership Worldwide, which specializes in training young people to work than 500 million old cell phones languish in desk drawers and other storage spots.
on projects that improve the lives of rural people. ° Disposing of these devices properly is of vital environmental concern since they contain
*Singer, Peter (2009). The Life You can Save. Random House, New York, NY. hazardous chemicals like arsenic and lead that can be released into the atmosphere,
• Recycle is especially important in terms of plastic, paper, glass, cardboard and aluminum.
Carbon Footprint* ° Residential communities that participate in the RecycleBank program receive a large
RecycleBank garbage bin for all their recyclables.
• A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to
directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of ° When the recycling truck comes to collect the garbage inside the bin, it
reads an embedded barcode that doubles as a participating resident’s
carbon dioxide (CO2) and calculated for the time period of a year. Examples include:
account number; it also scans the bin for weight and volume to get a
° When one drives a car, the engine burns fuel, which creates a certain amount of CO2, sense of what is inside. The recyclables then go to a recycling center.
depending on its fuel consumption and the driving distance.
° When a house is heated with oil, gas or coal, CO2 is also generated; even if the house ° Residents can log in at www.recyclebank.com with their account
number to see how much they have earned from recycling. That value
is heated with electricity, the generation of the electrical power may also have emitted
can be redeemed at more than 300 RecycleBank retail partners.
a certain amount of CO2.
° Production of food and goods also emit some quantities of CO2. * Dorfman, Josh (2009). The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save the
Planet. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, NY.
* From http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition

Water Conservation* Used Textbooks & Buyback

• The EPA estimates that the average American household of four uses about 146,000 gallons of • According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average yearly cost
water annually, or the equivalent of 100 gallons per day per person. of textbooks for a college student has grown to nearly $1,000; purchasing used
• The U.S. water footprint is 2,500 cubic meter per year per capita. A water footprint is defined textbooks can reduce this expense to less than $500 per year.
as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by • Since it takes one tree just to produce approximately 11 books, used textbooks are
the individual or community, or produced by the business. also an eco-friendly alternative to purchasing new textbooks and then discarding them
• A recent government study cited by the EPA reveals that at least 36 states anticipate water at the end of the term.
shortages on a local, regional, or statewide level by 2013. • Those who want to sell their textbooks for cash can take advantage of
• The EPA estimates that simple conservation techniques can help the average household reduce buyback programs, which are usually held by the bookstore where the
its yearly water and sewer bills by $170. textbooks were originally purchased. Such programs take place over the
° A shower once a day can add up to 7,300 gallons per year. Installing a low-flow showerhead course of a few weeks at the end of the semester, or throughout the school year.
or a water-saving showerhead can reduce water usage by as much as 40%.
° The amount offered will vary depending on circumstances such as current supply,
° Standard kitchen and bathroom faucets flow at two gallons per minute. Install a WaterSense-certified professor need, and what edition is being sold.
faucet or an inexpensive faucet aerator to reduce the amount of water flow to only 1.5 gallons per
° Most schools will give anywhere from 25%-50% of the price paid for the book.
minute while still delivering a powerful spray. Faucet brands that are WaterSense-certified can be
* From http://www.ehow.com/about_4702625_used-textbooks.html, http://www.
found at www.epa.gov/watersense and aerators are available at local hardware stores.
* Dorfman, Josh (2009). The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save the Planet. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, NY. campusgrotto.com/textbook-buyback.html
Groups & Organizations Associated with Sustainability
Center for Environmental Citizenship (CEC) • Greenpeace Web site: www.greenpeace.org
• CEC is a national group founded by young activists in 1992 to encourage college students Kiva: Loans that Change Lives
to be environmental citizens. • Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of
• CEC addresses how environmental changes can be made on a personal, local, national alleviating poverty.
and global level. • Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, empowering individuals
• The group encourages participants to offset their carbon emissions, use solar panels and to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.
solar power in their own homes, and write to their senators and representatives asking • When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and
for change. then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic
• CEC Web site: www.envirocitizen.org independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community.
• Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal
College and University updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend
to someone else in need.
Recycling Council (CURC) • Kiva Web site: www.kiva.org
• Formed in 1992 and serving as a technical council of the National Recycling Coalition,
CURC is a network of campus-based recycling professionals. Oxfam International
• CURC’s mission is to organize and support environmental program leaders at institutions • Originally founded in 1942, Oxfam International is a confederation of
of higher education in managing resource, recycling and waste issues. 13 organizations working with over 3,000 partners in more than 100
• The council helps provide technical assistance, education and training; networking countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.
opportunities; and, an expanding member base. • Oxfam’s program has three main points of focus:
• CURC Web site: http://www.curc3r.org/
° Development work, which tries to lift communities out of poverty with long-term,
sustainable solutions based on their needs.
Earth Island Institute ° Humanitarian work, which assists those immediately affected by conflict and natural
disasters (often leading to longer-term development work), especially in the field of
• Started in 1984, Earth Island Institute is a non-profit, public interest
membership organization that supports people who are creating solutions water and sanitation.
to protect the planet. ° Lobbyist, advocacy and popular campaigning that tries to affect policy decisions on the
• Earth Island serves as an incubator for start-up environmental projects, causes of conflict at local, national and international levels.
giving crucial assistance to groups and individuals with new ideas for promoting • Oxfam also works on trade justice, fair trade, education, debt and aid, livelihoods, health,
ecological sustainability. Since the institute was first founded, it has provided fiscal HIV/AIDS, gender equality, democracy and human rights, and climate change.
sponsorship to more than 100 projects around the globe. • Oxfam International Web site: www.oxfam.org
• In addition to project support work, Earth Island:
° Publishes the award-winning quarterly magazine Earth Island Journal. Union of Concerned Scientists
° Hosts the annual Brower Youth Awards, which highlights the accomplishments of
young people working for sustainability and provides emerging leaders with mentoring (UCS)
resources. • First organized in 1969, UCS is a science-based nonprofit group of more than 250,000
° Funds community-based coastal protection and wetland restoration efforts in Southern citizens and scientists working for a healthy environment.
California. • UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop practical
• Earth Island Institute Web site: www.earthisland.org solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices and
consumer choices.
Filter for Good • UCS Web site: www.ucsusa.org
• Filter for Good is a program developed by water filtration
company Brita and container manufacturer Nalgene in 2007 to address safe water and
the waste created by disposable plastic bottles.
Worldwatch Institute
• The program asks those who participate to reduce their personal waste by giving up • Based in Washington, D.C., the Worldwatch Institute is an
bottled water, even if it is just a few days each week; filtered water and reusable bottles independent research organization that specializes in accessible, fact-based analysis of
are promoted as environmentally sound alternatives. critical global issues. The organization was created in 1974.
• Filter for Good Web site: www.filterforgood.com • Worldwatch’s mission is to generate and promote insights and ideas that empower
decision makers to build an ecologically sustainable society that meets human needs.
• The organization’s research is disseminated in over 20 languages through print and online
Greenpeace media. Its programs include those that center on building a low-carbon energy system,
• Greenpeace is an international non-governmental organization, started in 1971, that creating a healthy future for agriculture and developing a sustainable global economy.
focuses on the protection and conservation of the environment. • Worldwatch Institute Web site: www.worldwatch.org
• The organization currently addresses many environmental issues, with a primary emphasis
on efforts to stop global warming and the preservation of the world’s oceans and ancient
forests.
• In addition to conventional environmental organization methods, such as lobbying
businesses and politicians and participating in international conferences, Greenpeace uses
non-violent direct action in many of its campaigns.

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