Rick Steves
Colleges Are Now Becoming More Environmentally Aware!
Students at a California university have retrofitted a circa-1920s fish hatchery where novelist John Steinbeck once worked. They’ve also restored research wetlands known for purifying in-ground drinking water supplies and storm water that can spill into surrounding waters, carrying ground pollutants with it. Visitors to the hatchery, now an environmental center and research village that employs more than 100 students and features interactive exhibits, can also tour demonstration gardens.
Over the past year, in fact, at least 71 colleges, universities and technical schools in the United States have announced plans for research centers with sustainable themes or have opened them, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Education has reported. The sustainability movement includes environmentally friendly buildings, sustainable academic programs and more. A Mississippi institution named one of its environmental programs after a famous graduate, the late actor Dennis Weaver, who coined the term “ecolonomics” for which the program related to profitable sustainability is named. Do not stop reading here, there is a lot more information on courses online.
Money is proving important in places like Arizona, where the Arizona Republic reports that government finance shortages are being felt by the Departments of Environmental Quality and Water Resources. The Water Resources Director there in the article expressed concerns that water supplies aren’t sustainable and that water shortages could affect future generations. Sacramento, California, government workers, on the other hand, are reading a book entitled, “The Green Collar Economy”. The California university’s graduate management school dean recently told the Sacramento News & Review that research universities are an essential part of the ecosystem. This same dean is working with community leaders in a yearlong community-wide green initiative.
The California institution isn’t the only one with ties to local government efforts. Texas Governor Rick Perry recently announced an $8.4 million grant to a National Institute for Renewable Energy and a state technical school considered a leader in wind science and engineering, according to a College Media Network article. The university has an important role in moving Texas and the rest of the nation toward energy independence that’s essential to the country’s future, according to an attribution to Perry in the article. About 90 percent of the country’s wind energy production takes place in West Texas, the College Media Network item noted. Does this seem interesting? See what other information there is about university distance learning degree.
Montana University researchers have been studying such environmental possibilities as storing carbon dioxide underground and using algae for transportation fuel. A $1.3 million U.S. Department of Energy grant provided in part to an architectural firm is slated to help Wisconsin university researchers come up with ways to reduce hospital energy use, in part by relying on more natural daylight, the university noted. Efforts would resemble those of Scandinavian hospitals that use as much as one-half the amount of energy that America’s healthcare facilities do, according to the university.
Energy is considered the leading producer of harmful gases in America and hospitals, an architecture professor at the Wisconsin university says, are the second leading energy user. (Fast food restaurants are the biggest energy consumers, the professor reported.) Hospital and health care facilities, according to the professor, use four percent of the energy in the United States.
College, university and technical school students might participate in environmental projects even if they don’t attend classes on campus. Some online degree programs in sustainability might include independent research assignments. At least one graduate program in New Jersey is offered primarily online and includes a five-day residency component. Use the internet to find out more about college online courses.
Online environmental degree and certificate programs might prove especially appealing to professionals who want to enhance their credentials without interfering with existing careers. Green jobs have been growing and are expected to expand, according to reports. An article in suburban Chicago’s Daily Herald recently noted that the number of green-oriented jobs increased by more than 9 percent between 1998 and 2007 and reminded readers that President Barack Obama recently announced plans to create more green-oriented jobs.
The environmental field is growing as energy conservation becomes more and more vital to the success of the planet. Those getting an online degree to move into this comprehensive field will find online school meets their needs, allowing them to incorporate new and advancing ideas with their dedication to service.
Rick Steves on CBS’s “60 Minutes”