"All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster."

BARACK OBAMA, speech, Apr. 3, 2006

Students in Universities across the country (and world), are working for change. Many have realized that if we do not change our ways now, we will pay life-threatening consequences in the future.

I wanted to highlight the current waves of "activism in academia" because the two really go hand in hand. Learning about and becoming more aware of environmental issues ignites passion. The following sustainability digest was posted by the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley...please read on and share with others.

The Oregonian has a great profile of a microbrewery that has combined three of Portland's greatest pastimes: protecting the enviornment, bicycling and beer.

Hopefully green businesses will not just be a trend, but rather, a lasting industry.

The official results are in, and not a lot of schools are living up to green/sustainable standards that the Sustainable Endowments Institute thinks they should.

The annual report card says, basically, that only Dartmouth, Carlton and Williams scored at least an A- across the three main categories.  But overall, the report card says that vast improvements are being made, with 68% of schools improving their overall grade. Green building policies are increasing in popularity, and the percentage of schools that has committed to reducing their carbon emissions has more than tripled.