When I talk to people about thinking sustainably, they inevitably ask for books to read, and although there are several books I love about sustainability, they’re all very specific to one area of sustainability. Want to read about food? Try Michael Pollan, Peter Singer, or the new Barbara Kingsolver book. Climate Change? How about The Weather Makers? Looking for the classics? Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold are a good starting place. But I haven’t yet found the primer, the comprehensive text that really gets into why humanity desperately needs to embrace a greener way of life.

The Future of Nature: Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine (Milkweed Editions, $18.00), just might be that book. A collection of thought-provoking essays selected and introduced by Barry Lopez, The Future of Nature includes writings by such heavy-hitters as Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, and Derrick Jensen, all originally published in Orion, the seminal magazine covering the intersection of culture, nature, and the environment.

Released this past Thursday, the book is divided into six loosely-themed sections. Actions runs the gamut of activism, from small suburban grassroots efforts to stop construction on a SuperTarget store to bailing out direct-action activists in Appalachia. Refugees discusses those displaced by humanity’s interactions with the environment, giving a face to the faceless victims of climate change and the unending hunt for resources. Boundaries addresses the idea of the wilderness and our relationship with it. Reverence discusses how appreciation for nature, a love of and respect for it, is the essential guidepost for sustainable living. Monsters lays out just exactly what sorts of devastating things we’re doing to our only home, and Native leaves the reader with both hope and guidance for living in harmony with our ecosystem.

Highlighting both theory and practice of sustainable (and unsustainble) living, the causes of our ecological crises, and a vision for a lasting future, The Future of Nature provides a plethora of contexts for understanding just why we desperately need to change the way we live. Elegantly written and compiled, this book should be required reading for those interested in sustaining our future on Earth. The themes balance each other nicely; the reader understands the reality of the direness of humanity’s situation but is left with hope that good things are happening everywhere, those little pockets of positive change that will lead to a more balanced way of life. It immediately made me want to go read not only Orion, but every other piece of writing by this insightful group of writers.

Do you know a teen who wants to change the world? By Kids For Kids and their social networking site for teens, Idea Locker, launched a new contest for teens. The Going Green Challenge, a partnership with The Weather Channel, asks teens to create new products or services that could aid is solving global environmental problems, including climate change, drought, and famine.

The teen with the winning idea will not only win $10,000, but will win an "connection to reality" prize: an opportunity to blog on the "11th Hour Action" website, a tie-in to Leonardo DiCaprio’s climate-change film, The 11th Hour. The winner will also get to shadow one of the experts from 11th Hour Action in their work environment. The challenge officially runs from now until December 31st, and all youth under the age of 19 are eligible to participate. Teens who want to enter must do so via BKFK’s website.

"The connection-to-reality prize is especially exciting for us at BKFK, " said BKFK Founder and CEO Norman Goldstein. "As it empowers the winner to have their idea heard along with one of the most captivating movies of our time."

Idea Locker is a social networking site marketed towards teens that allows them to add friends, chat, and share ideas online. It is the brainchild of By Kids For Kids, a global marketing, branding and licensing company dedicated to make teens’ ideas a reality.

When Amy wrote about green magazines, she mentioned GOOD as being one of her favorites. I, too, a self-described magazine junkie, am a big fan of GOOD since it’s inception last year. With all the depressing news out there on any given day, GOOD always reaffirms my faith in humanity. Its focus is, like its name implies, good stuff: those things that are making our world a little bit better, and when I’m feeling down about what’s going on around me, GOOD usually perks me up. It’s a rare magazine that doesn’t need an annual "green" issue: sustainability has been a priority since the magazine was founded.

The latest issue (Sept/Oct 07) is no exception. The issue, which commemorates their one-year anniversary, focuses on design solutions. A topic I covered a while back, green schools, gets a feature nod from Eva Steele-Saccio. Steele-Saccio highlights different schools’ efforts to reduce their footprint and become more energy efficient, and acknowledges that there are benefits beyond energy savings: "Green schools create a healthy atmosphere for learning that has measurable results. The combination of natural light, fresh air, open plans, and multi-use facilities that encourage community involvement has helped student test scores rise by 20% and reduced asthma rates by 39%."

There’s also a feature about a village in England that launched a community effort to reduce their carbon footprint, with the ultimate goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral village in the U.K. GOOD’s product reviews almost always include items produced with sustainability in mind, and in this issue, they create a proposal for better CFL packaging: create a package that can be used to ship burned-out bulbs back to the producer for proper disposal. There’s also a profile of Rogan Gregory, founder of clothing company Loomstate, who was virtually responsible for bringing organic cotton to the fashion industry though his work with Loomstate, and his other two companies, Rogan and Edun

Even subscribing to GOOD can make you feel good: 100% of your $20 subscription costs goes to your choice of twelve charities, including the World Wildlife Fund and Oceana. Good is printed on 30% recycled post-consumer paper that is EcoLogic certified, and 100% offset by projects Good is actually involved in.

The September/October issue of GOOD is on newsstands now.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education announced on Friday four Campus Sustainability Leadership Awards in four different categories. Two other schools were named honorable mention. The awards were given during the 7th biennial Greening of the Campus conference held at Ball State University.

Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Chandler, AZ) won in the community college and other two-year institutions category. Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT) won in the four-year and graduate institution (under 1,000 students) category. Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT) won in the four-year and graduate institution (1,000-7,500 students) category. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) won in the four-year and graduate institution (over 7,500 students) category.

Chandler-Gilbert’s president, Maria Hesse, was one of the first presidents to sign the American College & University President’s Climate Committment. The College is part of a city-wide system that uses reclaimed water for irrigation. Two of Chandler-Gilbert’s campuses use energy management systems to ensure energy efficiency, and all new buildings will be built according to LEED standards.

For Green Mountain College, the environment and sustainability are unifying themes on campus. Environmental awareness is infused into every aspect of the curriculum, and all students must take courses in sustainability. Students installed a wind turbine to power the campus greenhouse and solar panels on the student center. The remaining energy needs are met partially by electricity generated from methane from local dairy cow manure.

Middlebury College has pledged to become climate-neutral by the year 2016. Bill McKibben is a scholar-in-residence there, and Step It Up 2007 was largely organized by Middlebury alumni. 25% of Middlebury’s dining budget goes towards locally grown and produced food, and the college recycles 60% of its waste. The campus uses solar and wind-generated power for portions of its energy needs, and has an Environmental Council, a committee of students, staff, and faculty, that advises the president of the college on sustainability policies.

Michigan State University has been a leader in large campus sustainability by committing to a 2% annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, along with meeting LEED standards for all new buildings on campus. MSU has an extensive recycling program, sustainability speakers, and funds student-designed sustainability projects. It even hosts a green roofs research program. One look around their extensive "Ecofoot" website tells you that this is a campus that takes its sustainability seriously.

Honorable mentions were awarded to Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) and University of California, Berkeley.

MTV just released information about the 20th (yes, 20th!) season of granddaddy of reality television shows, The Real World, and looks like RW will revisit the city of its second season, Los Angeles (more specifically, Hollywood).

What’s this got to do with the environment? Well, MTV is claiming that this season will have a green slant. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the show, The Real World films seven strangers who "live together and have their lives taped" in cities in the U.S. and around the globe. The Real World: Hollywood has already been cast, will start filming this fall, and will air sometime after the New Year.

The newest Real World house (which are, as a rule, large and lavish) is going to be built using eco-friendly building principles. According to a press release issued by MTV, "The Real World house will include everything from solar energy solutions to bamboo flooring, recycled glass counters, some sustainable furniture and recycled vintage decor, Energy Star appliances, a solar heated swimming pool and energy efficient lighting." Bunim-Murray Productions, the longtime producer of the series, claims that it is trying to green up its production practices through energy-efficiency and carbon offsetting. In addition, eco-friendly products and practices will be promoted throughout the series, so viewers can be introduced to a greener way of life along with the cast members, and MTV will showcase things viewers can do to lessen their environmental footprint. There was no word whether or not MTV plans on replacing the typical house SUVs with hybrids, flex-fuel, or biodiesel vehicles, nor whether the job assigned to the casts will have an environmental focus.

I’m a big fan of reality television (don’t judge!), but The Real World lost its luster right around the Las Vegas season, when the focus shifted from documenting the lives of dynamic young people, to a MTV-sponsored booze and sexfest for pretty twentysomethings who aspire to…film more reality television. Will this Real World house really be green, or is this a case of greenwashing? I can’t imagine the typical Real World castmember of the past seven or eight years getting stoked about sustainability, in between dancing on bars, hooking up, and avoiding actual real jobs. But maybe, just maybe, the visibility of green practices, however small they may be, just might raise some consciousness among the MTV set. However, the possible juxtaposition of a green Real World with that tribute-to-all-excesses My Super Sweet Sixteen might just be too ironic for me. Will the "Green World" be as green as The Real World is real?

Graphic courtesy of Wakarusa Music FestivalI spoke on Tuesday about the Wakarusa Music Festival's Sustainability Symposium that took place on Saturday of the festival. Moderated by Treehugger's Simran Sethi, the symposium featured Big Coal author Jeff Goodell, Land Institute president Dr. Wes Jackson, Wakarusa Director Bret Mosiman, Kansas wind-farmer and cattle rancher Pete Ferrell, and Director of Sustanability for New Belgium Brewing Nic Theisen, the symposium focused on energy and sustainability and evolved into a fascinating discussion about public policy, individual actions, and the sustainability movement

The morning started with Ferrell discussing wind power, specifially Kansas's potential for wind power. Ferrell is the primary landowner of the Elk River Wind Farm, and is also the general manager of Ferrell Ranch, where he uses sustainable methods of raising cattle. He became interested in wind farming when visiting Hawaii's biggest cattle ranch. Ferrell noted that in Hawaii, ranching had to be sustainable–there isn't room for externalities on an island, "If we all had an island mentality, we'd change how we do things." While his speech focused on wind and energy, he welcomed questions about the seeming contrast between an environmentalist and a cattle rancher. When one audience member tried to bait him into admitting he would use an herbicide if necessary, Ferrell rattled off several different sustainable alternatives he could use instead. Ferrell spoke passionately and urged the audience to commit to both living sustainably and becoming politically active.

Seeing Dr. Wes Jackson speak at length was the non-music highlight of my trip to Wakarusa. Jackson is incredibly well-regarded–he was one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, was a MacArthur Fellow, past winner of the Right Livelihood Award, and Pew Conservation Scholar, among other laudable titles. He spoke about the urgency of environmentalism and sustainability and eschewed those in the green world who preached what he called "Wal-Mart Environmentalism", the idea that if we all change to CFL's, that's all we need to do to save humanity. The theme of his words reiterated my frustration with The Lazy Environmentalist. Jackson is incredibly knowledgeable and spouted facts and figures that put our impending crisis into perspective. Consider this: today's 22-year-old college graduate has lived through the use of 50% of the world's total fossil fuels. He believes that a reduction of 60-80% of the world's carbon emissions by the year 2100 is necessary to continue to sustain humanity. Despite Jackson's seemingly bleak message, he was actually full of hope–he thinks agriculture is one vital piece of the puzzle that we can fix (which is what the Land Institute is all about), and was so visibly passionate about his work that I immediately wanted to sell my car and go off the grid.

New Belgium's Nic Theisen echoed Jackson's ideas about real commitment to sustainability. He should know–he doesn't fly and has been car-free since 2000. With no Amtrak service from Fort Collins, CO (where New Belgium is located) and Lawrence, Theisen took the train to Lincoln, NE, then rode his three-speed bike from Lincoln to Lawrence. Theisen spoke about New Belgium's efforts to become more sustainable–their entire operation is carbon-offset using wind tags, they use significantly less water than their counterparts, their buildings are LEED-certified, and they reduce, reuse, and recycle at every opportunity, among other sustainable practices (like their certified-organic Mothership Wit beer….delicious!) After speaking about what New Belgium is attempting to do, he continued to note that it's still not enough. Their beer production is still, theoretically, unsustainable. He cited instances where, despite their company's commitment to sustainability, he knew New Belgium employees saw him as an outlier, a freak of environmentalism. He defended New Belgium's pursuit of a growth model of business, and noted that they are seeking to transform the industry by providing a successful model of sustainable practices at an increasingly larger scale. I was refreshed by his honesty and the level of transparency he had when speaking about New Belgium's practices.

After these three spoke, Sephi moderated conversation about sustainability and energy peppered with questions from the audience. Afterwards, all speakers were incredibly approachable and the entire event had the close ambience of a classroom. The Sustainability Symposium was truly a pocket of activism amongst all the beer-drinking, hoop-dancing, frisbee-throwing, and tail-shaking that took place at Wakarusa that weekend, and it was absolutely refreshing to hear people speak so passionately about their commitment to sustainability.

Image source: Washington University

Washington University in St Louis has made a $55 million dollar investment in sustainability, focusing on the development of the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES). the university annouced Monday.

I-CARES will foster "institutional, regional and international research on the development and production of biofuels from plant and microbial systems and the exploration of sustainable alternative energy and environmental systems and practices." The center will also focus cleaner processes for utilizing Missouri's abundant coal resources, as well as improved combustion processes and emission reduction.

I-CARES will create five new endowed professorships to attract top-tier research leaders in energy, environment, and sustainability. Research will also include international partner universities, all of which recently issued a "call to action" on energy and sustainability.

The program will also support a sustainability officer and the means to apply green technology to improve energy efficiency in the university's operations. Roger N. Beachy, president of the Danforth Center, which will collaborate with I-CARES, noted,

The I-CARES initiative is an outstanding commitment by Washington University to seek solutions for a critical factor that faces the world this century, namely creating abundant and environmentally sustainable energy sources. It also adds an important component to the regional initiative to establish St. Louis as a leader in the development of renewable energy.

Washington University is a member of Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, which works to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education.

My problem with The Lazy Environmentalist, green radio host Josh Dorfman's self-proclaimed "guide to easy, stylish, green living" isn't that it lacks information. It's actually a quite comprehensive guide to supporting green companies. I dog-eared multiple pages so I could visit websites of the companies in which I was interested. But it's not so much a guide to green living as it's a guide to green buying. I guess the tone set forth from the brief introduction rubbed me the wrong way:

These innovators make it easy for us to integrate environmental awareness into our lives. They understand that while so many of us are concerned about the environment, we don't always have the time, energy, or inclination to do something about it.

I only wish this was written in a less-than-serious voice. In my mind, if you don't have the "time, energy, or inclination" to do something about the environment, than you can hardly classify yourself as an environmentalist. You are looking to alleviate guilt for your conspicuous consumption, a culture of consumption that is devastating our planet. It's exactly the "culture of convenience" that's waging all-out war on our resources. Consider this passage from the chapter on cars:

There really is something for everyone–even those who drive Hummers, the most colossal of all urban assault vehicles…By offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions spewing from your car's tailpipe, TerraPass offers Hummer drivers eco-salvation.

Eco-salvation for Hummer drivers? A little too, oh, oxymoronic, for my tastes. Lazy is definitely geared towards a more high-end clientele, despite it's mention of Wal-Mart as an organic clothing retailer (Yeah, I know what you are thinking…I can't trust them quite yet, either).

Stepping off of my soapbox, for those of us who do have time, energy, and inclination to do something to lighten our footprint still have to buy goods and services, and Lazy provides a well-laid, well-written plan to finding greener versions of those goods and services. If you have to spend money, you might as well spend it on more sustainable products, right?

There are 22 chapters focusing on different products and services, from home furnishing to energy providers to media outlets (what, no shout out for Green Options?) Each chapter begins with a narrative insight into what practices these eco-companies are establishing to go green, then lists several companies, along with their websites and a brief description of what their business does or produces. Reading about different design innovations companies are using was fascinating (BraveSpace's hollow bamboo tables, anyone?), and I'll definitely check out many of the websites listed. If I'm going to save the planet, though, I've got better things to do.

Poster and essay contests are widely-used avenues to engage students in environmental activism, but are often solitary activities that involve individual students.

For those teachers looking for something more hands-on, opportunities beyond the traditional poster contests challenge teachers and students to design creative solutions to environmental problems. Students benefit by having a structured setting to think critically and creatively, problem solve, and work cooperatively (not to mention the possibility of extrinsic reward for winning!) Sponsoring groups benefit by finding young talent and creative solutions that may be marketable and beneficial to both businesses, non-profits, and communities.

The Lifecycle Building Challenge, sponsored by multiple groups, including the EPA, Green Building Blocks, and the American Institute of Architects, challenges professionals and students to create buildings, building services, and/or building components that promote materials reuse throughout the entire lifecycle of a building, from design to deconstruction.

By creating buildings that are able to be reused or whose components are built with minimal material waste, contestants will design solutions that reduce the large environmental impact that comes from building and design. Students can enter in three categories: building, component, and service, and the top designs from each category can win multiple prizes, including $2500.

Canon's Envirothon is an annual competition in which students compete for scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. Student team are tested in multiple subjects and present orally in order to determine winners. One of the most extensive contests, there are numerous local and state Envirothons in which student groups can participate, with winners advancing to the national competition.

Finally, hip-hop band The Roots and non-profit Global Inheritance are teaming up to sponsor Feed Your Roots, a student contest to promote composting in schools. Student groups create a program that involves composting and design a poster with information for schools about composting. Winning schools will receive specially-designed compost bins autographed by The Roots themselves.

Contests such as these are interesting and atypical ways to move students from thinking into doing, and hands-on problem-solving allows them to create authentic solutions and make real change in the schools and communities.