Go Green: Environmental Sustainability at Dartmouth

Dartmouth has a long history of being "green" and in recent years the College community has done some impressive work related to clean energy and sustainability.

Dartmouth's Office of Sustainability works on a number of programs to help make Dartmouth more environmentally friendly. Environmental projects at Dartmouth include:

• The Big Green Bus, a Dartmouth student led effort to convert a bus to waste-vegetable fuel and drive cross country teaching communities about alternative energy.
• The Sustainable Living Center, a residential community where students commit to reducing their carbon footprint through a number of efforts.
• Sustainable Move-Out and Move-In, a program that recycles dorm furniture, clothes, and other student supplies.
• The Dartmouth Organic Farm, a working farm where students can work, take classes, or learn on their own about sustainable agriculture.
  
• Farm-to-Dartmouth, helping give student access to locally produced foods in Dartmouth's dining halls.
• Dartmouth has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Some other really important and interesting ways the College demonstrates its commitment and creativity when it comes to sustainability are:

• Energy-efficient design and construction of new facilities, with four of our newest facilities receiving silver or gold LEED certifications.
• Many beds and desks in residence halls are made from trees on Dartmouth's Second College Grant.
• GreenLite at Dartmouth program, which helps students see their energy use on proximity-activated screens in buildings or over the web represented by the well-being of a polar bear.
  

Beyond simply programs to improve sustainability on campus, Dartmouth researchers (both professors and students) are developing new technologies to help improve energy use. Projects include research on cellulosic ethanol technology at the Thayer School of Engineering, the GreenLite project that is now being formed into a business to market this effective conservation tool, and other research projects in Environmental Studies and departments across campus.

How do you think Dartmouth is doing with sustainability? The College can continue to do more, but I'm impressed by all the programs students, staff, and faculty are undertaking to help the environment.