by Georges Dyer, Second Nature

Peter Bardaglio, Second Nature Senior Fellow, author of Boldly Sustainable, and coordinator of the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, has just published a very interesting article on the evolution of social media and democratic sustainability atTerrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments.

How can the digital revolution and the new social media it has spawned nurture the development of democratic sustainability? By democratic sustainability I mean a social and political process that engages citizens as active agents of social change in the complex task of balancing economic prosperity, effective environmental stewardship, and social justice. Moving toward democratic sustainability has less to do with technology than a massive change in human consciousness, one that encourages systems thinking and transforms the relations of people to each other and to natural world

by Georges Dyer, Senior Fellow, Second Nature

The Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) is the most recent member of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) network.

This video shows MATC instructor and Green Energy Summit Chairperson Dr. George Stone introducing MATC President Dr. Michael L. Burke, who signs the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment on March 24, 2010:

The depth of MATC’s commitment and seriously with which they enter into this network are clear from level of engagement of faculty, administrators, and trustees in the decision-making process.  It’s also clear from the investments they’ve already planned.

MATC has partnered with Johnson Controls (an ACUPCC sponsor) to develop the state’s largest PV solar array – a $6.9 million “solar education farm” that will help train technicians.  The 2,500 panels will general 411 kw of electricity and save $70,000 per year.  It will also be total portable.

This is a great demonstration of leadership by President Burke and the entire MATC community -congratulations and welcome to the ACUPCC network!

Carbon insetting emphasizes internalizing the costs of carbon, which can have a powerful affect on budgeting and investment decisions. Because the money is not sent outside of the organization, there likely to be less resistance from stakeholders (Board members, customers, students, financial officers, etc.). It doesn’t have the benefit of driving real emissions reductions immediately, like high-quality offsets do, but provides a viable financing strategy for reaching some of the higher-hanging fruit in terms of internal emissions reduction opportunities that have a higher marginal cost per ton of CO2e.

by Ashka Naik, Program Manager, Advancing Green Building in Higher Education, Second Nature

Earlier this month, I traveled to Nashville, TN, where I attended the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s (TMCF)Member University Professional Institute, “2010 HBCUs* and Beyond.” Felicia Davis, Director of UNCF‘s Facilities and Infrastructure Enhancement program invited me to join her at this event.

We had a two-fold mission in attending this meeting, one part of which was to make new connections. Public HBCUs (around 50 member schools of TMCF) often remain severely under-represented in Second Nature’s programs; only 9 of these 50 institutions are ACUPCC signatories. Therefore, we wanted to seize the opportunity to engage this group of higher education institutions and share details about our activities. With the help of two enthusiastic attendees, I made the acquaintance of several interesting individuals. Renford Brevett, Director of Title III Programs at Lincoln University, introduced me to more than 20 leaders including presidents, provosts, deans, CFOs, and faculty members. Felicia Davis and I also presented at one of the panels, “Building Green at HBCUs,” during which we discussed the challenges HBCUs face while building green and how Second Nature’s capacity-building programs could help them overcome these barriers.