Beth Wohlberg Camera Staff Writer Universities and colleges have the tools to help create an environmentally sustainable society, but they are still not up to meeting the challenge, the cofounder of the Boston-based nonprofit Second Nature said Monday. But there are challenges. All of the wonderful things we are doing are being overwhelmed by growth. Cortese's nonprofit offers curriculum and consulting to universities integrating environmental sustainability with classes. Cortese, a former dean of environmental programs at Tufts University, said universities should focus on more experiential, collaborative learning that teaches students the importance of sustainability.
Universities have to be full-fledged partners with the local communities.
All universities' actions should lead to community improvements. Cortese said University of Colorado students could start with a project such as computer recycling and energy conservation. The fastest growth in energy consumption is from computers and electronic devices. Cortese also said that people, including students, are not environmentally literate. In an environmental literacy test distributed to CU seniors in non-environmental fields, no one did particularly well, said Boulder Mayor Will Toor, director of CU's Environmental Center.