by Lynda Lopez, News and Public Affairs Intern, published in the University Community Service Center Newsletter

In the past few years, college campuses across America have made it a priority to protect the environment by implementing "greener" programs on campus. One place where students are forcing green changes is the dining hall. According to the Sustainable Endowments Institute's 2007 report card, which looks at environmental initiatives at the 200 colleges and universities with largest endowments assets in the U.S. and Canada, 70 percent of these schools now devote at least a portion of food budgets to buying from local farms and/or producers.

Another area where college campuses are leading the way is in water conservation. According to Niles Barnes of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), most of the 3,800 institutions of higher education in the U.S. have engaged in some sort of water-saving program.

The University of Chicago is one of the colleges moving forward with green innovation. In 2008, the Office of Sustainability was opened on campus in order to encourage greener programs on campus. One of the first major initiatives by of the newly formed office was the Recycles Program. The free campus bike share program launched in the fall of 2009 and grew to nearly 1,000 users within its first years. Students, faculty, and staff have found it an efficient and easy way to navigate the campus. In May 2010, the University of Chicago held its first e-wasting recycling event which netted 23,000 pounds of materials for recycling. Hundreds of community members and University staff, faculty, and students dropped of their unwanted items for recycling at different drop off sites on campus.

In addition to the amount of work the university itself has been putting into making the campus a "greener" place, student activists have been looking to improve the environment in the city as a whole. The Southside Solidarity Network and Students for a Just and Stable Future (part of the Green Campus Initiative) are some of the UChicago student groups making clean air in the city a main priority.

This year, the groups are rallying in support of the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, a piece of legislation that would help clean up or shut down two coal power plants in Chicago. According to the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, the coal power plants cause 41 premature deaths per year, 2,800 asthma attacks, and close to 600 emergency room visits (related to asthma).

On October 10, 2010, 20 UChicago students attended the Chicago Clean Power Coalition Rally in Pilsen. Caroline Wooten, a third year in the College and member of the Southside Solidarity Network, thinks that the event was a huge stepping stone to reaching the group's goals. "While the rally was powerful in and of itself, individuals were also given the opportunity to contact city government directly," she said. "Participants signed a petition, made calls to their aldermen, sent postcards to Mayor Daley, and contributed to a public art project."

The rally had about 100 people attend, so UChicago constituted a fifth of the participants. "This turnout definitely showed that students are an important part of the climate movement, and we need to continue to strengthen this movement through participation and leadership," said Wooten.
In addition to the rally in October, Students for a Just and Stable Future teamed up with Students for a Democratic Society on November 1st for a Day of the Dead Rally in Pilsen. This rally pushed for the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance and was organized by local environmental groups in Little Village and Pilsen.

Wooten says that she hopes to continue to phone bank and canvas for the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, along with other UChicago students. She feels optimistic that the efforts can make a difference. "I think a lot of students care about the environment, and are specifically concerned about climate change."