Documents Green Is the new Gothic: Wellesley's Greenhouses in the 21st Century [pdf] Wellesley's greenhouses provide a glimpse of nature's wonders from around the world but more than a century of use has left them in grave disrepair. The dilapidated state of the greenhouses gives us the opportunity to rethink and expand the greenhouses' original purpose and structure. A building to house both the greenhouse and Wellesley's growing Environmental Studies program — which currently has no space of its own — is one idea to emerge from the early planning process for renovation and rebuilding. What better opportunity for Wellesley, which has not yet achieved renown for its environmental practices, to undertake a truly green project. Another Green Hall: The Ecological Footprint of Wellesley's Next Residence Hall [html/pdf] Info Sheet on Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Wellesley College [html/pdf] How much do you contribute to global climate change? Environmental Studies 300 students devoted a semester to investigating the distribution and size of various sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that the Wellesley College community has added to the atmosphere annually since 1990. Students worked in focus groups to identify, obtain data for, and quantify contributions from the school's three main emissions-producing sectors: transportation, energy, and waste. Audit of Wellesley College's Greenhouse Gas Emissions [html/pdf] Global climate change is one of the greatest environmental issues of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but in light of the devastating potential of climate change and imminent international legislation, the students of Environmental Studies 300, Spring 2003, undertook efforts to quantify Wellesley College's contribution to the greenhouse gas effect and global climate change. For this purpose, Clean Air-Cool Planet, a New Hampshire-based advocacy group that engages civil society in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, provided a calculatory framework specific to college campuses. Further modifications were made to the program to make it Wellesley-specific, and data was collected from both on and off-campus sources. This report shows ES 300's findings: the quantity of greenhouse gases that Wellesley College emits, what factors relate to those emissions, and what accounts for the greatest emissions on campus, in addition to policy suggestions for future emissions reductions. Factors that Influence the Creation and Maintenance of an Effective Recycling Program [html/pdf] The objective of this research was to determine what factors are correlated with effective, sustainable recycling programs, and what factors hinder the creation of such programs. Are small-town schools "greener"? Are wealthier schools more likely fo fund a recycling program? Did the founding of an Environmental Studies program influence the creation of recycling programs, or vice versa? In the end, the most influential factor is the commitment made by the college administration to protect the environment through recycling. Unless the college itself feels that such a program is vital to its function, the program will not exist, regardless of any other factor. Sustainability does not simply occur; it must be made to happen. Links Center for Environmental Citizenship EnviroCitizen is a national, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to build leadership, ignite youth power, and replenish the environmental movement with a diverse base of innovative emerging leaders dedicated to attaining environmental and social justice victories. EcoSustainable Hub This site is intended as our contribution towards ecology, environment and sustainability by providing a one-stop connection to resources and tools that are made available to visitors and researchers without charge. It is also intended to provide a means of introducing Eco Sustainable Developments to a broader audience. Free the Planet! Free The Planet! works to expand the student environmental movement by recruiting students who are concerned about the environment to take action while networking student activists with each other and the larger environmental movement and providing fresh opportunities and ideas for activists. Green Corps Green Corps has trained thousands of young people in the skills of organizing and advocacy who have led scores of critical environmental campaigns, and helped launch the careers of 150 Green Corps graduates currently holding positions of leadership in the environmental and social change movement. National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Campus Ecology is a leading conservation program in higher education that helps to: transform the nation's college campuses into living models of an ecologically sustainable society; train a new generation of environmental leaders; and ensure a strong future for America's environmental movement. Sierra Youth Coalition Campus Ecology is a leading conservation program in higher education that helps to: transform the nation's college campuses into living models of an ecologically sustainable society; train a new generation of environmental leaders; and ensure a strong future for America's environmental movement.

Wellesley Energy and Environmental Defense
Created by: Erin Usmen '06 and Anita Yip '07
Date Created: April 27, 2004
Last Modified: May 5, 2004