Whether they go green or not, schools will always have teachers who lecture students on the importance of turning in their homework on time. But what happens when aspiring green schools can’t even hand in their own assignments on time? The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article on institutions who pledge to reduce their carbon footprint through an agreement called the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Part of the commitment involves turning in paperwork that charts the greenhouse gases emitted from on-campus sources, which helps the signers figure out the measures they need to take to remedy their situations. Unfortunately, the process is very data-intensive and expensive, and only about half of the original 391 signers submitted their reports by the September 15 deadline. The CSM article notes that another 25% requested extensions, and I assume that the other 25% decided to drop out altogether.

So what does this mean? Not to generalize too much, but going green isn’t just about spouting ideals - it’s about doing what you have to do to help the planet. And oftentimes it means showing how much the environment (or your reputation) matters to you by opening up your wallet to get LEED-certified, or spending the time and resources to crunch the numbers and take the first step toward minimizing your carbon footprint. We’ve already mentioned some reasons for optimism that green living is more than just a passing fad in the eyes of individual citizens. Only time, patience, and maybe an expensive and expansive study or two will tell whether educational institutions and their corporate counterparts feel the same way.

(Photo via Morguefile)