College Campuses Test Tomorrow's Solutions for Combating Climate Change

"Over the past decade, colleges and universities across the country have become concerned about their environmental footprint, and today they are leading the way in developing innovative approaches to rethinking energy infrastructure," writes Sophie Quinton.

"In many cases, students have been the ones instigating these campus changes, pushing their administrators to make commitments to reduce fossil fuel emissions or to set a goal of becoming carbon neutral. For their part, schools are interested in finding energy savings and reaching greater efficiency. As climate change continues to alter energy needs and alternative fuel sources become more widely-accepted, towns and institutions may find themselves drawing lessons from the way college campuses are meeting their energy goals."

Quinton looks at three projects - the University of Iowa's biomass fuel project, the University of New Hampshire's Eco-Line, and the University of California, San Diego's campus microgrid - that demonstrate the types of cutting-edge technologies that may soon migrate to a town near you.