During the past year, dozens of colleges have announced their commitment to environmental, economic, and social sustainability. There is little agreement, however, about what they need to do and whether their efforts are making a difference.
(Photograph by Rick Firedman. Photo illustration by Rob Bryson)

At the forefront of the campus sustainability movement, advocates are learning some difficult lessons.

• TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: How the efforts of three institutions — Middlebury College, Furman University, and the University of Minnesota — stack up against their promises.
• ON THE GROUND: What a sustainable campus might look like
• SLIDE SHOW: How to turn fryer oil into fuel
• INTERACTIVE QUIZ: How sustainable are you and your campus?

On some campuses, students are fueling the drive for change.

Researchers in sustainability science search for a place in academe.

Colleges experiment with working sustainability into their curricula.

At Warren Wilson College, students embrace the daily responsibilities of running a small farm.

• SLIDE SHOW: Photographs of Warren Wilson College's farm

'THE LONG EMERGENCY': A social critic warns that America faces devastating economic, social, and environmental upheavals.

'LIKELY TO INTENSIFY': A prominent economist talks about the intellectual and financial sides of the sustainability movement.

'ZERO FOOTPRINT': A business executive offers advice to higher-education leaders.

'A LIGHTNING-BOLT MOMENT': The president of Arizona State University pushes for change at his system.

LIBRARY: A selection of readings about sustainability

Commentary

Our buildings are not just dwelling places, but reflections of how we see ourselves and our world. We need a new blueprint, writes David W. Orr, a professor of environmental studies at Oberlin College.
(Illustration by Matt Manley)

Sustainability is a worthy, grand, interdisciplinary theme around which to build liberal-arts programs, writes Frank H.T. Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University.