Anderson+Broad+Impact+Redo

Since before the 1970's, students and others have been working hard on various environmental issues, including pollution, energy, deforestation, and biodiversity. In 1970, the first Earth Day was held to raise awareness and show how many people were involved in the environmental movement. College students around the US were involved in the environmental movement. The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts were passed.

College students also formed environmental clubs on their campuses to raise awareness on and off the campus, and to provide a space for which action, etc. could be discussed and planned. These clubs were at times part of regional or national coalitions. Students were also concerned about the impacts of science and technology on human life and the environment. One organization in the US that was founded in 1979 with the mission to [|"] [|promote social responsibility in science and technology"]  was Student Pugwash. RPI had a chapter; that club became [|EcoLogic]  in the mid 1990's. In addition to being RPI's oldest environmental club, EcoLogic is one of RPI's longest-running clubs. As “going green” has become increasingly popular, and as students have wanted their colleges to become more environmental, there has been an increasing colleges [|wave of focus on sustainability at many colleges] .

Some laws and legislation on a national and even global scale have affected sustainability and environmental movements at colleges. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 lessened the effect of environmental regulations such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act on hydraulic fracturing. In states where hydrofracking is occurring, college students are forming forces against the unconventional drilling technique. Additionally, the Keystone Pipeline XL was proposed in recent years. For many environmental reasons, college students are opposing the pipeline. The Energy Action Coalition and Power Shift took on stopping the pipeline as a major project, but other groups of college students have also been battling fiercely against the pipeline. Renewable energy technologies have improved in recent decades, making them a far more viable and competitive option. Jacobson, et. al. found that New York State, as well as other states, could easily use only renewable forms of energy (Jacobson, 2013)

In the meantime, fossil fuel prices have increased. The fuels left are harder and more expensive to get to. Many of the techniques used are very wasteful. Renewable energy is considered by some economists to be a safer investment; this is the idea behind “divestment”. Students are campaigning for their colleges to divest from fossil fuels and invest the money elsewhere.

Young people have become more politically active. Groups such as AASHE and EAC have formed, providing conferences and resources to college students working on making their colleges more sustainable.

In the United States, people often worry about the economy and jobs. They focus on short-term thinking, rather than on long-term problems such as climate change and degraded resources. College students, however, know that they will live in the future. They are younger than their parents and grandparents, who might not see many ramifications from climate change, pollution, and degraded natural resources. Yet, they are old enough to think about the future, unlike their younger counterparts.