Hurricane Harvey and Trump's Hypocritical Resistance to Climate Resilience

Hurricane Harvey is a clarion call to climate deniers like Donald Trump. Extreme weather is one of the hallmarks of a world ravaged by climate change. Severe storms and catastrophic flooding illustrate the dangers of global warming more graphically than any research ever could. 

Hurricane Harvey now ranks as the worst rainstorm in US history. The storm saw winds as strong as 132 mph and some of the largest downpours ever recorded. It should be noted that this extreme rainfall is clearly consistent with climate models. One of the cities hit hardest was Houston, where heavy downpours have increased 167 percent since the 1950s.


The rainfall from Harvey is off the charts of the National Weather Service topping 50 inches in some spots. The result is catastrophic inland flooding. Calling this unprecedented is an understatement. In just three days, Houston more than doubled the previous record rainfall for a full month set in June 2001. As reported in Grist, Meteorologist Ryan Maue predicted that Harvey would unleash more than 20 trillion gallons of water on Texas. 

Texas is only one of many places suffering from catastrophic flooding. All around the globe heavy rainstorms are increasing in frequency and intensity. In India, Nepal and Bangladesh, recent monsoon flooding has killed 1,200 and millions have been forced from their homes. Although oceans are warming almost everywhere, the waters in the Gulf of Mexico are of particular interest because they are some of the hottest in the world. According to climate models these are ideal conditions for violent storms.

Trump's fails again

In the wake of a disaster, presidents have two primary functions sympathy and inspiration. Trump failed on both counts. By not mentioning the victims of the flood Trump failed to show sympathy and rather than inspire he offered yet another round of shameless self-promotion.

In a CNN article, David Axelrod described Trump's recent visit to Texas as, "another dispiriting display of obtuse self-puffery." Trump lauded his administration's efforts and he even had the audacity to mention crowd sizes while touring Corpus Christi saying, "what a crowd, what a turnout". He then boarded his helicopter leaving residents with the words, "good luck".

Even if he wanted to Trump may not be capable of uniting the country after the Charlottesville tragedy. Presidents have historically brought Americans together in the wake of disasters.  However, it is hard for Trump to redeem himself after he has so painfully divided Americans by inferring moral equivalency between white supremacists and anti-fascists. 

Cutting funding for climate research

Trump has repeatedly denied the veracity of climate change so the fact that he wants to cut climate research should come as no surprise. Trump is trying to cut funding for agencies that protect Americans from climate impacts and he wants to silence those government organizations that study climate change. He is also trying to scale-back climate resiliency programs.

Trump has yet to fill key leadership positions within his government including the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the National Weather Service. These are not coincidental omissions. Trump is trying to suppress climate science and storm related modeling in particular. 

Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas just a few weeks after Trump proposed budget cuts to the National Weather Service and its parent agency NOAA, These cuts would make predicting, preparing and responding to storms more difficult.

Trump wants to slash 6 percent from the Weather Service budget and 16 percent from NOAA. Trump's proposed budget would also cut 26 percent from NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and 22 percent from the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service.

Trump appears to be determined to minimize the ability of government agencies to gather climate data and predict extreme weather. While this may save him from embarrassment, it will also adversely impact the military and hundreds of businesses that depend on government data.

Eschewing resilience

Trump's cuts are not only directed at scientific research, he also wants to see cuts in the disaster response agencies. He recently signed an executive order that, among other things, rescinds flood protections for federally funded buildings and infrastructure.

Trump has been working hard to eradicate Obama's legacy of responsible climate actions including those focused on resilience. The logic of investing in climate resilience to defend against flooding is basic common sense. Building on flood plains is one of the reasons we are seeing more flooding. The Obama-era rule that Trump has undone prevents buildings from being constructed in zones that are likely to flood.

In a statement Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said slashing government investments in resilience will hurt Americans. "This is climate science denial at its most dangerous, as Trump is putting vulnerable communities, federal employees, and families at risk by throwing out any guarantee that our infrastructure will be safe," Brun said.

Hypocrisy 

Trillions of dollars of private and public assets are at risk from climate change including Trump's own assets. It is a savage irony that Trump is trying to deny climate protections to Americans while he has taken action to protect his own business interests. In 2016 Trump applied for a permit to build a sea wall at his oceanfront golf resort in Ireland. Trump's environmental impact report submitted with the permit included reference to sea-level rise as a result of global warming.

The Donald does not appear to believe that Americans deserve the same amount of protections as a Trump concern.

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Hurricane Harvey and the State of Climate Science

Storms are complex phenomena but we can say with a good degree of certainty that Hurricane Harvey and other extreme weather events are exacerbated by global warming.

Hurricane Harvey is the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than half a century. It smashed into the coast of Texas on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane. It then dumped over a meter of rain submerging streets, homes and vehicles. Thousands of people were stranded on rooftops in scenes reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. In addition to widespread property damage Harvey is known to have killed at least 14 people and almost seven million people have been affected.

Context and costs

We cannot understand the physics of Hurricane Harvey in isolation nor can we fully appreciate the costs of climate change by looking at individual extreme weather events. Only a few years ago the North East was dealing with the cataclysmic flooding of Hurricane Sandy that caused $75 billion in damage. At $108 billion Katrina was the costliest storm in US history. Katrina ravaged Louisiana and nearby states, along with Cuba and the Bahamas.

As reported by Grist, "a preliminary and informal estimate by disaster economist Kevin Simmons of Austin College, the aggregate cost of damage and lost business associated with Hurricane Harvey will likely exceed Katrina. That means Harvey could ultimately cost between $150 billion and $200 billion, even more if the floodwaters significantly expand."

According to FEMA flood damage has cost Americans $260 billion from 1980 to 2013. Federal flood insurance claims are averaging $1.9 billion annually from 2006 to 2015.

We simply cannot afford to ignore the cost of global warming, sea level rise (ie flooding), and extreme weather. The number of lives lost and staggering property damage make climate change a priority issue for governments, civil society and scientists.

Attribution science

Harvey, Sandy and Katrina are all examples of hurricanes that are consistent with scientific predictions about global warming. While the hypothesized link between global warming and extreme weather has been around for many years scientists are increasingly able to elucidate data quantifying this relationship.

The physical law known as the Clausius-Clapeyron equation states that as the atmosphere warms it holds more water. It is estimated that there is a 6.5 percent increase in the amount of moisture in the atmosphere for each degree Celsius increase in temperature. We also known that the oceans are warming (approximately 1.5 degrees warmer in the Gulf of Mexico) and this generates more energy and creates more water vapor. This in turn translates to more intense storms and bigger downpours.

"This is the type of event [Hurricane Harvey], in terms of the extreme rainfall, that we would expect to see more of in a warming climate," Dr Friederike Otto from the University of Oxford told BBC News. "For the intensity of the rainfall (over Houston), it is very reasonable to assume there is a signal from climate change in that intensity."

Warmer oceans also contribute to sea level rise through what is known as thermal expansion. Both storms and higher seas have contributed to an increase in fatalities and the amount of property damage associated with flooding.

Climate change is driving an increase in the most extreme forms of extreme weather. According to James Elsner, a scientist who studies the relationship of hurricanes to climate factors at Florida State University, "under global warming, we should see stronger storms, especially the strongest ones."

This general understanding is being buttressed by attribution science that relates climate change with specific events. Increasingly we are seeing data that lends weight to the connection between a warmer world and individual extreme weather events.

While it is far from a mature discipline, the field of attribution science relating climate to weather has been growing for years. In 2013 scientists were beginning to pull together data that enabled them to attribute extreme weather to climate change. Scientists also observed causal connections between climate change and the the 2014 flooding in the UK.

We are seeing a trend towards more intense storms and this is borne out in a review of extreme weather in 2015 and 2016. Hurricane Matthew received intense scrutiny and researchers found evidence that climate change also contributed to this storm.

Harvey and climate

The degree to which extreme weather can be attributed to climate change may be as much as 30 percent. As reported by CBC News, Kevin Trenberth, a scientist in climate and global dynamics at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, shares this view. He suggests the data indicates that, "climate change effect total can be easily be up to about 30 percent".

Chris Landsea, a researcher at the U.S. National Hurricane Center, says that climate models predict that big storms could get two to five percent stronger and produce 10 percent more intense rainfall by the end of the century.

While we could debate the degree of impact it is hard to refute the reams of scientific data that support the relationship between climate change and extreme weather.  We know with considerable certainty that a warming climate contributes to bigger storms and more rainfall. We also know that greenhouse gases are driving temperature increases.

Climate change is one of the most studied phenomena in the world and decades of hot data point to a looming catastrophe. The same data indicates that unless we radically curtail the amount of GHGs we emit into the atmosphere extreme weather will get much worse.

This article has been updated

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15 Greenest US Colleges & Universities (2017)

BestColleges.com has named the top 15 US colleges and universities in 2017 based upon AASHE's ratings. Each year the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) creates a list of green schools that have engaged in successful eco-initiatives on-campus and within their surrounding communities.

AASHE's list of green schools is consistent with their efforts to coordinate and strengthen campus sustainability efforts. Although this list is not endorsed by AASHE, it does rely on the organization's STARS ratings which spotlights schools that have launched the most impactful initiatives to reduce on-campus waste and energy consumption, promote alternative transportation, provide funding to student and faculty-led green proposals, and take other measures that benefit the environment.


1. Colorado State University - Fort Collins (STARS Score: 85.29)

Colorado State University is the greenest higher-learning institution in the United States. As the first school in the world to earn Platinum in the STARS rating system, Colorado State leads the nation in sustainability best practices. This green campus is home to the first solar-heated/air-conditioned on-campus building. Colorado State worked with NASA to develop a cloud-profiling radar system, CloudStat, which monitors climate change and provides CSU students with incredible research opportunities concerning its own energy usages.

Situated in northern Colorado, this sustainable campus along the western edge of the Great Plains sits at the base of the breath-taking Rocky Mountain. Residents find that this campus provides easy access to mountain biking, skiing, rafting and other outdoor sports in this scenic location. CSU also boasts a Mountain Campus adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park that provides hands-on Natural Resources field courses and research.

The campus offers programs in ecosystem science, sustainability, alternative fuels, conservation and many more. Academic areas at CSU that address environmental sustainability are offered in all eight of the University's colleges and span across programs in engineering, natural resources, forestry, public policy, environmental ethics, global and sustainable business, atmospheric science, soil and crop sciences, construction management, and many other programs. In 2014, Warner College of Natural Resources launched a Master of Greenhouse Gas Management and Accounting program, the first of its kind in the nation and one of several graduate degrees at CSU with an environmental focus. Students can participate in numerous volunteer and outreach opportunities to improve their community at CSU.

Quick Facts

Sustainability-related research is conducted in more than 90% of the academic departments at CSU. CSU earned the first ever platinum star rating awarded by STARS in 2015, making it the first institution to do so on an international scale. Online and on campus, the university offers 962 credit courses with sustainability content and an additional 532 non-credit continuing education courses, making theirs the most robust offering at a single university.

2. Stanford University (STARS Score: 81.02)

Stanford seeks to make sustainable living a part of the Stanford experience. The Stanford Energy Systems Innovation Program aims to reduce carbon emissions by 68%, for example, and cut potable water usage by 15% in the coming years. The waste-diversion rate at Stanford is rising steadily, and the university's goal is 75% waste diversion by 2020.

The university boasts more than 20 "green" clubs, which are open to students in any major, that offer a chance to make an impact on sustainability at Stanford and beyond. The Stanford Gleaning Project, for example, harvests fruit and organic vegetables that are then donated to local hunger-relief organizations.

Stanford is situated midway between San Francisco and San Jose, the region known for its affiliation to nearby Yahoo!, Google, Hewlett-Packard and many other cutting-edge companies. The Santa Cruz Mountains and Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay ensconce the campus, which means the beach, hiking and paddle-boarding are also easily accessible.

Quick Facts

The student-teacher ratio at Stanford is only 4:1. Roughly 47% of the food served in Stanford’s 30 dining halls is either organic or locally sourced; in addition, 65% of solid waste produced on this campus is recycled or composted. The university offers nearly 500 courses on sustainability as it pertains to 640 different departments and disciplines.

3. Sterling College (STARS Score: 78.97)

An environmentally-focused, four-year college in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, this institution strives to nurture thoughtful and innovative scholars. Students at Sterling learn through the lens of becoming a better steward of the environment, and their experience at this college is a blend of academic and experiential learning.

In keeping with the goal of spreading goodwill and betterment, Sterling has a curriculum rich in sustainability offerings. Outdoor skills training is a foundational tenet of an education at this institution. Students are also required to complete an internship prior to graduating, and their education includes courses on examining issues and defending perspectives.

The campus has not had vending machines for over a decade and leads the nation in producing sustainable farmed food on-campus for the community.The student-run farm produces 20% of the food served on-campus, and much of the labor is performed by draft horses (as opposed to modern farm equipment). Sterling leads the nation in sustainability initiatives, all of which are regularly updated on their website.

Quick Facts

100% of the students have a job on campus; Sterling is one of seven work colleges in the U.S. Students earn a minimum of $1,650 per semester that goes toward their tuition. 95% of the students at SC report gainful employment following the first year after graduation. 80% of those students stated their employment was either closely or somewhat related to their major area of study. With the installation of ten more solar trackers from AllEarth Renewables; this campus will be equipped to power more than 80% of its electricity usage on campus using solar power. Even the barns at Sterling are powered by solar energy.

4. University of Connecticut (STARS Score: 78.48)

Since 2002, the University of Connecticut's Director of Environmental Policy has been tasked with pursuing environmental regulatory compliance, green building, and sustainability initiatives. This includes the establishment of the 25-person Environmental Policy Advisory Council (EPAC) to the President. The mission of the senior advisory group is to engage students, staff, faculty, and administrators in matters of environmental stewardship and sustainability at the university.

The Office of Environmental Policy serves as the central hub for engaging members of the UConn community. Students can find out how to participate in a number of initiatives in the areas of recycling, climate, energy, and water. Initiatives include the Give & Go Move Out Campaign, Green Game Day, and Green Campus Tours.

Quick Facts

23 buildings, representing 2.2 million square feet, across all UConn campuses are LEED Certified or Registered. 42 UConn offices have been certified under the Green Office Certification Program. The dorms participate in an annual EcoMadness competition to see which building can use the least energy and water per capita over a given month.

5. University of Washington (STARS Score: 77.43)

The University of Washington's Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability office was established in 2008 to support the Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC), the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF), and other departments to improve and increase campus sustainability.

The CSF is notable in its contribution to making the UW a "living laboratory," providing grant opportunities to members of the university community who want to implement projects that reduce the school's environmental impact. Living lab projects include green walls at the College of Built Environments, the North Creek Wetlands at UW Bothell, and the Prairie Line Train at UW Tacoma. &lt

Quick Facts

The UW's Sustainability Dashboard gives website visitors access to data regarding the school's sustainability efforts. Over 40 environmental student groups are available for those wanting to participate more directly in sustainability efforts. In 2016, the Green Seed Fund awarded over $190,000 in funding across three projects.

6. Appalachian State University (STARS Score: 77.24)

Appalachian State University's Office of Sustainability outlines an ambitious list of core functions including creating strategic partnerships, developing sustainability guidelines, fostering education, communicating with engaged communities, and creating metrics to measure and assess progress. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the office seeks to "instill sustainable practices as a way of life."

The 3Es of environmental stewardship, economic responsibility, and social equity act as a touchstone for Appalachian State's sustainability efforts. Initiatives created to support this holistic approach include the use of on-campus renewable energy, the food bank and free store for students and family who have unmet food and goods needs, and the Social Justice Collaborative.

Quick Facts

Appalachian State offers over 20 sustainability focused or sustainability related degree programs. Graduates who choose to take the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility are honored with a green ribbon on their gown. College offices have the opportunity to participate in the Sustain Yosef Workplace Certification Program. Certifications are good for three years.

7. Green Mountain College (STARS Score: 76.45)

Located in the lakes region of southern Vermont, this liberal-arts college prides itself on the role environmental sustainability plays across the curriculum. The campus is flanked by the Adirondack Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east and is situated on 155-acres. Students will find a farm, hiking trails, and even a swimming hole located on the Poultney River on site at this intimate college. Class sizes are small at this college, where approximately 850 students enrolled in 2013. For this reason, the average student-teacher ratio at Green Mountain is 14:1.

Students are required to enroll in a 37-credit environment-focused curriculum at GMC. All of these courses focus on the environment, climate change or sustainability. Some of the degree programs that students can choose from at this green campus include undergraduate degrees in Renewable Energy and EcoDesign (REED), Wilderness and Outdoor Therapy and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production.

Quick Facts

Green Mountain College is among the first U.S. universities to realize complete climate neutrality and is recognized by the Princeton Review as the second greenest school in the country. The College has a goal of diverting 99% of recyclable and compostable material from the landfill stream by 2020 using bicycle-powered carts for collection. 85% of the campus’ heat and hot water comes from a $5.8 million biomass plant on site, which burns locally sourced woodchips for fuel.

8. Chatham University (STARS Score: 75.79)

Chatham University's history is steeped in the tradition of environmental stewardship. The original 1870 prospectus, for what was then Pennsylvania Female College read, “For beauty of situation, for taste displayed in improvement, and for healthfulness, the location cannot be improved upon.” In 2007, Chatham established its Sustainability Office and hired their first Sustainability Coordinator.

Environmental studies was added to the list of programs offered in 1993. Over the next 16 years this would evolve into the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment, finally made possible by a gift from the Eden Hall Foundation. Programs offered through the school include Bachelor of Sustainability and Master of Sustainability.

Quick Facts

Through their partnership with Solar Tomorrow Inc., Chatham uses 64 solar thermal collectors to prevent 15-20 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year. Chatham's Parkhurst dining hall locally sources 20% of its food. Chatham purchases 90% of its electricity from a Green-E Certified mix of renewable energy. Most of this comes from wind power.

9.  Colby College (STARS Score: 75.65)

Colby, one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the U.S., is located 15 minutes north of the state capital of Augusta, halfway between the rugged Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic coastline. Colby’s longstanding commitment to the environment is evident in many academic programs, especially the award-winning Environmental Studies Program. Students conduct research across the curriculum, working in partnership with faculty to solve complex challenges. Environmental studies research opportunities are as varied as studying oceanography and climate change at the Bigelow Laboratory, investigating church forests in Ethiopia, and examining the impact of water quality on the economy of the local Belgrade Lakes.

In April 2013, Colby became the fourth college in the country to achieve carbon neutrality, and the College continues to innovate. A wood-fueled biomass boiler reduces the College’s oil consumption by roughly a million gallons annually, a solar photovoltaic installation is on track to produce 33,000 kWh each year, and there are 12 LEED-certified buildings—and a commitment to seeking LEED certification for all new construction and significant renovation.

Quick Facts

More than 90% of waste from meals during Colby’s 2015 commencement was diverted to be recycled, reused, or composted. Much of Colby’s 714-acre campus is a Maine wildlife management area, and the 128-acre Perkins Arboretum and bird sanctuary is popular for running, relaxation, and research. Ninety-four percent of Class of 2014 grads are working, are enrolled in graduate studies, or are pursuing a fellowship.

10. American University (STARS Score: 75.35)

Established in 2009, American University's Office of Sustainability, uses a three-tiered approach to engage students, staff, and faculty in their sustainability initiatives. The office employs Green Office Program in which they progress through a series of checklists to finally earn gold status, showing the highest dedication to environmental standards. Faculty have the opportunity to earn the Green Teaching Certificate, awarded to faculty members who demonstrate how their courses support sustainability.

Quick Facts

Since 2011, over 600 staff and faculty members, across 40 offices have participated in the Green Office Program. AU has five LEED certified buildings with another two under review for certification. In 2010 AU developed their Zero Waste Policy with the goal of diverting 100% of the school's waste from landfills.

11. Dickinson College (STARS Score: 74.24)

Dickinson College is committed to environmental stewardship, working to integrate sustainability across curriculum, develop a sustainable campus, and promote awareness in the student and surrounding communities. This dedication is clearly illustrated in the school's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2020, meaning zero net emissions of greenhouse gases. Since 2007, it is Dickinson's policy that all new buildings meet the minimum standards of LEED Silver certification.

In order to achieve the ambitious goal of climate neutrality, Dickinson's campus has been developed into a Living Laboratory. This laboratory includes a 50 acre organic farm, and the Treehouse, a residence hall for students commited to reducing their ecological impact.

Quick Facts

Dickinson's dining hall is a 3-Star Certified Green Restaurant by the Green Restaurant Association. 150 tons of material (25% of the school's waste) is diverted from landfills through recycling. 100% of pre and post-consumer food waste is collected from the dining hall and composted at the College Farm.

12. University of California - Santa Barbara (STARS Score: 73.40)

Situated atop cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara’s mild winters and warm, dry summers offer fantastic opportunities to explore the land and ocean around the campus. Students at UC enjoy outdoor activities like surfing, hiking, kayaking and camping are popular off-campus. On-site, students appreciate the state-of-the-art fitness facilities, which are equipped with climbing walls, group fitness classes and outdoor pools.

The university is committed to protecting its beautiful campus, as well as the ecosystems it depends upon to thrive. The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) at UCSB funds conservation projects and advocacy programs sponsored by the college, and UCSB’s Coastal Fund also sponsors the preservation and restoration of local marine habitats. 44 of the buildings at Santa Barbara are LEED certified, and photovoltaic solar panels have helped the college cut their electrical usage by one-third. What’s more, over 200 faculty members at UCSB take part in eco-research in an effort to lead the way in sustainability education and breakthroughs.

Quick Facts

47% of academic departments offer some sort of sustainability focus in their curriculum, for a total of 321 "green" classes. 94% of students at UCSB bike, walk or take the bus to campus, which offers 10,000 bike parking spaces and 10 miles of bike paths. While UCSB offers many interdisciplinary options for environmental studies, the campus offers two primary degree programs in this discipline: a master’s and PhD in environmental science & management.

13. Oregon State University (STARS Score: 73.27)

An hour from the Pacific coast and roughly 90 minutes from Portland, Oregon State University, is the largest, and certainly the greenest, research university in the state. Marine science, sustainability and forestry are among the disciplines OSU students most often specialize in.

OSU’s focus on sustainability and diversity also draws students to the school’s engineering, biology, forestry and geoscience programs. As the campus continues to grow, it is working to complete a renovation that will improve the sustainability of the campus. OSU students take to their communities annually for a program called Campuses Take Charge. For CTC, participating students educate community members about reducing waste and energy usage in their homes and businesses.

Quick Facts

Oregon offers nationally recognized programs in sustainability studies like forestry, wildlife management, zoology, conservation biology, agricultural science and nuclear engineering. 22 exercise machines are connected to the power grid at OSU. When in use, these machines feed into the grid that helps to provide energy to the university’s services and facilities. Since 2007, efforts like these have cut the energy usage by two-thirds. OSU has been recognized as an outstanding green university for several years running by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report and the Sierra Club.

14. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (STARS Score: 73.03)

ESF has made sustainability a cornerstone of their mission statement, going so far as to frame it within their re-accreditation assessment in 2011. The school proclaimed, "Sustainability begins with an obligation to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."

As a research institute focused on environmental science and forestry, ESF works directly on projects to develop and advance sustainable technologies. A primary example of this effort is the Willow Project. For over 30 years, the school as worked with a number of university, private, and public partners to lead the way in researching the renewable energy and environmental applications of the shrub willow. This renewable resources is proving to be a climate-neutral fuel that can be grown on underutilized and marginal lands making it a good candidate for sparking economic development in rural and formerly-industrial areas.

Quick Facts

ESF offers 160 courses in sustainability and an additional 209 courses that integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Students can join the Green Campus Initiative to help make ESF greener. ESF supports over 30 research institutes, centers, and councils.

15. Middlebury College (STARS Score: 72.61)

It may be have seemed like an ambitious goal, but Middlebury aimed to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2016. Through energy conservation efforts, exploring renewable fuel sources and ongoing education about green and sustainable advancements, this Vermont college accomplished this goal.

Compost and recycling efforts have diverted more than 60% of the waste at this Champlain Valley institution, and all construction on new buildings must be LEED certified. Whole buildings have been recycled in an effort to reduce and reuse at Middlebury, and sustainable tech such as groundwater exchange air-conditioning, low-flow faucets and toilets and solar panels are just some of the ways Middlebury is maintaining a commitment to sustainability.

Middlebury is a relatively small town located in the beautiful Champlain Valley, which rests between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks. One of the highlights for ski and snowboarding aficionados is the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, where there are 17 trails. The college’s proximity to the lush mountains and valleys of Vermont makes it a perfect observatory for stewards of the planet to gain experiential learning in the field.

Quick Facts

All freshmen at Middlebury are asked to spend their first year on-campus in one of five commons, where they will have access to more than 150 clubs and activities. Retention rates at Middlebury in 2013 were 95% for first-year undergraduates, and the college reports a 94% graduation rate during that same time frame.

Source: Greenest Universities - Best Colleges.com
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Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 350 posts covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, green school buildings, student eco-initiatives, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Hurricane Harvey and the State of Climate Science

Storms are complex phenomena but we can say with a good degree of certainty that Hurricane Harvey and other extreme weather events are exacerbated by global warming.

Hurricane Harvey is the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than half a century. It smashed into the coast of Texas on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane. It then dumped over a meter of rain submerging streets, homes and vehicles. Thousands of people were stranded on rooftops in scenes reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. In addition to widespread property damage Harvey is known to have killed at least 14 people and almost seven million people have been affected.

Context and costs

We cannot understand the physics of Hurricane Harvey in isolation nor can we fully appreciate the costs of climate change by looking at individual extreme weather events. Only a few years ago the North East was dealing with the cataclysmic flooding of Hurricane Sandy that caused $75 billion in damage. At $108 billion Katrina was the costliest storm in US history. Katrina ravaged Louisiana and nearby states, along with Cuba and the Bahamas.

As reported by Grist, "a preliminary and informal estimate by disaster economist Kevin Simmons of Austin College, the aggregate cost of damage and lost business associated with Hurricane Harvey will likely exceed Katrina. That means Harvey could ultimately cost between $150 billion and $200 billion, even more if the floodwaters significantly expand."

We cannot afford to ignore the cost of global warming, sea level rise (ie flooding), and extreme weather. The number of lives lost and staggering property damage make climate change a priority issue for governments, civil society and scientists.

Attribution science

Harvey, Sandy and Katrina are all examples of hurricanes that are consistent with scientific predictions about global warming. While the hypothesized link between global warming and extreme weather has been around for many years scientists are increasingly able to elucidate data quantifying this relationship.

The physical law known as the Clausius-Clapeyron equation states that as the atmosphere warms it holds more water. It is estimated that there is a 6.5 percent increase in the amount of moisture in the atmosphere for each degree Celsius increase in temperature. We also known that the oceans are warming (approximately 1.5 degrees warmer in the Gulf of Mexico) and this generates more energy and creates more water vapor. This in turn translates to more intense storms and bigger downpours.

"This is the type of event [Hurricane Harvey], in terms of the extreme rainfall, that we would expect to see more of in a warming climate," Dr Friederike Otto from the University of Oxford told BBC News. "For the intensity of the rainfall (over Houston), it is very reasonable to assume there is a signal from climate change in that intensity."

Warmer oceans also contribute to sea level rise through what is known as thermal expansion. Both storms and higher seas have contributed to an increase in fatalities and the amount of property damage associated with flooding.

Climate change is driving an increase in the most extreme forms of extreme weather. According to James Elsner, a scientist who studies the relationship of hurricanes to climate factors at Florida State University, "under global warming, we should see stronger storms, especially the strongest ones."

This general understanding is being buttressed by attribution science that relates climate change with specific events. Increasingly we are seeing data that lends weight to the connection between a warmer world and individual extreme weather events.

While it is far from a mature discipline, the field of attribution science relating climate to weather has been growing for years. In 2013 scientists were beginning to pull together data that enabled them to attribute extreme weather to climate change. Scientists also observed causal connections between climate change and the the 2014 flooding in the UK.  

We are seeing a trend towards more intense storms and this is borne out in a review of extreme weather in 2015 and 2016. Hurricane Matthew received intense scrutiny and researchers found evidence that climate change also contributed to this storm.

Harvey and climate

The degree to which extreme weather can be attributed to climate change may be as much as 30 percent. As reported by CBC News, Kevin Trenberth, a scientist in climate and global dynamics at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, shares this view. He suggests the data indicates that, "climate change effect total can be easily be up to about 30 percent".

Chris Landsea, a researcher at the U.S. National Hurricane Center, says that climate models predict that big storms could get two to five percent stronger and produce 10 percent more intense rainfall by the end of the century.

While we could debate the degree of impact it is hard to refute the reams of scientific data that support the relationship between climate change and extreme weather.  We know with considerable certainty that a warming climate contributes to bigger storms and more rainfall. We also know that greenhouse gases are driving temperature increases.

Climate change is one of the most studied phenomena in the world and decades of hot data point to a looming catastrophe. The same data indicates that unless we radically curtail the amount of GHGs we emit into the atmosphere extreme weather will get much worse.

This article has been updated

Read More»

Bannon has Left the White House but his Influence Remains

Steve Bannon may be out of the White House but a paint by numbers version of his ideology has been grafted onto the brain of the US Commander and Chief. Bannon's insane ideology will endure in the Executive branch as long as Trump remains in office.

Bannon was advising Trump well before becoming a formal adviser on August 17, 2016. Bannon cemented his relationship with Trump in the 2016 election. He earned himself a senior position in the Trump administration because he is the matchmaker who delivered the alt-right vote. Trump cannot eschew the alt-right because he is so widely reviled outside of this group that he really has nowhere else to turn. Without the alt-right Trump's support could plunge to single digits.

Trump must continue to feed red meat to his core supporters if he is to maintain a base. As a consequence Trump can be expected to continue his occasional overt expressions of support for far-right extremists interspersed with frequent dog whistles. 

The idea the Bannon could have hijacked the presidency and locked in a nationalist quasi-fascist agenda seems outlandish. However, we are in outlandish times. No one ever thought that we would see a fascist in the White House that is until Trump tapped Bannon to be his chief strategist and senior counselor. No one ever thought the United States could see a resurgence of white supremacists until the tragic events in Charlottesville.

Bannon's appointment as Trump's chief strategist has been celebrated by fascists like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and neo-Nazi sympathizer Don Advo.

Even Sebastian Gorka's firing has not rid the White House of extreme nationalist influences (Gorka's a former Breitbart editor with Islamophobic views). Despite changes in the White House Bannon's fascist ideology will continue to lead the ideology of the alt-right.

Although he will no longer be formally advising the president, Bannon continues to be a serious player. He can be expected to keep promoting his dark agenda and wield his influence in the alt-right. Bannon has made no secret of the fact that he intends to use his newfound freedom to go to "war' using all of his "weapons". He is referring largely to Brietbart, the conservative media hub for the alt-right movement.

Bannon does not believe we owe future generations anything he believes we owe it to past generations to pass on their traditions to the future. This Burkean compact leads Bannon to believe that the US must destroy both its alliances and its institutions. The maniacal goal of his ideology is to bring about an apocalyptic conflict in which white culture prevails.

Bannon's ideology is behind the Trump administration's anti-immigrant and anti-globalization policies. Bannon directly influenced Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accord. Bannon is also the guy who has encouraged Trump to publicly discredit popular media in favor of conspiracy minded conservative sites like Brietbart, which is a quintessential fake news outlet that embraces fascism.

Bannon's dark narrative warrants both fear and derision. As the chief advisor to Trump he has confabulated his conspiratorial musing into what can only be described as a policy steeped in paranoid delusion. Now that he is free of the constraints imposed by the White House he may be far worse.

The Atlantic quoted a source close to Bannon as saying "Steve is now unchained". "He’s going nuclear," another friend said. "You have no idea. This is gonna be really fucking bad."

Related
Bannon: Why Environmentalists are not the Only Ones who Should be Terrified (Videos)
Trump and the Darkness of Post Factual Media
The Trump Administration Begins Shutting Down Press Access
Global Warning 2017: Combating the Dystopia of the Trump Administration
How to Fight the Trump Administration and Fake News
Resist Trump: Why Boycotts and Business Leadership Matters More than Ever

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Webinar - Rise of the Philanthropreneur (Class)

This webinar will take place on Monday, September 4th 2017. The webinar will explain a new kind of education that gives you the tools to be a philanthropreneur. This free online class is focused on impact the very thing that millennials are having trouble finding in the work environments of today. The class will also focus on building a movement that allows you to live a life of wisdom, adventure, and profit.

This class is for people who are ready to take on the world’s biggest challenges and create a life where passion meets income. Walk a path where the ROI of Ripple of Impact is as important as the ROI of Return on Investment.

What You Will Learn

This online school brings you through a 4 stage journey. Although there is no one path to success, it does leave some clues. No matter the cause they are tackling socially responsible organizations follow a 4 stage journey with multiple key facets it order to build momentum and make change.

Freedom How To Be Your Own Boss & Earn A Great Living Accountability How To Stay Focused & Clear On Your Mission Tribe How To Find A Community of Like Minds & Direct Support Adventure How To Spread Your Message Around The World 

Who This Is Not For

• NOT Half-Assed Commitment Closed Minded and Stubborn 
• Happy With Today’s Results In Your Life 
• Not Willing To Work Hard For Dreams 
• Not Willing To Play A Role In The Tribe 
• Not Seeking Accountability 
• Not Willing To Invest In Themselves 

Who This Is For 

• Dedicated to social causes 
• Looking to launch or scale your dream 
• Longing for location independence 
• In search of mentorship and focus Adventurous, and ready to explore 
• Looking for your tribe and a community 
• Seeking lasting wisdom & lifestyle shift 
• Striving for Financial Freedom

What You’ll Get

Access to ALL Superhero Academy Apprentice, Hero, Superhero and Mastery Classes. Inclusion into Private Facebook Group & access to community initiation into a tribe of awesome changemakers. Direct support and answers from teachers community exclusive deals, events and Q&A periods. Benefits from partner teachers and discounts on other programs. Notes and chapters done for you for each class. Direct Challenges to keep you accountable for each class

The Teachers 

Although the teachers are young together they have decades of experience. Garrett Adkins Digital Strategist, Marc Angelo Coppola, Philanthropreneur Samantha Lotus, Lifestyle Alchemist.

Results

Mastery of your mission. More impact. More freedom. From the first session, you’ll find your limiting beliefs getting scorched into deathly submission as you catch the inner fire that’s been burning deep within, and pick up the mindset and marketing power ups needed to spread your message further.

Click here to register.

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Al Gore on Climate Action and Trump's Denial (Videos)

Former Vice President and climate crusader Al Gore was initially non-committal about Donald Trump.  Gore met with Trump in December last year and many hoped that he would be able to explain the science, economics and politics of climate change to the then president-elect.

In January, Gore was part of a panel moderated by Amy Goodman at the Sundance Film Festival. In this interview Gore indicated that he was still waiting to see what the the Trump administration does on the climate front. Gore was more forthcoming in his assessment of Trump's Secretary of State, the former CEO of Exxon, Rex Tillerson.



Gore's hopes were dashed when Trump announced that he was withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. We now know that the truth about the Trump administration. This government is aggressively striving to end climate action in the US.

In this video Gore says special interest groups with funding and support from big polluters is the reason why climate denial has taken over the White House. Gore explains that such groups have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on well-coordinated campaigns to spread doubt in the media and sway public opinion about the reality of the crisis.

Nonetheless Gore has faith in the American people and their ability to see through this subterfuge. He specifically points to the popularity of rapidly growing clean energy.

Watch the video below to hear Vice President Gore explain how some carbon polluters are spreading doubt about the true nature of climate change and how the clean energy revolution gives him hope for the future.



More than a decade after the release of the groundbreaking film "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore released a new film about the climate crisis. On July 28th 2017 the sequel to "An Inconvenient Truth" hit theaters, it is titled "Truth to Power". Despite Trump Gore is hopeful that we will meet the threat of climate change. "it is right to save humanity" Gore says, adding, "it is right to give hope to humanity". Watch the Truth to Power trailer below.

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Energize Schools Energy Conservation Competition

The Energize Schools Energy Conservation Competition is a three-week challenge that gives schools in Southern California the chance to compete for prizes by reducing their energy usage. Since 2014 Energize Schools has worked with Energy and Facilities Managers to help Southern California schools reduce their energy by 391,383 kWh saving $58,883 and slashing 192,884 lbs. of CO2.

This is a fun competition ideal for school environmental clubs, green teams, leadership clubs Science & engineering classes as well as any students and faculty who want to make a difference.

Energize Schools provides lesson planning or in-class instruction support as well as guidance on identifying, planning, and implementing conservation strategies from an Energy Advisor assigned to your school The Energize Schools resources package contains a sample lesson plan, participation guide, and conservation action plan.

As explained by San Diego High Teacher Eric Burtson: "My International Baccalaureate Physics students have a unit on energy, power, and climate change. It's a mandatory part of their curriculum. The School Energy Conservation Competition was a perfect complement to their studies, helping them see how they could make a difference. The Competition component made it fun."

The Fall 2017 competition takes place from October 26th to November 15th (the registration period ends on October 2, 2017). The competition is open to K-12 schools in Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in Southern California Edison (SCE) service territory. Other eligibility restrictions apply contact Sophia at sophia@seiinc.org to find out more. 

Prizes for the top three schools that achieve the highest percentage reduction in their electricity use:

1st Place = $900
2nd Place = $700
3rd Place = $500

Three additional prizes of $300 will be awarded to the school with the best conservation campaign materials. 

Register before October 1st and participate in the October 4th Informational Webinar from 3:30-4:30pm PST. Click here to register or download the Competition Flyers

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Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 350 posts covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, green school buildings, student eco-initiatives, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Responsible Business : The Rapid Growth of the B Corps

Business that are forces for good also see bottom-line benefits. This is not only about seeing value, or even securing a competitive advantage, this is a matter of survival. The number of companies with a social conscience has been steadily growing. This is exemplified by the growth of B Corps certified companies that are investing in environmental sustainability and focusing on workers’ rights. Since 2007 tens of thousands of companies have earned B Corp certification this includes SMEs and well-known brands like the internet sensation Kickstarter and outdoor clothing giant Patagonia.

In 2014 B Corps were emerging as a significant sustainability trend. As of August 2017 there are more than 22,220 B Corps certified businesses and almost three dozen states have passed legislation allowing companies to incorporate as public benefit corporations.

The B Corp certification is the creation of a nonprofit organization called the B Lab. They have rigorous certification standards that include social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. They review all a company’s business practices from supply chain sustainability to labor practices and philanthropy.

Katie Wallace is the assistant director of sustainability at New Belgium a certified B Corp. She asserts that sustainability is fundamental to survival. She makes the point that while her company got involved for values-based reasons they are finding that it is paying off financially.

"If you’re running a business that’s not considering the impact that you have on the environment and society or the impact that those things have upon your business, then you’re not operating a business that’s really going to be in existence in the future," Wallace is quoted by PBS as saying. She added, "economically it was a really powerful business model and has been a key ingredient of our success over time."

Green Mountain Power (GMP) recently celebrated its third anniversary as the first utility in the world to become a certified B Corp.  GMP illustrates how a utility company can have a major impact on energy consumption. They help their customers reduce their carbon footprints by minimizing their energy usage.  GMP offers energy savings through innovative techniques, heat pumps and home batteries.

The most recent B Corp. certified company is Keap, the candle maker started by two ex-Googlers. These guys demonstrate responsible company conduct. They use sustainable raw material and they donate a portion of their revenue to the climate change charity SolarAid.

Related
10 Reasons Why Patagonia is the World's Most Responsible Company  

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Corporate Environmental Financial Disclosure Tool

The current corporate reporting trend is a critical aspect of sustainability. Investors are increasingly demanding more detailed information to assess material risks and make sound investment decisions. We have seen a number of shareholder actions that demonstrate the changing landscape. Public disclosures, particularly as the relate to the environment and the climate demonstrate responsible corporate conduct. This trend growing in the US and around the world.

This kind of transparency has a remarkable capacity to change the world. However, this information is often hard to find within voluminous corporate reports.

Tools are now available to help track corporate environmental engagement. As reported by Environmental Leader, a new free website allows investors and the general public to research corporate environmental financial disclosures.  People can use the site to check out a firm's performance or compare companies.

The site is the brainchild of Envonet.com. It provides environmental and climate-related financial disclosures.

"Investors are urgently seeking more transparency from corporations about their material risks and risk management practices, particularly those related to climate change, but there are no simple tools to assist investors in collecting and assessing this information," Said Greg Rogers, co-founder of Envonet. "And, when disclosures are compared side by side, the contrast between many European companies and their U.S. counterparts leaps off the page. For investors, it makes evident which corporations are treating climate change as a material financial risk and which are not."

Utility companies included in the database are: American Electric Power, CLP Holdings, Dominion Resources, DTE Energy, Edison International, Enel, Entergy, Eversource, Exelon, FirstEnergy, Fortis, Iberdrola, NextEra Energy, PG&E, Power Assets Holdings, PPL, Public Service Enterprise Group, Southern Company, SSE, and Xcel. Oil and gas companies included in the database are: Anadarko, Apache, BP, Canadian Natural Resources, Chevron, Concho Resources, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, Eni, EOG Resources, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Occidental, Phillips 66, Pioneer Natural Resources, Royal Dutch Shell, Suncor Energy, Total, Valero, and Woodside Petroleum.

Envonet displays climate-related disclosures in the areas of governance, strategy, risk management and performance measurement, found in mainstream financial filings (e.g., Form 10-Ks filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission).

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New York Certified Sustainability Practitioner Trainings

The next Certified Sustainability Practitioner Training will take place on September 28-29, 2017 in New York City. Attendees of the training will walk away with The latest updates and key concepts on corporate sustainability including GHG emissions, GRI reporting, stakeholder engagement, and best practices.

Participants will also have access to CSE business network comprised of senior business and sustainability leaders from Fortune 500, NASA, Stanford University, Lloyds Banking and global governments.

The training will also give participants a two-year sustainability plan tha integrates sustainability across your organization’s value chain

The globally recognized CSR-P Certification is presented by the only global sustainability training firm with CMI global professional certification for corporate sustainability.

To book click here.

Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 350 posts covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, green school buildings, student eco-initiatives, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Sharing Sustainability Matters Now More than Ever

Sustainability may be the most important strategy we have to build a better world. The business community has the power to transform society and never before have they been more important. The world needs the business community to lead efforts to combat climate change and promote social justice.

A growing number of businesses are championing sustainability and engaging in responsible corporate conduct. As demonstrated recently by corporate America this is about far more than just a marketing angle, this is about both moral stewardship and the bottom line.

We can define sustainability as a multi-faceted approach to organizational attitudes and conduct.  Although this represents a daunting challenge it is both a competitive necessity and a lucrative opportunity.

Contrary to the fake narrative of the ruling US administration, sustainability enhances performance. First and foremost it must be understood that sustainability is about being profitable. A range of business leaders have demonstrated that sustainability contributes to success in a number of ways including benefiting bottom line.

Sustainability needs to proliferate and advocates need to make the case for sustainability and share it as widely as possible. In its simplest essence this is a twofold process: 1)  discern value and 2) share insights.

From big businesses to start-ups, sustainability must be understood as a key success factor. To get there we need to make the case. As explained by Erik Solheim, the Executive Director of UN Environment: "We need to prove that protecting the environment is profitable and in everyone's best interests. We can do this by holding up successful examples."

The examples exist but they must be shared, these success stories cannot be allowed to languish in obscurity. A wide range of research has demonstrated the value of sustainability. The business case is strong and growing stronger everyday. The ROI on sustainability has been demonstrated in dozens of studies. Upfront costs have been shown to payoff over very reasonable time-frames.

There is also strong evidence showing that CSR and ESG are correlated with higher performance. A recent CDP report provided more evidence for the relationship between decoupling and growth.

By addressing shareholder concerns about vulnerabilities and risk, sustainability focused firms have been shown to be better at raising capital. Focusing on sustainability also helps to position a company to grow well into the future.

For both moral and economic reasons this is the time for corporations to break free from the perception that they are short-sighted materialists who destroy people and ecosystems.

Being a sustainability focused organization implies championing the cause and this translates to study, action, in-depth reporting and sharing results.

The perennial concern is always about cost. However, the question is not whether you can afford to get on-board the question is can you afford not to.

For more information about sustainability click here.

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Training - Toronto Certified Sustainability Practitioner

Certified Sustainability Practitioner Training will take place on October 26-27, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This globally recognized CSR-P Certification will cover best practices and enable participants to create a two-year sustainability plan for integrating sustainability across their organization’s value chain.  The training is offered by the only global sustainability training firm with CMI global professional certification for corporate sustainability.

This training will provide the latest updates and key concepts in corporate sustainability. There will be a review of some of the key tenets of sustainability including:

• GHG emissions
• GRI reporting
• Stakeholder engagement

Participants will have access to CSE business network that includes senior buiness and sustainability leaders from Fortune 500, NASA, Stanford University, Lloyds Banking and global governments.

For more information contact marketing@cse-net.org

Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 350 posts covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, green school buildings, student eco-initiatives, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Event - Yale Sustainability Leadership Forum

This event will take place on September 12 - 15. Are you and your company on top of the megatrends in sustainability? The Yale Sustainability Leadership Forum is an intense program exploring sustainability as an overarching framework for life in the 21st century. An integrated policy concept, sustainability diverges from approaches to environmental protection and economic development that were pursued in the 20th century.

Professionals from all backgrounds and sectors are invited to apply to this intensive program featuring multidisciplinary thought leadership on sustainability. Integrating energy, finance, policy, law, industrial ecology, green design and engineering, land conservation, environmental communication, climate negotiation, and more, this program examines sustainability as an integrated policy concept. Participants can expect to gain a deeper understanding of critical sustainability strategies in an intimate setting. The Forum will bring together a diverse set of thought leaders, industry practitioners, policy experts, and world-class scholars working on the leading-edge of sustainability.

The Forum is designed for professionals from all sectors of society: finance, industry, academia, government, and not-for profit. The Forum offers both the conceptual and practical tools to help policy makers at all levels of government, public and private-sector executives, and anyone in a leadership role to advance sustainability in their workplace. The Forum is indispensable for those wanting or needing to stay abreast of the major changes in environmental thinking in recent years.

The diversity of the class sets this program apart, providing participants with a diverse network of professionals engaged in meaningful sustainability work across sectors and across the globe. Forum speakers are at the top of their respective fields, and together represent the thought leadership of sustainability. They are carefully selected for their ability to deliver the sustainability curriculum in an engaging, crosscutting, and dynamic way. They include faculty drawn from several departments across Yale University and beyond.

This program is indispensable for those wanting or needing to stay abreast of the major changes in environmental thinking in recent years. It is designed for policy makers at all levels of government and from any country, public and private sector executives, and anyone who wants a better understanding of the full range of developing concepts, tools, and strategies essential to leadership in sustainable practices and policies.

• Are you interested in gaining essential leadership skills to advance your sustainability career?
• Are you positioned to apply what you learn from leading experts of sustainability across a wide range of sustainability topics?
• Are you prepared to refresh your strategic thinking by conceptualizing sustainability as a defining megatrend of the 21st Century?
• Are you ready to share your own sustainability insights in an intimate seminar setting?

Click here for more information and to apply

Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 350 posts covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, green school buildings, student eco-initiatives, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Corporate America Fires Trump for Deriliction of Duty

An unprecedented number of American business leaders have come out to oppose Trump. Waves of resignations from the CEOs of America's leading corporations have forced Trump to disband his business councils.

Large numbers of companies have issued statements and internal memos condemning Trump. Ford, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, have all spoken out against this administration. To protest Trump's egress from the Paris Climate Agreement more than two dozen major businesses took out full-page ads.

The business community's rejection of Trump is a disaster for this president because it strikes at the heart of what he claims are his core competencies. His business accomplishments were the only credentials Trump could claim as he took the oath of office. After only a bit more than 6 months it has become obvious that even in the one area he sells as his strength, he is a dismal failure. Although he has cut no deals, he has managed to alienate our allies, and divide the nation. He has also succeeded in emboldening America's enemies both within and without.

It is not only his business strategies and tactics that are being questioned it is his humanity or lack thereof. His moral bankruptcy was laid bare in an angry press conference in which he defended the alt-right. In a series of angry tirades, he compared the alt-right to the people who assembled to oppose fascism. This includes Heather Heyer, the woman murdered by a Nazi in Charlottesville. Trump's comments on Charlottesville appear to justify the concerns of those who fear a symbiotic relationship between the presidency and extremists in the alt-right.

Trump has emboldened his neo-nazi supporters by doubling down on his remarks during his most recent press conference. As explained by The Times’ Mark Landler Trump has, "relinquished what presidents from Roosevelt to Reagan have regarded as a cardinal duty of their job: set a moral course to unify the nation."

Trump continues to sew divisions over the issue of Confederate statues. Rather than speak in support of unity he is defending monuments to leaders who went to war against their countrymen in defense of slavery. This was a savage and bloody conflict that killed more than 600,000 American soldiers. Up until the Vietnam war, the civil war had the record for having killed more Americans than all the wars that came after it combined.

Corporate leaders have abandoned Trump and he has yet again been exposed as a fraud. By now it should be clear to all but the willfully ignorant that Trump is not much of a businessman and he is certainly not temperamentally or intellectually fit to be president. He is a corrupt narracist who has parlayed his self-absorbtion into a business enterprise.

An honest look at his life reveals that after a troubled youth he took his father's money and built a Hollywood style brand. A brand which is little more than a glitzy caricature of a businessman. Now Trump's paper tiger brand has been torn to shreds and his presidency is twisting in the wind.

Some have claimed the only talent that Trump possesses is his command over Twitter. However, in what is surely hard for Trump to swallow, President Obama's Charlottesville tweet has become the most liked message in the history of Twitter. Rather than being an asset, CNN and others have argued that Trump's Twitter penchant may very well be his undoing. Now corporate heads like Goldman's Lloyd Blankfein have taken to twitter to go after Trump.

The forces oppposing Trump extend far beyond social media. In an unprecedented move the considerable might of corporate America has aligned itself against this president. The country's leading CEOs are condemning Trump and successive waves of resignations have forced him to disband two White House business councils.

The first round of resignations from his business council saw Uber CEO Travis Kalanick leave over immigration, then Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Disney Bob Iger resigned over Trump's announcement that he was withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Accord.

Trump's defense of the alt-right after the Charlottetown tragedy, saw the trickle become a flow with a stream of resignations starting with Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, followed by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and the President of AFL-CIO Richard Louis Trumka. Other CEOs that quit the president include Inge Thulin of 3M, Brian Krzanich of Intel. Alliance for American Manufacturing president Scott Paul also quit the president.

After Mr Paul's resignation, Trump said those who resigned are "grandstanders". In a tweet he also said: "For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place." However, it seems that there were no takers so Trump was forced to disband the council in disgrace.

Trump's entire committee on the arts and the humanities also resigned to protest his racism. Here is the letter of resignation from 14 members of the Committee:

Trump’s comments supporting and elevating racists were more important than politics and policy. Donald Trump crossed a moral line that should cut through partisanship and cut to the consciences on individual Americans. CEOs dumped Trump after his remarks because they realized that going anywhere near racism can kill their businesses. The public backlash that comes with being viewed as supporting a racist will hurt the bottom line and a brand’s reputation.

For others who are walking away from this president, they are doing so as a matter of basic human decency. Donald Trump has revealed himself to be lacking in the bare minimum that society deems necessary for a functioning participant in the community. Forget the standards of conduct expected of a president; Trump isn’t meeting the standards of conduct of a decent human being.

The reason why the fallout from his Charlottesville comments is sticking to Trump is that it reflects upon him as a human being. There are lines that people should never cross, and by elevating racists, Trump not only defined himself as a failed president but also as a terrible person.

All branches of the armed services have come forward with statements intended to show their commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. The number of Republicans that are condemning Trump is increasing everyday and those that are not doing so in public are privately expressing grave reservations about his basic competence to govern.

Former presidents George HW Bush and George W Bush issued a statement that said: "America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms." The statement also said, "As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. We know these truths to be everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country."

In a New York Times op-ed Frank Bruni said, "Trump resigned the presidency already". Bruni went on to say, "He abdicated his responsibilities so thoroughly and recklessly that it amounted to a letter of resignation. Then he whored for his Virginia winery on the way out the door...Trump hasn’t been exercising the duties of his office. He’s been excising them, one by one. The moral forfeiture of the past week was the capper...he picked division over unity, war over peace. And make no mistake: He didn’t merely shortchange the presidency. He left it vacant."

Trump's illbegotten foray into politics has put his incompetance and inhumanity on display. Now he is appropriately besieged.  However, he is still president and we should not underestimate the damage that this insecure man can do as he is pulled like a confederate statue off of his pedestal.

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CEOs Condemn Trump in the Wake of the Nazi Terror Attack in Charlottesville

The business community is railing against Trump's horrifying response to the Charlottesville terror attack. Corporate leaders are stepping up to challenge Trump in the wake of his failure to condemn the murderous rampage of white nationalists. Businesses are overtly refuting Trump's narrative and championing both diversity and inclusion. So far more than a half dozen CEOs have publicly resigned from their positions as presidential advisors. Trump initially refused to single out the racist groups that took part in the alt-right rally in Charlottesville and he did not condemn the hateful beliefs of white supremacists. Trump also conspicuously failed to mention the neo-nazi that murdered Heather Heyer and injured 19 others.

In response to events in Charlottesville, business leaders including Apple's Tim Cook and Goldman Sachs' Llloyd Blankfein called out the president.

Some companies are concerned that their brands are being co-opted by racists. The maker of tiki torches lamented the use of their products in a nighttime march by racists in Charlottesville. The torch maker said their, "products are designed to enhance backyard gatherings and to help family and friends connect with each other at home in their yard."

When some alt-right supporters sported modified Detroit Red Wings emblems on their shirts and riot shields, the hockey team pushed back immediately. The club indicated that they were looking into legal action and they issued a statement that condemned the unauthorized use of their logo. "The Detroit Red Wings vehemently disagree with and are not associated in anyway with the event taking place today in Charlottesville," the team said in a statement. "The Red Wings believe that Hockey is for Everyone and we celebrate the great diversity of our fanbase and our nation." The NHL added, "This specific use is directly contrary to the value of inclusiveness that our League prioritizes and champions."

Actions are also being taken to keep racist groups from using social media as a recruiting tool. The website GoDaddy dropped neo-Nazi website Dailystormer. GoDaddy's digital crimes unit director Ben Butler told NBC News in an email:

"In instances where a site goes beyond the mere exercise of these freedoms and crosses over to promoting, encouraging, or otherwise engaging in violence against any person, we will take action. In our determination, especially given the tragic events in Charlottesville, Dailystormer.com crossed the line and encouraged and promoted violence."

The racist site claimed it had switched to another provider however that provider (Google) quickly canceled Dailystormer's registration.

This is not the Klu Klux Klan of yesteryear, almost everyone wants to distance themselves from these white supremacists. One business owner fired an employee who took part in the racist rally in Charlottesville. When an employee of Top Dog restaurant in Berkeley, California was revealed to have participated in the rally he was dismissed by the eatery. When another rally participant was identified as a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, the school released a statement condemning racism and white supremacy.

One of the most damning responses from the business community came from Kenneth Frazier, chairman and CEO of Merck Pharmaceutical. He resigned from Trump’s American Manufacturing Council and issued a scathing statement against the president.

"I am resigning from the President’s American Manufacturing Council. Our country’s strengths stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs. America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal. As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."

The business community rallied including Unilever CEO Paul Polman who applauded Frazier saying on Twitter, "Thanks @Merck Ken Frazier for strong leadership to stand up for the moral values that made this country what it is". Although it took two days for Trump to decry neo-nazis it took him less than an hour to fire off a hostile reply to Frazier's resignation.

Other CEOs then followed Frazier and quit the President's council. This includes Under Armor CEO Kevin Plank and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich who wrote a blog post that seemed to be a warning the American people:

"I resigned to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues...Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America’s manufacturing base...I have already made clear my abhorrence at the recent hate-spawned violence in Charlottesville, and earlier today I called on all leaders to condemn the white supremacists and their ilk who marched and committed violence...I resigned because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them. We should honor–not attack–those who have stood up for equality and other cherished American values...it is clear even to me that nearly every issue is now politicized to the point where significant progress is impossible...The current environment must change, or else our nation will become a shadow of what it once was and what it still can and should be."

In a statement, the Under Armor CEO said he was leaving the council because of the fact that his company, "engages in innovation and sports, not politics." Plank concluded with a statement that was a tacit renunciation of Trump's bigotry. He indicated that he will, "continue to focus my efforts on inspiring every person that they can do anything through the power of sport which promotes unity, diversity, and inclusion."

At a Tuesday press conference, Trump appeared to peel back his paper-thin veneer and share his true unscripted thoughts on the Charlottesville tragedy. In a monumental rant even for Trump, he defended the actions of the alt-right. In response, AFL-CIO president Richard Louis Trumka immediately resigned from the presidential advisory council. Trumka tweeted:

"I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism; I resign, effective immediately...President Trump's remarks today repudiate his forced remarks yesterday about the KKK and neo-Nazis. We must resign on behalf of America's working people, who reject all notions of legitimacy of these bigoted groups." Trumka called Trump's most recent remarks "the last straw." He concluded by saying, "From hollow councils to bad policy and embracing bigotry, the actions of this administration have consistently failed working people".

These were but the latest round of business advisors abandoning Trump. Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick quit Trump due to the president's executive order on immigration in February. Tesla's Elon Musk and Disney's Bob Iger departed in June after Trump announced he was pulling the US out of the Paris climate accord.

Trump was already in at odds with many in the business community long before the events in Charlottesville. A number of CEOs openly opposed the president and voiced their support for sustainability.

The fact that such public disagreements are occurring suggests that these CEOs see both social and commercial value in coming out against Trump. Many corporate leaders have come to the conclusion that distancing themselves from this president is not only morally necessary, it is a smart strategic move that makes economic sense.

Businesses are abandoning Trump and this is a serious blow to an unpopular president who claims to be good for business. Although Trump takes credit for the economic cycle of his predecessor, many in the business community are not buying it and they are unabashedly sharing their dissatisfaction.

Slightly more than 200 days into his presidency and Trump is proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that his administration is a dismal failure.  This brings us back to Charlottesville.

Rather than condemn Nazi terrorism Trump's first comment lamented the violence on "many sides". This prompted a wave of criticism from members of his own party. After a couple of days and under duress Trump condemned white supremacist groups.

This was followed by a Trump tower press conference in which the president defended alt-right extremists. These shockingly raw remarks are a window into the unscripted Trump and they warrant profound concern. The president's repugnant conduct can only be explained by the sinister symbiotic relationship between Trump and the alt-right.

The dark truth is that the alt-right helped Trump to win the election and they make up the core of his base. The Charlottesville events may presage an even darker future. Trump may be planning to use militant white supremacists in the alt-right as Brownshirt-like shock troops. They can be expected to defend his presidency when the Mueller investigation concludes and the prospect of impeachment looms.

We are on the cusp one of the greatest challenges ever to befall the United States. Never before has corporate America been more important to the future of the Republic. Let the record show that members of the business community are lighting the way forward and publicly condemning a commander and chief who is unfit to lead.

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