When I was in college, campus sustainability was just starting to become a common buzzword. I guess it makes sense that higher education institutions would be at the forefront of such a movement—you know, since they deal with students protesting by camping in tree tops all the time. Second Nature is a Boston based non-profit organization that is continuing this movement (no not the camping out in tree tops). They initiate and support “high-leverage national initiatives and programs aimed at re-orienting the higher education sector toward more sustainable outcomes.” It’s a smart idea, because they’re targeting the places where their ideas are most likely to catch on. If they can succeed by pushing sustainability forward on college campuses, then there’s a good chance that the sustainability movement can go a lot farther.
Second Nature has been around for more than 15 years, and since then they’ve worked with “more than 500 colleges and universities to help make the principles of sustainability fundamental to every aspect of higher education.” I guess how Second Nature defines sustainability is important to know too. They believe that the key to achieving sustainability is avoiding four situations:
systematic increases in concentrations of substances from the earth’s crust e.g. fossil fuels, heavy metals); systematic increases in concentrations of substances produced by society (e.g. CFCs, DDT); systematic degradation by physical means (e.g. deforestation, overfishing); and when social systems are subject to conditions that systematically undermine people’s capacity to meet their basic needs (e.g. oppressive conditions, non-living wages)
When you really break these four situations down, you realize how much effort must go into sustainability initiatives. If it sounds like something that you want to be a part of, then you should check out Second Nature’s Internships page where they offer Paid Sustainability in Higher Education Internships. You can apply by sending a “resume, cover letter, and the names/contact information of two faculty members who can act as references to internships@secondnature.org.” The application deadline is January 1, 2010.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
What’s your Second Nature?
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Tags: conservation, education, green, Internships, Massachusetts, non-profit, paid, sustainability
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