By Kelly Smith, May 2010
Staff Writer
                       

As I stood in the cafeteria line for the first time at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, the other visitors could not keep their eyes off the food.

Photo courtesy of AP

“This is all organic?” mused one potential student as another piled his plate full of the homemade pizza before heading to the beautiful hardwood floored dining area, sunlight flowing in from every side.

In the private dining area set aside just for the Visitor’s Weekend, 50 students paid rapt attention to our host, speaking about the degree program I was most interested in: Sustainable Living.

“In the Sustainable Living Program, students will not just learn from a book, they will learn from hands-on experience. Our students have built bio-diesel fuel filters, windmills and solar ovens.”

The Sustainability Living Program at M U M was a forerunner of similar programs offered in U.S. universities. Since this first program was started, more and more colleges and universities have started their own eco-friendly programs in areas such as engineering, architecture, agriculture and business.

Part of the growing need to create such programs stems from the growing desire to protect the environment, which faces ever-increasing threats from sources such as global warming and other human factors. Another reason for such education is the $30 billion stimulus package for green energy needs in the U.S. A s I witnessed on the campus of M U M , these students are not just looking to earn a degree that will allow them to be more competitive in the job market, but they are looking to be a part of a movement , part of a collective that offers a lifestyle choice as well.

There are plenty of schools to choose from. In 2007, Arizona State University was the very first in the nation to offer a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Sustainability. The program started with just 300 students and has since grown close to a thousand undergraduates with prospects of hundreds of more students entering by the fall of 2010. The classes in Sustainability offered at A S U range from chemistry to law to geography. In contrast, classes at M U M are pin pointed to hands-on learning, such as renewable energy labs and sustainable agriculture.

As an ex-Marine serving as high-risk security in Afghanistan, Troy Van Beek knows the value of foresight.

“I thought that my education at M U M in Sustainable Living was both holistic and practical; it was not limited to any one thing,” says Van Beek. “All disciplines are going to have to come to address sustainability in the future. Sustainability is the one thing that covers all bases.”

At M U M students are encouraged to learn about all areas of life not as separate from ecology and sustainability, but integral and viable within all spheres of life.

As Van Beek put it, “We are all going to have to know about different issues about the environment, not just recycling and conservation, but also about building sustainable futures. I can’t imagine any student not wanting to be a part of that in some way. This is where the future is headed.”

After graduating from M U M with a degree in Sustainable Living, Van Beek went on to create his own business called Ideal Energy focusing on creating more energy efficient homes. His system is three-fold. First, his team calculates the current energy loads of a building. An inventory is then made of energy loss or overuse. Second, they begin implementation of the most energy efficient investments. Last they seek the opportunity to incorporate energy-efficient devices like windmills and solar panels.

With over 30 sustainability-themed programs, degrees and certificates in the U.S., there are no more excuses for finding an opportunity to become part of the sustainable movement.