ASU: walking the talk.

AN EVER-GROWING NUMBER OF COLLEGES AND universities are putting special emphasis on environmental concerns such as global warming, water conservation, and finding alternatives to fossil fuels. Sustainability is a field that has been identified as one of the "future jobs" which will require specially trained individuals to tackle the complex problems facing our planet. Toward that end, Arizona State University has launched a universitywide effort to educate these future environmental protectors with the establishment the world's first School of Sustainability.

Located in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, the School of Sustainability encompasses such diverse fields as science, technology, public policy, economics, education, and urban planning. The school has the advantage of using Phoenix as a kind of living laboratory because a recent population boom threatens the area's environmental balance.

"Phoenix has doubled its population in the last 20 years to become the fifth-largest city in the United States. Our population--and our urban infrastructure--will double again in the next 20 years," says ASU President Michael Crow. "Because this is the region doing so much building, we are the ones who have to figure out how to do it properly, and ASU has committed itself to being at the forefront of that effort."

The School of Sustainability will begin enrolling students next month, and will offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in sustainability. The innovative curriculum builds upon an existing base at ASU that includes 300 courses, 80 degree programs, and 170 research projects that involve sustainability.--T.G.