MIT was forced to re-examine its environmental practices after being cited for 18 violations of federal hazardous waste laws and the Clean Air and Water Acts in 1998. As part of the settlement of these, MIT agreed to fund over $400,000 of environmental projects. These projects included the creation of a computer-based campus compliance program designed to help universities determine whether or not they were in compliance with environmental regulations, a state-of-the-art stormwater control and treatment system and several environmental education projects with Cambridge Public Schools.
While MIT has begun educational programs in the surrounding community, we wanted to discover what was happening within the University itself. MIT's Environmental Health and Safety webpage claims:
"Environmental education is so pervasive at MIT it's almost easier to describe where it doesn't happen. Subject after subject, course after course, school after school, faculty and students are involved. And connected. Perhaps the single best word to describe MIT's approach is 'interdisciplinary.'"
But just how active are the students, faculty and schools? How many classes actually educate students on environmental issues? Is environmental education really as 'pervasive' as the Institute claims?
We decided to find out. We surveyed undergraduates for their opinions on environmental education at MIT. We looked at the classes offered in each department and how many of them had an environmental focus. We also looked at student groups which have environmental foci. Then we looked at faculty involvement to see who was involved and in what programs. The results are surprising.
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