Who would’ve imagined a few years back that you could so easily unite and share thousands of voices and perspectives on a single day.

Today, 10/15/2009, Blog Action Day, is dedicated to addressing and covering climate change. As part of Blog Action Day 2009, we’d like to highlight the AdmissionsQuest schools that are working to establish practices that reduce consumption and carbon footprints.

Visit the blog’s green campus category to read our  complete collection of green campus coverage. I provided choice excerpts from an assortment of posts.

Vermont Academy Commits to Carbon Footprint Reduction
Vermont Academy students are working to raise $40,000 to install a wind turbine on campus. The turbine would generate a portion of the school’s electrical needs reducing the demand for conventionally generated grid power (coal, gas, and nuclear).

Emotion Trumps Reason in Student Effort to Conserve: Brooks School Students Use TellEmotion
In the ever present battle to stay aware-of and curb personal consumption, appealing to emotion may turn out to be a better motivator than our sense of reason. Students at Brooks School (Andover, MA) have turned toTellEmotion to help them stay on top of personal consumption and conservation.

In simplest terms, TellEmotion connects the well being of a cartoon bear to students’ consumption levels. During low energy consumption, the bear is happy and its well-being positive; during high energy consumption, the bear’s well being and demeanor turn negative. Then animated graphs and visuals keep students aware of their energy consumption as it happens making users continually aware of the consequences of their actions.

Western Independent Schools Meet and Explore Green Campus Ideas and Initiatives
Faculty and students from 15 school convened for a day-long conference exploring the successes and future of campus environmental initiatives and policies. Participants explored and shared ideas on how to reduce each school’s and each individual’s environmental impact- realizing that, sometimes, reducing consumption and creating changes requires discomfort.

Kimball Union Academy’s Conservation Featured on WCAX
As part of Green Cup Challenge, KUA students and faculty are working to raise the community’s environmental and energy consciousness. Students & faculty are reducing personal as well as school-wide environmental consumption- from turning your own lights and appliances off when not needed- to reducing water consumption- to leaving the dining hall lights off when the windows light the room just fine.

Proctor Academy’s Environmental Commitment Becomes Reality
With Peabody House, Proctor Academy’s new dormitory for 16 students and two faculty apartments, the school brings to life and ties together a history and growing commitment of stewardship to resources and the environment.

…Proctor brings a system of responsible efficiencies to bear on community living. Peabody Hall will benefit from superior insulation, geothermal heating and cooling, electronic window management and boilers that can consume both oil and wood chips.

Hillside School’s New Academic and Health Center Features Green Technology
Hillside School joins a growing roster of schools incorporating energy efficient green technology into their newest generation of buildings. The common thread among these schools is a growing dedication to environmental responsibility and stewardship.

Hillside’s Academic and Health Center features “specially tinted glass to better manage solar heating throughout the building; the implementation of recycled materials in the center’s flooring, ceiling tiles, window blinds and acoustic tiles; and the use of environmentally sound materials in the manufacture of classrooms, student desk and chairs and lab stools.”

The building achieves even greater efficiency by using a geothermal energy system that pumps cool water, stored in wells below ground, throughout the building’s piping system. Additionally “green roof” technology allows for growing grasses and other greenery on the roof, which can further reduce heating and cooling needs.

Trinity-Pawling School: A Year of Creative Dining
… Trinity-Pawling School’s Scully Hall will also be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) compliant.

Scully Hall – A Video Tour: