Green rules in college, literally

Todd Nelson, a Columbia sophomore, plans a double major in environmental science and history with a focus on industrialization and the rise of consumerism. He sleeps next to a worm bin where he composts food scraps.

He’s one of 13 students in Columbia’s GreenBorough dorm, where an experiment in sustainable living launched this semester is a competitive sport.

Showers are limited to five minutes (Nelson’s personal record is 1:50). A chart on the wall keeps track of offenders who forget to turn off lights and unplug appliances.

“We’re semi-paranoid about leaving on lights,” Nelson said. “We try to implement social pressure.”

The house won’t buy anything wasteful — like plastic cups — so its “off-the-grid” party two weeks ago had acoustic-only bands, flashlights, and was BYOC — Bring Your Own Cup.

Columbia’s Earth Institute, led by academic superstar (and friend-of-Bono) Jeffrey Sachs, has been at the forefront on climate change research. The university offers 23 environmental-related majors.

Next fall, the school is launching a sustainability management master’s degree.

“Students have been very active in requesting courses and degree programs,” Louise Rosen, of the Office of Research and Academic Affairs, said. “People are no longer seeing this as the tree huggers.”