Big Ideas for Sustainability

The U.S. consumes 20 billion gallons of jet fuel each year. But before long, your next commercial flight may be powered by sustainable aviation fuel created from logging residue, thanks to WSU.

Climate change, renewable energy, and clean technologies are among the most urgent challenges facing the planet. In fact, many of society’s most compelling issues stem from the conflict between lifestyles and finite, fragile resources. With historic expertise in plant sciences, power, and applied sciences and engineering, WSU’s researchers understand that energy and the environment require interdisciplinary solutions. By making sustainability a reality, we will find ways to meet current resource needs without compromising future generations.

Private investments during The Campaign for WSU fueled a variety of interdisciplinary research efforts to develop a variety of renewable, environmentally friendly energy systems that span the supply chain in the emerging biofuels industry. Private support transformed WSU’s sustainable and organic agriculture research farm into one of the largest at a university campus in the nation. Private support created opportunities for faculty and students to study the Northwest’s water systems to develop innovative ways to more efficiently manage this finite resource. The list goes on and on.

Creating opportunities to solve sustainability challenges for our state will embolden opportunities to do the same around the world. That’s a very big idea indeed.