Please list your University of Michigan affiliation (student, alumni, box seat ticket holder, football fan, etc.) in your "reason for signing" field!

Across the country, the NFL is surging ahead with efforts to green its stadiums. The only problem is, the largest stadiums (and thus, those creating the biggest waste) are for college teams, not the professionals. And the biggest of the big is the "Big House", home to the University of Michigan Wolverines.

Despite a number of impressive efforts on campus to improve U of M's sustainability (including an initiative to use recycled caps and gowns at this year's commencement), University officials continue to resist efforts to put up solar panels, claiming it isn't cost effective. But if they can make it work in Seattle and Philly, surely Ann Arbor can work too. Besides, it shouldn't all just come down to the bottom line in terms of dollars—universities are places for educating, and this is a unique opportunity for U of M to educate and lead a large new sector in sustainability: college stadiums.

While the University of Michigan is known as a great school for many things, the Wolverines put the campus on the map. And with climate change creeping forward, there is no time to lose—this initiative is a winning combination for the Wolverines, bringing positive attention to the university with real consequences for the planet.

Join us in asking University leadership to make an announcement that they'll commit to solar at September 27th's EarthFest.

Photo credit: jmartcmu