Another Earth Day has come and gone, but environmental stewardship is a year-round proposition for these three students.

Megan Roth, a creative writing M.F.A. student in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the eco-friendly author of The Green Guide to Daily Living: The Carbon-Neutral, Planet-Friendly Guide to Living in Harmony (Cliff Road Books, 2009). Recognizing that environmental responsibility can seem daunting, the first-time author’s easily digestible, resource-packed tome breaks it all down—from animal testing and eco-friendly architecture to solar panels and low-impact weddings. “I learned not only about green living by writing this book,” Roth notes. “I also learned so much about what makes a good book that reaches a wide audience in a creative and accessible way.”

One of 11 chosen for Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s 2008-09 Gubernatorial Fellows Program, interdisciplinary Ph.D. candidate Jessica Bolson explored the public sector at the Department of Environmental Protection. The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science student conducted research that will help shape state policies on climate change and water management. Her final report to DEP Secretary Michael Sole and Water Management District executive directors details connections between water and climate change in Florida and makes recommendations. Bolson, a New Yorker with degrees from Barnard College and New York and Columbia Universities, met regularly with high-level state officials.

“Governor Crist and the current administration are definitely prioritizing climate and water. The general sentiment is that both of these will be major challenges.”

Green U liaison Ian McKeown’s passion for outdoor recreation first sparked his concern for the environment. He has since proved a formidable eco-advocate.

“I have trouble watching the opportunities nature provides taken away,” says the avid kiteboarder, surfer, and snowboarder. “It puts me in a position of wanting to preserve those opportunities.”

As an undergraduate ecosystem science and policy and economics double-major, McKeown, A.B. ’07, started a Green U student roundtable and interned in UM’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety. While a master’s degree candidate in the College of Engineering, last August he was hired as the office’s new sustainability coordinator, which involves building University-wide awareness and connections for UM’s Green U initiative, established in 2005. It also includes the monumental task of measuring the University’s greenhouse gas emissions from 2002 to 2007. McKeown’s 55-page report, released in January, was part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, signed by President Donna E. Shalala in 2007. He says the data sets a benchmark from which UM can gauge—and reduce—its carbon footprint over time.