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Wayland explains how the market demand began for higher fuel economy standards and consumers' request for better mileage per gallon. "The technology out right now will really help improve the fuel economy," says Wayland. "Companies just need to keep putting that technology into their vehicles."

"Biodiversity is all around us," says Landis. "It's not just this squishy term, but it's something that people really obtain value from everyday." Landis goes on to say that the important factor is looking into urban environments and agriculture.

The Michigan legislature apparently took exception to a major 2010 Michigan Supreme Court decision regarding when local units of government could restrict the extraction of minerals on private property using zoning restrictions. The legislature turned back the hands of tie and reinstated the previous standard that was 80 years in the making.

"If we want to make tourism one of leading economic drivers then we need to have a clean water policy involved and we need to have common-sense environmental regulations that strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development."

The Obama Administration is under pressure to back off of many of its environmental initiaves, and it seems that the efforts of the regulated community are paying off. It has most recently just retreated on the issuance of a new ozone rule under the Clean Air Act. Future regulatory endeavors may likely involve more involvement by the regulated community in developing regulations.

Frank says there are many ways to maintain a healthy lawn without spending extra cash or harming the environment. "Maintaining a healthy lawn is easier than people think," says Frank. "Leaving your clippings in place is just one of the ways to ensure green growth. It's free fertilizer; return those nutrients to the soil.

"I'm just amazed by the level of knowledge and enthusiasm of our student population," says Alexander. "My office wouldn't even exist if it hadn't been for a student drive to President Coleman to implement a centralized place for sustainability on campus."

"With the scale of our education program here, we are focusing on embedding sustainable concepts beyond our curriculum. We want to bring 10,000 new students each year into the fold of sustainable living," says Scavia.

"We need a uniform standard of best practices throughout the Great Lakes region to ensure that protecting our water is consistent from state to state."

"Throughout the course of human history we've had three revolutions: agricultural, industrial, technological and the inevitable fourth one will be the sustainability revolution," says Kozlowski. "It's just a matter of time and we need to make it happen if we want to survive on this planet.