Homers

GOING GREEN: Local colleges and universities are taking the lead in developing sustainability programs and becoming more environmentally conscious.

Efforts such as Coe College's energy reduction program - which aims to reduce the college's electricity use by 25 percent and its natural gas consumption by nearly half - and Kirkwood Community College's commingling program - which diverts an impressive 80 percent of the school's trash from landfills - are more than good for the planet. They also show students and other local businesses that green initiatives are practical, achievable ways to improve the bottom line.

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CLOSER TO BLUE: The Gazette Company became the 10th top community-identified worksite to join the Cedar Rapids Blue Zones Project last week.

The idea behind Blue Zones - that small, targeted communitywide changes in environment, policy and social relationships can lead to better health outcomes for all residents - relies on a broad base of community support.

Organizers say they still are looking for more citizens, restaurants and schools to take part.

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CRYSTAL CLEAR: Iowa Supreme Court Justices upheld the state's clean water standards, finding the rule-making process for the 4-year-old anti-degredation rules was not improper.

That's what the Farm Bureau and two other organizations alleged in the 2010 lawsuit decided last week. The court disagreed.

That means the rules, designed to maintain and protect high-quality waters from unnecessary pollution, will stand.