Eco-fashion is one of the biggest trends of the decade, and designers are offering more stylish and affordable clothing as consumer demand rises. That’s why Wake Forest’s sustainability office and eco-designer Jenny Hwa are co-hosting a fashion show of eco-chic clothing and accessories. Scheduled for April 6, Sustainable Style WSNC will be the first of its kind in the Winston-Salem area. Models will wear shirts, skirts, dresses and jewelry from more than a dozen top designers.

As colleges and universities prepare students to lead the green jobs revolution, they will take a variety of approaches to integrating sustainability into academics. One shade of green doesn’t suit every college and university, says Dedee DeLongpré Johnston, director of sustainability at Wake Forest.

For most high school students, learning happens one individual discipline at a time. But in the world outside the classroom, finding solutions to challenges requires looking across disciplines. Wake Forest is starting a summer residential program this year to help high school juniors and seniors learn that the biggest challenges in the world can only be solved by studying a variety of perspectives.

The hour is late, but there is still enough time to launch a true Green Revolution to solve the world’s greatest problems that all trace their causes to energy, said best-selling author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in a speech at Wake Forest Wednesday night.

The CEOs of one of the country’s largest utilities and one of the largest suppliers of natural gas agreed that America needs a bridge to cleaner sources of energy, but disagreed on what that bridge should be, during the opening session of Wake Forest’s energy conference on Wednesday.

Wake Forest University is bringing together business leaders, leading researchers, entrepreneurs and scholars for a two-day conference to address America’s growing energy problem and to lay the groundwork for solutions. Columnist and best-selling author Thomas Friedman will deliver the conference’s keynote address.

A new car-sharing program, Zipcar, is now available for students and others to decrease the need for privately-owned cars on campus.

Last year, Wake Forest students used nearly a quarter of a million polystyrene, clamshell containers for carry-out food from campus dining rooms — about 7,000 containers per week. Containers made from polystyrene foam, more commonly known as Styrofoam, aren’t recyclable in the Winston-Salem area.

Sustainability director Dedee DeLongpré Johnston received a gift for the campus just in time for the holidays: the newest-model solar-electric hybrid shuttle that will begin serving the campus in 2010.

It was Bing Crosby who immortalized a white Christmas in his 1942 hit single, but these days more and more eco-conscious consumers are dreaming of a green Christmas instead. If you’re looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint this holiday season, consider these tips from Director of Sustainability Dedee DeLongpré Johnston.