One of the most interesting things about the recent economic downturn is how it has left almost no sector of the economy unscathed. Other than perhaps collection and reposession agencies, everyone from lofty wall street financiers to average American homeowners have found themselves bogged down in the current recession.

Even the lofty towers of academia, once described as "hedge funds with non-profit status", are feeling the pinch. But because of their unique structure, and motivated, climate-aware populations, colleges and universities are in a unique position to test new climate- and money-saving approaches, and provide leadership to both the private and public sector in adjusting to new environmental and economic realities.

Even in the face of a financial crisis which many have blamed on the excesses of deregulation, the ability of free enterprise to rapidly adjust to the changing market situation is still the best bet to lead us out of this down economy.

However, because corporations are still ultimately accountable to their shareholders, many executives may initially shy away from bold action such as investing in initially unprofitable clean energy projects, or self-imposing company carbon caps. In addressing sustainability, job security will likely motivate many CEOs to stick to conservative strategies and minimize short-term loses.

But with large universities drawing tremendous income from alumni donations, federal and private grants, innovative, if unprofitable moves often pay massive returns in news exposure and presteige, leading to increased long-term financial stability.

Though the prize purses at the DARPA Urban Challenge or the North American Solar Challenge don't come anywhere near recouping the investments large institutions like Carnegie Mellon and MIT have made in their entries, the high-profile performances attract funding, alumni support, and high-quality students, while providing money-making patents for the institution, and technological advancement for the private sector.

The current overlap of financial and environmental woes provides an additional opportunity for institutions of higher learning to test and refine innovations in reducing greenhouse gases. With an administrative structure that is allowed essentially arbitrary rule over the campus community, measures such as climate action plans can be tested for wide-scale efficiency, while the efficacy of more specific carbon-cutters like short showers and turned-down thermostats can be measured on a smaller scale.

With university-backed studies revealing hard, real-world data differing approaches to carbon- and cost-cutting, corporations and municipalities will be able to more confidently stump for improved sustainability to their shareholders and electorate. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education is leading the way by pushing universities to incorporate sustainability.

Because of the sweeping and sometimes controversial nature of things like carbon caps and driving restrictions, solid data can make the transition to sustainability and easier and more efficient pill to swallow.