For the past few decades our global community has seen how our climate is slowing changing. Pictures have shown the many different regions that have witnessed a decrease in the amount of snowfall over the years and the amount of glacial landscapes also has noticeably decreased. Eban Goodstein, an economics professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., is convinced that this is something that deserves our immediate attention and will eventually become an even more threatening problem then it is today. Although not an environmental professional, he still set out to help educate himself on the issue so he could be more aware and spread this knowledge to the rest of his students.
When he returned to teach at his college, he recalled back in history when the Vietnam War and the apartheid pulled college campuses together and got their communities aware of what was going on in the world around them. Using this as guidance, he set out to try and bring his college community together to put climate change front and center on American campuses. He felt that it would be the college students who in the future would have to start to prevent the various climate related concerns that we are currently faced with.
Campuses around the country have already started to come together and raise awareness about what might be coming in the future. Students and teachers from around 1,500 colleges around the country meet in New York City to discuss the current climate changes that are occurring. The result of this was very positive because when the students and teachers went back to their respective schools they spread the information on to more people and eventually greatly raised awareness.
Some may deny the theory of global warming but we all know that our world is obviously not how it was back hundreds of years ago. "Young people have the moral authority, this is not about us, my generation — this is about their future and that future is now.” There are a few things that we can do here in college to make some impact in reducing carbon emissions. Some of these areas include the electricity we use in our rooms, controlling the amount of waste we produce, and the transportation we choose to use around campus (Reducing carbon emissions).
Siena College is already realizing this problem and I have noticed some of the ways that they allow us to be more earth friendly. In our rooms Siena has provided us with recycling baskets, in Saga there is an option to use cups that were made from plants, and a lot of assignments have been given through the internet to help save paper. These small things go a long way towards helping our earth and preventing climate change.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711450,00.html
1 comment:
This is article was interesting and it discussed an issue that is important to us as a planet. This article discussed climate change which is an issue that has kept people aware of its consequences. What I liked about this article was the fact that it mentioned how students on campuses were getting involved in this issue of climate change. The Economics professor did a good thing in setting up a meeting for this crisis with all those students. It just goes to show you that one person can make a big difference. It was inspiring to me as a student myself to see my fellow classmates get involved in such a serious issue.
The facts that were covered in the article about carbon emissions and using recyclable materials are both good ways in helping our environment. The plastic cups that the dining hall uses in Siena College and the plastic baskets used in the dining hall are also ways to prevent climate change and help earth. They may be just little steps but the help in the longer run in cleaning up our environment. The idea of reducing carbon emissions is important as well because if we take our bikes or walk somewhere near instead of using a car can help reduce these emissions.
Global warming and going green are the hot topics of today. Everyone is aware of these issues and are taking little to big steps in helping our environment. Recycling, reducing carbon emissions, reducing the amount of waste we use all can help. Even celebrities are aware of these issues and are also helping out.
The animals are all affected by the climate change. The picture of the polar bears in this article are seen suffering because of the melting of the glaciers and the global warming of these areas are affecting their homes. The oceans and our bodies of water are also affected because of our waste being thrown into these waters and the factories throwing their waste in their habitat. These waste materials begin to collect in their homes in the water and it kills them. This article is good example of how students can make a difference to the environment and how much they care about reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Post a Comment