Recently, I had to click a button pledging that I would not illegally download files off the Internet in order to protect intellectual property rights. I agree that intellectual property is a serious issue, and I understand that by not having students sign such a pledge, Wesleyan could face serious legal consequences. But why is the University having me sign a pledge to make sure Kanye West gets his royalties before having me sign a pledge to live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle on campus? I understand that the two are completely unrelated, but I see this as a matter of shortsighted and irresponsible prioritization.
Wesleyan has taken some steps to be more environmentally friendly, and as the environmental movement gains momentum worldwide, the Wesleyan administration is beginning to see the value in at least nominally subscribing to environmentally conscious practices. But it seems like no one realizes that small steps at this point are simply not good enough.
The world is on the verge of changing drastically. The Arctic has already begun to melt, food and water shortages are sweeping Asia and Africa, Pacific islands are beginning to submerge, and storms are becoming more frequent and intense. One-third of the world’s population currently resides in lands threatened by desertification. Areas with droughts, floods, and famines will create environmental refugees, and the more unstable areas of the world—which will also be most affected by climate change—will no doubt become plagued by war.
Yet, in the United States, climate change has somehow been deemed a political issue. Despite an indisputable scientific consensus and a comprehensive—not to mention frightening—report published this year by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), our country still views this crisis as a debate, largely because the economics associated with it are generally unfavorable in the short term.
Wesleyan, being the liberal, socially-conscious school that we are, has sadly subscribed to this notion that we should do what is easy from a fiscal standpoint, but nothing more. I’ve heard President Roth and other Wesleyan staff members throw around the term “low-hanging fruit,” in reference to the easy tasks that save us money and help the environment. These are no-brainers; of course we should be undertaking them, but what about everything else?
Why isn’t Wesleyan using solar panels? Why don’t all of our printers use recycled paper? Why are we still using gas-powered lawn mowers? Why do we import so much of our food from so far away? Why don’t all of our construction projects qualify for the highest possible Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification? Why don’t we look at the carbon footprint and energy efficiency of all of the products that Wesleyan purchases?
The problems that our world faces truly transcend the desire to leave our endowment untouched. In the classroom, we learn about disease, disasters, refugees, and wars, yet in practice we are doing almost nothing to prevent them. We need to rethink everything in our lives on a personal level, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat to the cars we drive. But Wesleyan, as an institution of higher learning, must also make a huge fundamental change. We need to prioritize sustainable practices on campus, to make sustainability one of the first things that all staff members think about while they do their job. We need to change our academic curriculum to reflect the changing times and make students think about these issues to the extent to which it is our responsibility.
If the University doesn’t lead by example and take steps to substantially diminish our impact on the environment, why would students care enough to replace their bulbs with CFLs, ride bikes instead of cars, or recycle? We can no longer take the approach that the U.S. is taking (namely, if China doesn’t do it, why should we?). That’s not how climate change works. We have to do everything we can to address these issues as quickly as possible (and the word “possible” has a much broader definition than the Wesleyan administration will admit.)
So I call on all Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff to pledge to consider all of your actions from an environmentally conscious standpoint, even if it means spending more money on recycled toilet paper or taking the extra ten minutes to walk across campus rather than drive. I call on the University to have all members of the Wesleyan community sign a pledge to live more sustainably prior to signing onto their electronic portfolio, at least before we have to promise not to steal music again.
Leave a Reply