Gabe Derita - OnEarth Magazine, from NRDC

You Are What You Throw Away

In our consumer-driven society, producing trash occurs more regularly than bowel movements for most people. We use what we need, dispose of the rest and move on with little thought. Trash is removed from our sight and our lives as quickly as possible. We do not think of trash as a reflection of ourselves, but if we are what we eat, we are even more what we throw away.
Bard College performed abysmally in the 2009 Recyclemania competition, a contest between universities to promote recycling and waste awareness where recycling rates are carefully tracked. My college managed to recycle just 23% of its solid waste, while the most efficient colleges recycled over 80%. In the wake of the competition, a small group of students from the Environmental Collective and Zero-Waste Initiative clubs decided to conduct a waste audit in one of the college’s largest dorms. If our recycling rate was so low, what were we throwing away?
For the audit, we collected trash accumulated over ...read full post

Comments (2) | April 9, 2009
Poweshift 2009 Galvanizes America's Youth

In nature, anomalies can be important in natural development. If nothing else they almost always signal a change; sometimes even a new species can emerge. National conferences are generally removed from the sphere of student activism, but Powershift 2009 is a notable exception to this rule- the high-profile anomaly in a vast network of local climate activism. Powershift brought 12,000 students and youth from across America to D.C. last weekend for three days of action focused on a clean energy future. The conference, held at the Washington Convention center, featured hundreds panels and workshops where students met with community organizers, professionals, experts, and each other to learn about a vast array of energy related issues. Topics ranged from environmental justice to campus organizing, coal mining to Copenhagen. The workshops and panels brought speakers and experts from all walks of life, including everyone from the radical Christian environmentalists in the “Stop a ...read full post

Comments (0) | March 9, 2009
Cap Vs. Tax: The Debate on Climate legislation

With a new administration months away, and a frenetically urgent sense that something big is about to happen, it is likely that bold new energy proposals will be heard in the halls of the capitol this coming year. Any improvement on the status quo should be lauded, and because of this it is easy to sweep the flaws under the rug in the rush to redecorate. We must be careful and deliberate in choosing the best way to reduce our carbon output, both environmentally and economically. To date, there have been two widely recognized and debated systemic approaches to fighting global warming. The 'cap-and-trade' system, and the carbon tax. I think we will see some variation or combination of these proposals come out of Washington in the Obama administration, and it is of critical importance that we make the right choice. Tax increases are considered legislative suicide on the hill, especially in our current economic circumstances, but when both systems are scrutinized, the carbon tax is the ...read full post

Comments (1) | December 3, 2008
350: A Global Cause Calls For Local Action

It is easy to question the real effectiveness or value of protest. A bunch of people holding signs in the cold, shouting awkward rhymes and marching seems to do little but re-enforce the stereotype of whiny liberals. Besides, the people in the passing cars are not in any position to accommodate your demands. So why bother? Why is community organizing and public protest such a crucial part of something as big as the fight on global warming? Wouldn’t it be better if we all stayed home, wrote e-mails to our representatives, and saved the gas?
No.
Without public visibility for a cause, people cannot see the energy behind it. People committed to a cause devote vast amounts of time and energy, but without a public display of those efforts, others may not realize so many are committed to an issue. There are two sides to the fight on global warming, the public and the personal. It is of critical importance that we all do our part as individuals to be conscious of our energy ...read full post

Comments (0) | November 20, 2008