Do you feel inspired? Or, maybe you’re not the type to feel inspired, but you have hope. And not long ago, you placed your hope in Hopenhagen.
Maybe like me, you declined to join the Facebook group declaring your allegiance with the environment, but you can remember back to last semester, before the crisis in Haiti, when the world gathered its breath as delegates and dignitaries descended on Copenhagen, Denmark for a momentous summit on climate change! If that’s the case, you might also remember that the summit was, well, a bit of a dud on the high expectations scale of environmental change and progress. Sure, some progress was made, but we probably learned most clearly that the problems being tackled at the summit are pretty sticky, and it might take more than a little inspiration and hope to go green and save the planet.
So then, should we, as conscientious, biased participants in our community take an interest in the benefits and risks of going—or not going—green? Oh, and what is “green” anyway?
The questions may be simple to ask, but as we recently saw, they are not so simply answered. Not only are there many forces pulling our opinions in different directions, there are many issues that all fall under this green umbrella. We’re talking about resources like water and trees. We’re talking about energy, from getting it, to using it, to what happens after. We’re talking behavior: how long was your shower this morning? And your commute?
Then, what we’re talking about gets complicated by the context and direction from which we approach. Are we a government responsible for setting regulation, or bartering a treaty? Are we a business marketing ourselves to customers, or profiting from a natural resource? Or perhaps we’re a special interest group bent on saving the Amazon.
So, what’s the world to do? The country? Our state? Never mind all that, what are we going to do, here on campus, at Duke University, home of the Blue Devils. How are we going green?
This is an interesting time to be asking that question. Because, it turns out, we are doing a lot. Or, are we?
Let’s consider the following:
At the Board of Trustees meeting in October, the Climate Action Plan, or CAP, was approved by the Board. In sum, the CAP aims to have the University campus, not including the Medical Center, reach climate neutrality by 2024. The plan is broad in scope, touching on areas of energy, transportation, offsets, education and communication. The full plan is available for review on Duke’s Sustainability Web site.
Oh, and we have an Office of Sustainability. That office houses two full-time employees, but don’t let that small number fool you—there are more green staff on campus. For instance, the University has a small, dedicated recycling staff. There are also volunteers from the faculty, staff and students, who gather to discuss and recommend policy changes.
There are also numerous student groups on campus who are dedicated to green and sustainable issues. Some of these groups are brand new, like the Student Environment Sustainability Committee; some have been around a while, like the undergraduate Environmental Alliance and the graduate Duke University Greening Initiative. Through these and other groups, students run recycling programs, composting programs, garden programs, energy audits, dorm wars… the list goes on and on.
So it would seem we’re doing great things, that progress is being made. But are we doing enough? Are we doing the right things? How do we, as a community, feel about any changes in lifestyle, or the compromises we might be asked to make in the future to achieve the goals of being green and sustainable and climate neutral?
There are more of those pesky questions, and they are the reason I have set out on this journey that is a column. Over the course of the semester, I aim to explore the process of bringing our beloved and complex institution toward a sustainable future.
Duke will face some issues; let’s talk about them. We’ll have to make choices; let’s discuss. Programs will be started, and some will end. Duke will spend some money, and ideally save some too.
Throughout the process, we’ll also learn valuable lessons. Hopefully we will share what we learn with others, because we also have a lot to learn from our neighbors and peers.
I hope you feel inspired, but if not, stick around, and together we’ll find some answers and understanding of what it means to be a Blue Devil in the green age.
Liz Bloomhardt is a third-year graduate student in mechanical engineering. Her column runs every other Thursday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.