Letters & Opinion
Green Beat
Contributer
What does it mean to live sustainably? This is a difficult question to answer, especially in today’s climate. Sustainability refers to “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” according to an online dictionary.
However, words such as “eco-friendly”, “green” and “sustainable” are thrown around rather loosely. Similar to “all-natural,” these words seem to be losing their meaning. For many Americans these words have become irritating, off-putting and bothersome due to the incessant barrage by political and marketing campaigns.
For better or worse, it is now trendy to be green. One can purchase a “live green” t-shirt from a local department store that was really manufactured in a sweat shop somewhere in Cambodia, then shipped thousands of miles to find its way to some local clearance rack. Simply put, this is completely antithetical to the meaning of eco-friendly or sustainable. So how is this relevant to life on campus?
The University of Wisconsin –Stevens Point has a long-standing tradition of natural resource studies and has taken pride in the implementation of environmentally friendly programs. In 2006, Governor Doyle enrolled UWSP in a pilot energy independence project with the target goal of making the campus completely energy independent.
Similarly, former Chancellor Linda Bunnell signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Change Commitment. The commitment aims to eliminate all campus-related emissions. This led to the creation of the Sustainability Task Force which is comprised of students, faculty and staff. It is the aim of the task force to fulfill the requirements of the ACUPCC, thereby creating a carbon neutral campus. In short, the goal is assist UWSP in becoming a more sustainable campus.
The Green Beat is a column that will be featured in the Pointer semi-monthly. The goal of this section is to reveal what our campus has been doing to achieve and promote sustainable life on campus and throughout the community. The section aims to keep students updated and informed about sustainable issues and to further define what it means to live sustainably. Stay tuned; there are plenty of articles to come.
Are there sustainability issues that are important to you? E-mail your Student Sustainability Coordinators Harley Altenburg at halte954@uwsp.edu or Katie Stenz at ksten22@uwsp.edu. For more information about sustainability at UWSP, visit www.uwsp.edu/sustainability
