Sustainable Knowledge

Thanks to the hard work of Green Umbrella, Columbia hosted over 40 environmentally-themed events in last six days—collectively named “No Impact Week”—in celebration of Earth Week. The sheer scale of “No Impact Week” and the fact that Green Umbrella members deemed it a success embody the current progress Columbia is making towards sustainability. Yet, while as an EcoRep I am encouraged by how much environmental development Columbia has made as a whole, I remain disappointed by the intangibility and lack of lasting impact campus environmental efforts have on the general student body. Clearly the campus is making an overall movement towards sustainability. But the question is, who’s actually aware of this growth?

Don’t get me wrong and mark me off as a bitter environmentalist. As member of a student group, I know well the horrifying amounts of red tape that impede even the smallest change on campus, and as a student I know how easily one gets turned off by groups that barrage in order to garner interest. Given those barriers, it is truly impressive how much environmental progress has been made at Columbia. We have compostable dinnerware at Ferris Booth, a flyering policy and an InterPublications Alliance that reduce paper waste, a student-run organic café called “The Flying Beet,” and a new composter at Schapiro. Even non-environmental groups are becoming eco-aware, as exemplified by Sigma Nu’s Grow NYC “Stop’n’Swap.”

However, having spoken to people outside of the “green” crowd, it seems very few who weren’t already environmentally active knew “No Impact Week” was going on, despite daily emails, posters, and Bwog posts, not to mention the fact that Earth Day is a publicized global celebration. Those otherwise apathetic students that attended were likely partially drawn by the free food that events offered as incentive. To me this reveals a lack of environmental awareness and interest amongst the general student body.

This lack of environmental consciousness is manifested in a range of examples whose importance is sometimes lost in the wake of larger changes. Having a composter is fantastic—but many students don’t even know what composting is. Reducing paper waste is important—but most students don’t know how to recycle. Clearly there are overarching issues at work here. The problem is not simple, but is rather one faced by the global environmental movement: How do we boost the environmental awareness and behavioral change of the broader population? I certainly don’t have the right answer, and I’m not saying Columbia’s student groups aren’t working to solve this question. But it seems there are a few factors lacking—take “No Impact Week,” for example. While student groups were working to get our peers to the events, where was the administration?

Though pledging to make the University sustainable through infrastructure changes, Columbia higher-ups haven’t taken many steps to actively influence students towards becoming sustainable. An email, speech, or other action during “No Impact Week” by an administrator like Michele Moody-Adams could have interested students who ignored or missed advertising by acknowledging the event as part of an ongoing sustainablity initiative. Such tangible sponsorship by the administration and faculty of environmental activities on campus could, while not captivating all minds, increase awareness. Even the Office of Environmental Stewardship has barely any presence in students’ minds, working behind the scenes rather than utilizing its resources front and center to actively make environmentalism accessible. In short, what is needed is a balance between the peer-to-peer undertakings of green groups and more tangible, active influence by administrative bodies to initiate and maintain students’ awareness of Columbia sustainability. I’m far from saying this is the 100 percent effective end-all solution, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made. I’m just still looking for further answers, because a campus with students able to vote but unable to recycle strikes me as a phenomenon that affects our impact on the global community—not only as students but as citizens.

The author is a Columbia College sophomore majoring in sustainability. She is an EcoRep and an Ecopalooza organizer.