Environmental futurists hope Southern goes green

Christopher Cornell and
James Hoffecker
Special to Southern News

Ecologist and environmental activist Aldo Leopold once said, “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” This has been the mindset behind the Environmental Futurists, who until the Fall of 2006, had been a fleeting image on the minds of Southern’s campus. The group swelled in numbers last semester and has over the past few months created a foothold in the campus that hopefully will last for years to come. The group, which consists of around twenty active members, has been pushing its main goal of creating a sustainable campus. With a sustainable campus comes 100 percent clean energy that can ,in turn, save the school money and lower harmful carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.

The Environmental Futurists are hoping that SCSU can join the growing list of campuses that have gone “green.” In Connecticut alone, Yale University, Wesleyan University, Connecticut College, University of Connecticut, as well as the other three state universities ECSU, WCSU, and CCSU participating in this effort. Mark Orlowski, founder of the Sustainability Endowments Institute, which promotes research and education for institutions of higher education was quoted in the Harvard Crimson. “Colleges for the most part have been at the forefront of environmental efforts,” Orlowski said. “Corporations have been doing a lot of good work, but it’s been universities and colleges pushing the envelope.”

Currently, the Environmental Futurists are working with Friends of Beaver Pond Park (FOBPP) to protect Beaver Pond Park adjacent to the old Student Center. The organization has been around for sometime, but last week the Environmental Futurists have gotten in contact with them.

Their goal is to bring out the park’s full potential as a nature preserve. The Environmental Futurists have also been involved in promoting recycling at Southern and holding events on Earth Week from April 30 to May 4 with speakers and activities involving various environmental issues and the impact, or Ecological Footprint, we as human beings have on the Earth. The Environmental Futurists have encouraged and promoted the use of free bicycle lockers, which in the past have had a fee of $40 a semester. The group also hosted a very successful Vegetarian Thanksgiving in November, which fed over 150 students and faculty in the Student Center.