Greta Thunberg is a badass. This fact is undeniable.
The 16 year old climate activist from Sweden is raising awareness about the incredible dangers of climate change and the increasing urgency brought on by a lack of action. Her influential movement, School Strike for Climate, started in August of 2018 when she was 15. Thunberg spent every Friday protesting outside of the Swedish Parliament, which became known as: “Fridays for the Future.” We at Skidmore may not be this internationally influential, but we can take steps towards being more environmentally sustainable.
Since August of 2018, Thunberg has gained international attention for her activism and has been an inspiration for students all over the world. However, it is also important to recognize other activists, especially minority activists. Activists such as Autumn Peltier, a 15 year old from the Wiikwemkoong First Nation has been advocating for clean water access since she was eight. She is only one among many being left out of the conversation.
Thunberg questions whether enough is being done to limit the effects of climate change. While this seems like a huge task to undertake, Levi Rogers, the Director of Sustainability Programs and Assessment on campus, focuses on finding out what Skidmore is doing and what can be done to be more environmentally conscious.
A plan that might be unknown to most students is Skidmore’s Campus Sustainability Plan, which sets goals concerning our energy use, food, waste, use of lands and grounds, and engagement.
This plan has been a focus for the last few years, injecting more renewable energy into the campus as a whole and lowering our environmental impact through sustainable dining.
According to the 2017- 2018 annual report, 40% of our electricity is from renewable sources, 10% of our food meets sustainable food criteria, and 34% of our waste in routine operations is diverted from landfills. These impressive numbers are just the start for Skidmore, as each area has an even higher percentage of sustainability they plan to meet.
When it comes to the food eaten in D-hall, Spa, or Burgess, there is a conscious effort to have low impact dining — which means lower the impact that Skidmore dining services has on the environment. This includes Low Impact Wednesdays where once a week the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner contains 60% less meat and takes advantage of local farmers and food sources.
Sustainable dining is not just eating a plant based diet — rather, it includes many different and complicated aspects. Sustainable food options can include buying local, which supports community economic development and helps to protect small farmers.
However, this can be expensive and isn’t an option available to all students. An alternative option for sustainable dining is buying from sources who have fair business models and are not treating workers or animals in an unjust manner.
One of the most crucial parts of sustainability on campus is the students. Rogers highlighted the importance of students and credited them with being the driving force to hold our institutions accountable. He explained his role on campus as being to help students integrate sustainability into the fabric of Skidmore with guidance on best practice and making sure informed choices are being made about what is possible with the resources Skidmore has.
For a small school, we have a strong sustainability program. In the Sustainability Office there are 15 paid student positions, which Rogers explained is a high number for a school of our size. The students at the Sustainability Office help run Bikemore, the bike share program on campus, and our community garden – two important sustainability initiatives on campus.
As students, we have to consider and learn how to be more environmentally conscious in our everyday lives so that we can take these practices beyond Skidmore.
We can’t all be Greta Thunberg traveling across the Atlantic Ocean on a zero emission yacht, but we all can integrate sustainability into our everyday lives. But even small changes can incrementally help, and so visit the Sustainability at Skidmore website or follow @sustainableskidmore on Instagram to learn about how to work towards saving our planet.
Some easy ways to be more sustainable are unplugging computers, chargers, lights, and turning off power strips when you aren’t using them. Walk or ride a bike into town instead of driving, you can even sign up for Bikemore! Or bring a reusable cup to burgess for a discount. These simple changes aren’t too hard and could even help save the planet. Will you do it?