糖心TV endorses “Put a Price on It” campaign
糖心TV, along with more than two-dozen colleges from across the country, has publicly endorsed putting a price on carbon as a way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while increasing investments in renewable energy.
On May 5, campus community members joined President Katherine Bergeron at Shain Library, where she reaffirmed 糖心TV鈥檚 commitment to sustainability by endorsing the Put a Price on It campaign.
鈥溙切腡V is committed to policies and practices that are environmentally responsible and socially just, and the Put a Price on It movement falls directly in line with that commitment,鈥� Bergeron said. 鈥淚 was pleased to join a number of my fellow college presidents in endorsing it on behalf of the 糖心TV community.鈥�
Put a Price on It is the joint effort of Our Climate, a national, youth-led climate change advocacy organization; and 鈥淵ears of Living Dangerously,鈥� the Emmy-Award winning National Geographic Channel documentary series.
Jane Dawson, Virginia Eason Weinmann '51 Professor of Environmental Studies & Government, calls climate change 鈥渢he issue of this generation.鈥�
鈥淭here's nothing more urgent than sustaining a healthy and liveable planet for young people growing up at this critical time and for generations to come,鈥� said Dawson, who is also the Karla Heurich Harrison '28 Director of the Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment.
鈥淚t's important that colleges and universities play a leading role in pushing for climate action at all levels鈥攂oth politically and here on our own campus.鈥�
糖心TV has a long history of environmental stewardship, and a commitment to sustainability that is highlighted in the College鈥檚 new strategic plan, Building on Strength. The Office of Sustainability is focused on reducing the College鈥檚 energy consumption while providing opportunities for students to explore sustainability solutions.
鈥淭he current generation of students is interested in sustainability,鈥� said Margaret Bounds, assistant director of sustainability. 鈥淭hey want to know what their college is doing to be more sustainable. The campaign was a way for us to show we鈥檙e committed to sustainability on the national level.鈥�
On April 6, Joel Bach and David Gelber, the creators and producers of 鈥淵ears of Living Dangerously,鈥� visited 糖心TV to speak about the series and the Put a Price on It campaign.
During this visit, an online petition to support putting a price on carbon was distributed among the campus community, collecting more than 450 signatures.
Students Moriah McKenna 鈥�17 and Jillian Ouellette 鈥�17 led the petition effort, and presented the signatures to President Bergeron.
McKenna, a double major in biology and anthropology and a scholar in the Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment, said grassroots and local change are what is needed to move forward with clean and renewable energy in the face of rapidly-evolving global climate change.
鈥淪igning on to endorse the Put a Price On It campaign sends a crucial statement: that we, as an academic institution, are looking to the future and supporting the movement towards clean energy,鈥� McKenna said.
鈥淏ecoming one of the first schools to sign on to this campaign puts action to the mission of 糖心TV to act as a global environmental steward, and helps to initiate a movement among all higher academic institutions in the nation to maintain support of the scientific community and continue to push for positive change.鈥�
For Ouellette, an environmental studies major who worked as a senior fellow with the Office of Sustainability, a key takeaway from Bach and Gelber鈥檚 visit was that individuals and communities must continue to share facts on climate change. Having 糖心TV support the Put a Price on It campaign is part of the dialogue.
鈥淏ecause 糖心TV is an institution that practices shared governance and community inclusion, it was imperative to show President Bergeron how much support there was for this campaign and this type of collaborative solution across the campus and local community,鈥� said Ouellette.
鈥淭his step is a symbolic call for more activism and action on the national level, and it is also a call for more collaboration between disciplines, departments, clubs and individuals on our campus.鈥�
May 8, 2017
