What did the tree-hugging hottie say to the person in the SUV? … Turning off your engine gets my motor humming. It may be cheesy, but sustainability is certainly getting people excited here at DU. Efforts to go green on campus have become bigger and more common. From the success of our fifth Annual Earth Day Summit, held on Friday, April 25, to the fast-growing support for new campaigns like Divest, the DU community’s demands for sustainability are strengthening. To keep this movement going and continue our journey towards a campus greener than its grass, students need to become and remain involved.
Whether you are into composting, outdoor activities or education, you can find an organization, program or campaign that suits you. Since 2012, DU has had its very own Center for Sustainability, whose mission is to facilitate the collaboration of DU’s “go Green” efforts and provide a supportive home base for those involved. This central office, headed by Chad King, is responsible for the mobile bike shop that is student maintained, as well as the recent establishment of the Nagel basement bike shop. DU is a certified Bike Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists. Beyond bikes, the Center has taken personal sustainable initiatives such as constructing a “living wall” that is enabling them to grow lettuce in and for their office. There are opportunities to work for and intern with this Center, which students can learn more about by contacting chad.king@du.edu or following them on Facebook.
Some of DU’s sustainable efforts are less visible, such as the Office of Internationalization’s program to offset students’ air travel by planting trees, or Daniels College of Business’ group, Net Impact, whose mission is “raising awareness for and promotion of socially responsible and sustainable business practices.” The Graduate School of Social Work also has an organization called EcoConscious, which “aims to promote conservation and environmental justice within the social work profession and to demonstrate such principles in the classroom and community.”
More recent go green developments on DU include last year’s founding of Students for Sustainable Food (SSF), DU Vegan and Vegetarian Society (DUVVS) and Divest DU.
Through co-programing with organizations like DU Environmental Team and dedicated efforts to expand DU’s gardens, SSF has been attempting to bring more local, organic and real food to campus. According to a CNN article, a typical American meal travels about 1,500 miles to reach the dinner table. This results in about twenty percent of our country’s fossil fuel consumption being allocated to the food chain. You can contact SSF at dustudentsforsustainablefood@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.
DUVVS is also a student organization that emphasizes a dietary approach to sustainability. They have recognized the immense environmental benefit to leaving animal products out of our diets. According to Peter Singer, author, professor and well-known moral philosopher, “We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our planet—for the sake of hamburgers.” “Scientific American” highlighted the results of a 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that said “the meat in [our diets] cause more greenhouse gases … than either transportation or industry.” Meat’s not green, so DUVVS is trying to minimize our consumption. To get involved, find them on Facebook.
Lastly, Divest was founded during the initial months of our current academic year and is attempting to convince the University to reallocate its investments. As stated on their website in an open letter to Chancellor Coombe, “it is unethical for our university to invest in companies that will condemn the planet to climate disaster.” Therefore, their current campaign is surrounding the promotion of a petition to encourage DU to stop supporting companies and practices involving immense utilization of fossil fuels. They have received immense support from other organizations, and it is clear groups new and old are interested in collaborating.
The common goal is to promote sustainable living in order to prevent environmental degradation and preserve an inhabitable world for ourselves and future generations. With so many avenues for action, there is no excuse for not getting involved. And it might just land you a tree -hugging hottie.
