Green Profile- John McCarthy, CUA College Democrats

Our final Green Profile is John McCarthy the newly elected Chairman of the CUA College Democrats.

Ryan: What first inspired you to get involved with environmental issues, and specifically with College Democrats?

John: Growing up in New Jersey, specifically around the Raritan Bayshore region, I was always sensitive to issues regarding offshore energy development including oil drilling and exploration, liquefied natural gas and the potential for renewable energy sources. First engaged as a child in an issue specifically specifically engaging my hometown in a debate over local dredging of beach sand, I saw the direct result that federal and state policy can play in environmental protection. Coming from Monmouth County New Jersey, one of the greatest agricultural producers in the state, I grown to appreciate the importance of "agri-tourism" and the contributions of local produce to the economic region.

Ryan: What role do you see college students playing in the fight to stop global climate change and promote sustainability?

John: College students have the unique opportunity to take action in a community that is typically pre-charged with the activist spirit. While other community organizers must first work to engage their community, college students are fortunate to have a (typically) willing audience to share their message. Students are already seen as leaders in their community for their scholastic commitment and local leadership, and in that sense, have the great responsibility to be stewards of a message promoting sustainable living options as well as the importance of responding to the global climate shift that we are currently undergoing. By remaining engaged in the local governance and community initiatives, College Democrats gain the ability to craft an environmental platform and action plan tailored directly to their neighborhoods.

Ryan: What is one measure college students can take to make climate change a major focus on their respective campuses?

John: Being Green is fashionable right now! Everyone is looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, while creating long-term solutions to environmental problems. Target that! Students can look around their campuses and see where the university is creating the most waste. Perhaps they are not disposing properly of toxic technological equipment. Maybe they chose to use Styrofoam in the cafeteria despite having the option towards a more reusable alternative. Do they make it difficult to use reusable water bottles and take-out containers? If so, you already have a specific problem you can target. Universities often serve as the petri dishes for initiatives later applied to municipalities. Take action, observe your results, and share with your local elected officials.

Ryan: Any other advice for aspiring environmentalists looking to get involved?

John: Environmental stewardship is counter intuitive. When we stand in front of the refrigerated section at a convenience store, rarely do we think that the entire contents of that case will be in a landfill within a week. Environmental activism is rooted in shifted lifestyles and the sharing of stories. If an individual is able to successfully share their story about how they were able to change their environmental impact and how it has benefited them and the world around them, they have succeeded. Environmental activism is founded in this exchange of ideas and the motivation for a more sustainable lifestyle.

Green Profile- Natalia Siegel, CUA Students on the Mount

One of our final Green Profiles is Natalia Siegel of Students on the Mount. CUA Students on the Mount is a new organization whose mission is to spread the word regarding Catholic Social Teaching.

Ryan: What first inspired you to get involved with environmental issues,
and specifically with Students on the Mount?

Natalia: SOTM follows the Church's call to be stewards of the earth. For us that means caring for the earth entirely and ensuring that it is of equal importance to us as the poor and vulnerable.

Ryan: What role do you see college students playing in the fight to stop
global climate change and promote sustainability?

Natalia: Students have an important role in promoting sustainability because of two main reasons: passion and the ability to mobilize. College students feel passionately about these issues because they see this as something that is important to our future and as something that must be protected. Inspired by this passion students are able to mobilize en masse in order to fix this issue. Greenpeace, Powershift 2011, local college green clubs etc. are all ways that students are getting involved in order to help the environment.

Ryan: What is one measure college students can take to make climate
change a major focus on their respective campuses?

Natalia: In order to fix climate change we must fix our bad habits. Promoting recycling as well as environmentally friendly items in bookstores allows us to start decreasing our carbon footprint. Students need to utilize their power as the fuel for the university in order to pressure the university officials to fix the levels of waste campuses produce etc.

Ryan: Do you view climate change as a social justice issue?

Natalia: Climate change is absolutely a social justice issue for two reasons. First, because we must care for the earth and keep the environment and animals healthy as we would our own families. Second, because the people who are being affected the worst by massive climate change are the poor and vulnerable. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6532323.stm)

-Ryan

Green Profile- Dan Misleh, The Catholic Climate Covenant

Ryan: What first inspired you to get involved with environmental issues, and specifically with the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change.

Dan: I would have to say that my children inspired me to become engaged in environmental issues. Specifically, my oldest son Benjamin, when he was about 10 years old, organized a group of his friends to clean up a local stream. He did this without prompting or without any suggestion on our part. When I asked him why he wanted to do this, he said because it was a mess and needed someone to clean it up. It was a simple as that: he saw environmental pollution and decided it was his responsibility to do something about it.

Like computers and video games, I think kids of his generation get environmental injustice and environmental degradation because they are exposed to it at a very early age.

As I reflected on his actions and as I learned more about climate change, I decided that I wanted to do something about this issue to help make their world, their future less dangerous.

Having worked in the Catholic Church all my life, I wanted to find a way to work on climate change within. Fortunately, the US Catholic bishops offered a roadmap for reflection and action with their 2001 statement, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good. And having worked at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for over a decade, I had the contacts in the dioceses, a good understanding of Church structures and potential to make a difference within this community of faith.

I was given the opportunity to form the Catholic Coalition and jumped at the chance.

Ryan: What role do you see college students playing in the fight to stop global climate change and promote sustainability?

Dan: The key to solving the climate crisis for everyone, including college students, is mindfulness: an awareness of the problem and a day-to-day commitment to use less energy, take care in distinguishing our wants from our needs, and finding ways to help others along this path.

In my experience college students “get” climate change. So that’s the easy part. The harder part is acting on that knowledge.

In addition, I think students are in a great position to influence the administrations of colleges and universities. For a Catholic college or university, students can help push the administration to recycle, conserve energy, cultivate open space and the like. But just as important is to urge the administration to see these activities in light of its mission as a Catholic institution which, in my view, demands that it do these things because good stewardship and being mindful of the poor (those who have contributed the least to the problem of climate change but are suffering its worst impacts) are core tenets of our faith.

Ryan: What is one measure college students can take to make climate change a major focus on their respective campuses?

Dan: I would say form or join a Catholic campus ecology club. Link this with campus ministry and with the school’s sustainability office, if it has one. As I said, I think students—especially in numbers—can have a great impact. But I hope that the ecology club isn’t formed because it’s trendy to be green but because it is a requirement of our faith and linked to the mission of what it is to be a Catholic institution.

Ryan: How can people of faith have a unique impact on environmental issues?

Dan: I think that people of faith must examine their faith’s teaching on the environment which, in all major religions, have core values that urge restraint, living within the limits of finite resources, sharing those resources, protecting those resources for use by future generations. In my experience, too many in the environmental community focus solely on plants, animals, and ecosystems and, sadly, many also believe that humans are simply in the way of a thriving planet. People of faith ought to have a different outlook and share a different message: one that says that we must be concerned about people and the planet. The issue is not human impacts on the environment, but how faithful humans are to caring for the environment and each other.

Ryan: You organization has been very effective using social networking tools such as Twitter to spread your message. What has make the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change so effective online?

Dan: It’s good to hear that you think we are effective. It seems to me that the key to social media is consistency and a daily practice of sharing messages and being engaged in the medium. Fortunately, we have a staff person who’s primary responsibility is to keep our Facebook, Twitter and other sites updated each day.

The other important reason we use social media is that it is a quick and easy way to reach more people than we otherwise would. The Coalition staff is one full-time and two part-time people. So we rely on social networking to get our messages out. We also work closely with our national Catholic partners (various Catholic organizations) to leverage their connections, constituents and programs. In this way our staff is expanded and our reach broadened.

Finally, there is so much happening in the Catholic world on this issue. From Pope Benedict to Catholic families, people and institutions are engaged. We hope to be a conduit of this good news. In many ways, it is impossible to keep up with all that is going on.

-Ryan

Green Profile- Peter Rescigno, CUA Sophomore and Chairman XVIII of the CUA College Republicans

Our most recent Green Profile is Peter Rescigno, CUA Sophomore and next year's Chairman of the CUA College Republicans. The CUA CRs are one of the largest and most active groups on campus. Peter gives us his take on the opportunities for the GOP to more fully engage environmental issues in the coming months.

Ryan: How do you think environmental issues with will fit into the 2012
GOP platform?

Peter: With the 2012 campaign right around the corner, environmental issues will be one part of the many issues that will fit into the GOP platform, Coming from a college GOP perspective, I think that there will needs to be a more private ownership focus in regards to the environmental agenda. Change in the environment starts with the people that live in and with it. There is no way government can control, through legislation, the everyday abuses of the environment that are currently occuring. One potential solution to environment decline is through market-based solutions which incentivize individuals to take responsibly for their own actions. Cap and trade or marketable permits in the areas of air pollution and water pollution will most likely be offered as key parts to the GOPs platform, however with drastic changes to the Waxman-Markey plan that failed in the Senate in 2009. It has been a long time coming and with the ever changing political atmosphere, 2012 is looking more like the year. Overall, it will be important to make it clear that conservation is conservative. Just because you are a Republican does not mean that you are against clean energy, it means you are for it in a more fiscally sound way.

Ryan: What role do you see college students playing in the fight against
climate change and the promotion of sustainability?

I think college students have already started taking action promoting sustainability. The Green Club has been very active on Catholic's campus, working diligently in the computer labs and workshops, collecting scraps and papers to be recycled. More and more students are using recycled materials and energy efficient light bulbs. Efforts on the part of college students, especially at Catholic, will continue to increase as advocacy and individuals start to change their own habits. It is a trend setting situation, as soon as one student does it, the rest follow and it becomes habitual.

Ryan: What changes could CUA implement to save money and pursue sustainability?

I think CUA is on the right track to saving money and promoting sustainability. Last year's addition of solar panels on the roof of Flather Hall shows the commitment the University has to the environment and renewable energy sources. In terms of furthering that trend, I think CUA should replace the Styrofoam to go boxes in the pryz. and replace them with recycled plastic containers. Little changes, like replacing Styrofoam, shaves years off the decay process happening in land fills across this country.

Ryan: What advice would you give to GOP voters concerned with environmental issues?

For GOP voters concerned with environmental policy, I would remind them that a fix to the environment is important and that if we do not do something soon, the environment will suffer. But it is important to remember that environment reform is not going to come in sweeping legislation reform mandated from Washington D.C. or State Houses across this country, it comes from individuals and individual responsibility. Again, changes to bad environmental policy will come small at first, but with small changes comes lasting sustainability.

-Ryan

Green Profile- Chris Cummings, Resident Assistant Reardon House

Our latest Green Profile is Chris Cummings a CUA Senior and two year Resident Assistant (RA) currently responsible for Reardon House. RAs are tasked with created programming foster the holistic development of the residents they are responsible for.

Ryan: How have you taken environmental issues into account with your
duties in Residence Life at CUA?

Chris: As a member of CUA's ResLife, I constantly and consistently encourage the residents to be ever mindful of the recycling bins and utilize them to their full potential. As an RA, environmental campaigns are not always on my level, so outside of the bins and relying on email (rather than flyers) for advertisement there is very little individual RAs can do. However, ResLife will occasionally run enviro-friendly campaigns and I do my best to support them.

Ryan: What role do you see college students playing in the fight to stop
global climate change and promote sustainability?

Chris: College students are in the unique position to donate time and energy others cannot. College students can devote plenty of time to activism. On an individual level they can of course cut down tremendously on dorm energy costs. On their campus they can form groups, petition their university, and actively participate in grassroots campaigns in their areas.

Ryan: What is one measure college students can take to make climate
change a major focus on their respective campuses?

Chris: College students can be mindful of their energy consumption. College campuses consume enormous amounts of energy, and if each student was a little more self aware of their energy usage, it could make a significant difference.

Ryan: What improvements would you like to see future Resident Assistants
make to make their residents more aware of climate change and
sustainability?

Chris: I think RAs do as much as they can to that respect. If anything the administration needs to be more receptive to RA generated ideas on the subject and more proactive in promoting/facilitating said ideas. The administration can make other departments/university information more available to RA, and allow RA and their residents to submit ideas for serious consideration.

-Ryan

Green Profile- Matt Fulton CUA Junior and Former Chairman of the D.C. Federation of College Democrats

Our next Green Profile is CUA Junior Matt Fulton. This past year Matt served as the Chairman of the D.C. Federation of College Democrats. This organization is the governing body of the D.C. chapters of the College Democrats (including the local chapter here at CUA)and has several hundred members.


Ryan: How important were environmental issues, specifically fighting
climate change and promoting sustainability, to your tenure as DC Fed
Chair?

Matt: Environmental issues and climate change were never high on the agenda during my time as Fed chair. This wasn't because I, or the Federation weren't interested in the issue, it was simply because there were bigger things on the radar like the midterms or organizational issues, etc. That being said, I think this year advocacy will take the front seat and I see no reason why an issue as important as the environment shouldn't be a major focus.

Ryan: What role do you see college students playing in the fight against
climate change?

Matt: I think college students are uniquely suited to provided positive examples of sustainability in the fight against climate change. As young people who are just making their place in the world, I think we can best serve the environment by setting an example for others to follow and being as friendly to our habitat as possible. Whether that be by taking public transport, recycling, etc depends on one's lifestyle but it should start there.

Ryan: What steps could DC college students take to make our campuses more green?

Matt: Last year there a push by the Green Club here at CUA to get solar panels installed on the roofs of some major buildings on campus like Opus. In seeking to first make a change at their own schools, college students should lobby the administration to make campus more eco-friendly if that means installing renewable energy sources or making changes in the dining hall. It starts there.

Ryan: What advice would you give to college students on both sides of the
aisle interested in getting more involved in environmental advocacy?

Matt: While there are admittedly some groups that advocate for the environment which are mostly partisan like Green Peace, some are actually quite non-bias. For many years my Congressman in NJ-3 was Jim Saxton, a Republican, who was top rated by the Sierra Club. That's an example that environmental protection is not a partisan issue. I think students could get involved with groups such as that or simply start by doing what I said earlier...living greener themselves.

-Ryan

What CUA Can Learn from Santa Clara

The National Catholic Reporter recently published an article under their Colleges and Universities section, entitled ‘Stewards of the Natural World.’ Featured in this article is Santa Clara University in California. Santa Clara is attempting to promote sustainability at their university by having programs like “Living Green in the Neighborhood.” But as the article mentions, Santa Clara hopes to start a discussion amongst Catholic universities in which the idea of sustainability is linked to the Catholic mission.

Santa Clara has developed an Office of Sustainability, which allows one office to be solely dedicated to the issue. This office provides a way for the students to understand the “three aspects of sustainability – environmental, social and economic… [and] the link between sustainability and Catholic social teaching.”

This, however, is no easy task. Therefore, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change is looking to create a ‘toolkit’ for Catholic institutions to make the process easier. Hopefully, it will give guidelines and information that will not only make the university more ‘green,’ but will also connect Catholic universities to their Catholic identity in a new, key way. A uniform process will also make dialogue between universities easier. This toolkit takes its five pillars from the St Francis Pledge; pray, learn, assess, act and advocate.

It is important for Catholic universities to not be left behind in this movement. Especially now since The Princeton Review has added a green colleges guide to their repertoire of information on colleges and universities. This makes sustainability issues another angle of competition between colleges and universities. Therefore, it would probably be a good idea if the Catholic institutions took this toolkit opportunity and led the way into a sustainable campus future.


Check out the full article here

-Dan