Sustainability is a word on everyone’s lips these days. How do we solve the impending climate crisis? The magnitude of the situation has allowed many to cynically shrug off the situation as an inevitable outcome, while striking an impossible fear in the hearts of many more young people whose futures are on the line. It is difficult not to feel hopeless in these dire times.
However, we should not give into despair quite yet. Millions around the world are taking action in climate marches, refocusing the aims of their activism to systemic roots, rather than individual choice, and fighting for a Green New Deal. The fight is not only remote, but an active part of our community. On our very own campus, activists and some members of the ETSU administration are joined in the effort to tackle climate change. Though students may not know it, a portion of our tuition is a part of the fight against climate change, in the form of a sustainability fee.
Climate catastrophe is on the horizon. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has given us a mere ten years to take bold action against climate change until its effects are irreversible. We do not have time to waste. Though a sustainability fee may seem like a pest in the short term, it allows us to begin to take steps toward completing those goals.
ETSU must take action before it is too late. We need a Campus Green New Deal to commit to decarbonize campus, an investment in green energy and other bold initiatives to meet this looming threat with the urgency and vision it so desperately calls for. The little slice of heaven we call our Appalachian home is among the most beautiful places on the planet, and it is our job to protect it while we have the chance.
