I can hear it now, people telling me that
The now well-known analogy of the Chinese logographs (above)
wei ji
Crisis = danger + opportunity
has been used by Al Gore for a while. His is a simplified western interpretation that is really about the moment of truth. Crisis is not so much about "opportunity" until the choices are made that will alter our lives. After we have passed the “crucial point” (the ji that is often interpreted as opportunity), THEN, we have that opportunity, but first we must accept our crisis, get past the fear, and move into the light. The crisis is about the fall of our disposable and wasteful lifestyle. We are at that crisis point at EMU, and of course, as a nation, but let’s just focus on EMU. What if we adopted environmental policies that promoted sustainability? If we accepted the "crisis" and believed in it, then the opportunity comes. We could make a name for ourselves (a positive one) of peace and profit in the maelstrom.
For example, I know there are at least a few professors who would love to pursue a more environmental education for our students, one that stresses the relationship with nature, conservation, environmental justice and of course, sustainable development. Yet, these things are barely on the table because so many are trying to hold on to what they have rather than look beyond to the near future. In the middle of our “crisis” we are creating a general education program that is based on the past and not the undeniable future. Let it go! Move into the future and take that chance of walking off a cliff, sort of like Indiana Jones going for the chalice. If "you choose wisely," if you believe. It doesn't take money, just a vision and the belief.
Some of the sustainable ideas are already time worn (if not entirely practiced) such as turn off the lights, computers etc. ideas that have been around for ages, but many more are shifts in belief and can be implemented for relatively little money. Some are:
- Establishing local food connections, which both save energy (lessen x-country travel) and supports our local economy.
- Replace incandescent fixtures with energy efficient fluorescent
- Recycle, recycle, recycle. Michigan's recycling rate is only 20%, one of the lowest in the country. And while we are at it, recycle so that it goes somewhere that it actually IS recycled.
- Create food composting program.
- Compost yard waste.
- Establish a sustainability fund grant.
- Create “student funded” programs for solar photo voltaic panels to reduce energy costs.
- Reduce toxic solvents. Buy green. Cleaning agents, outside maintenance, Use an Integrated Pest Management Program.
- Save rainwater for irrigation systems to reduce water use and runoff.
- Use land to grow biomass energy plants. Even if we can’t use it (our ancient dilapidated HVAC systems) others will be interested. Grow miscanthus or bamboo. We can also grow gardens.
- Have some vegetarian days. One does not have to go cold turkey (pun) to eat Green, but you don’t have to eat the average 200 pounds of flesh that American’s eat. I will go into the dynamics of eating meat in a future blog.
- Exercise programs (maybe even rewards to get people out there) to lower our health care costs, and our prescription intake. (I actually have seen a little of this on campus)
- Put filtering devices (inexpensive) on our drinking fountains. (Saves money on overpriced water, and the ever present disposable plastic water bottles.
- Do we use recycled water in our coatings industry projects?
- Put flow regulators in bathrooms. Use recycled paper towels.
- Use recycled paper
- Plant native plants.
- LED exit signs.
- Use energy efficient vending machines.
- A campus wide bicycle program
- A bicycle workshop to learn about and fix old bikes and give them to students.
None of these ideas are the type of costs that a new building requires (It goes without saying that our future buildings MUST be sustainable - and an excellent recycling program is to recycle those historic buildings), and can all be incorporated if people believe in the ideas and act. A few of the ideas have appeared at EMU at least briefly, but if they do exist at all today, they are not the center of our plans, but ancillary. This plan should be a major paradigm shift (ok, ok, so I am an academic) so that our focus is on the future our students will be living, and meanwhile providing for a better campus and a positive oriented now for faculty and students.
