A sheet of white snow blanketed Burlington, Vt., but inside the Hoehl Welcome Center everyone was talking about going green.
On Jan. 30, the newly formed Environmental Council held a forum in conjunction with the “focus the nation” national teach-in day. Representatives from all facets of the college, as well as the surrounding community, were present to show their support for decreasing St. Michael’s carbon footprint.
Environmental speed-dating
The sense of urgency for students, faculty and staff to act on environmental issues was enforced when political science professor Bill Grover stated that speakers had only two minutes to state their function in decreasing St. Michael’s impact on the environment.
“I feel like this is speed-dating,” said Laurie Gagne director of the Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice. “I have two minutes to impress you all.”
For an hour, concerned citizens of the St. Michael’s community shared their thoughts and actions on decreasing the carbon footprint of the college.
 |
Environmental Council member Owen Glubiak answered the audience's questions at the forum on Wednesday, Jan. 30. (Photo by Kelly Huettner) |
“The size of the teach-in reflects the sizes of the issues at hand,” said biology professor Doug Green. “Local initiatives are critical to address our impact on the environment.”
Numerous members of the community shared ways that they had already been instituting environmentally-friendly actions, some for several years. Each speaker tackled the problem from an angle that coincided with his or her field.
“As a scientist I see this as a lab. We are making a difference and learning in the process,” said biology professor Declan McCabe.
The biology department has limited its use of animals, composted all its plant waste and washed its equipment so it can be reused, associate professor of biology Valerie Banschbach said.
St. Michael’s Facilities department consumes most of the energy on campus, said Dave Cutler director of facilities.
“But we’re on board and we’ll be able to help out as much as we can,” he added.
Cutler discussed the highly-anticipated “3-degree challenge” attempt at turning down all thermostats three degrees. However, that initiative overlooks problems that the older buildings have.
With older buildings, one side could be 68 degrees and the other could be 58, Cutler says.
Cutler says Facilities has already been rolling back our thermostats.
“We cut back two degrees last year,” he said. “It was done on the sly and not a lot of people knew about it. All it did was force some people to wear a vest inside.”
Biodiesel: friend or foe?
The shuttle has also converted to using biodiesel fuel, senior Joanna Wildnauer says.
“It’s reducing our reliance on fossil fuels,” she says.
However, two recent studies published Friday Feb. 8 in Science, show that perhaps biodiesel fuel – “a biodegradable, non-toxic, clean-burning fuel made from algae, vegetable oils, animal fats, and recycled restaurant greases” - is actually harming the environment more than helping. With the creation of new fields to reap the agricultural components of biodiesel, more greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere, according to an article in the New York Times.
"Harvesting plants like sugarcane destroy land and leave less plants to absorb carbon dioxide," Banschbach says.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that U.S. acreage for crop production has not increased since 1959. Therefore, major land use changes in the United States are not expected due to biofuels, however the land-use changes across the globe are overlooked.
Banschbach, in conjunction with business professor Robert Letovsky, teaches a first-year seminar called "Solving Environmental Problems," which deals with the issue of biofuels harming the environment.
 |
"Harvesting plants like sugarcane destroy land and leave less plants to absorb carbon dioxide," says associate professor of biology Valerie Banschbach. |
Although the loss of land to sugarcane and corn production is an issue, the rise of biofuels will begin to undermine global food security, Banschbach says.
In Mexico this past year, thousands of peasants rioted in the streets of Mexico City protesting the increase in prices for corn tortilla, she says.
As American farmers begin to switch from focusing on the beef industry to corn production, prices on corn begin to soar, "resulting in higher prices for [American] consumers on a wide range of food products," she says.
According to a National Geographic article, there are other sources of biofuel, such as prairie grass and algae, but the process of turning them into fuel is too expensive.
"In plants such as prairie or switch grass, extra enzymes are needed to break down the cellular structure making the process more expensive," she says. "Those enzymes aren't required for sugarcane and corn, making the process easier and more affordable."
We’ve got the whole world in our hands
“The most important task at hand is to raise consciousness on campus,” president Jack Neuhauser said.
At the forum, Neushauser pledged to do all that he can to meet the goals of the environmental council.
Neuhauser has his own personal connection to live a green lifestyle. Both his son and brother work in the environmental science field. In attempts to decrease his carbon footprint, he drives a hybrid car, recycles, composts and mentions that if you were at his house, you would probably find it a little chilly, he says.
 |
The large turn-out at the Environmental Council forum reflects the dedication St. Michael's College has to make our campus more environmentally friendly. (Photo by Kelly Huettner) |
Maggie Mohan, a work-study student for the Environmental Council, emphasized the importance of strengthening a physical connection with the earth at St. Michael’s when she announced the creation of a community off-campus garden.
The garden, which will be located on the St. Michael’s owned land along the Winooski River, would offer volunteers the opportunity to weed and care for their own vegetables, she said.
“And when they are done, they can take whatever they need,” Mohan said.
Alliot has agreed to use the harvested vegetables as well, she says.
But to really make an impact, one must realize that environmental issues expand beyond the St. Michael’s community, Gagne says.
People in Third World countries who are suffering from drought and starvation are reaping the effects of First World nations like our own, who are over-consuming energy, she says.
“We can’t separate environmental issues from peace and justice issues,” Gagne says.