Wednesday’s meeting provided an update on the action that has occurred so far and opportunities for involvement.
Lee Ball, Chief Sustainability Officer, spoke about the Office of Sustainability and the revitalization of the Sustainability Council, which was developed to coordinate work for campus sustainability. The Office of Sustainability is a great source of information and offers opportunities to get involved in the institutional side of change-making and to learn from those that have been working towards these changes for many years. More information at sustain.appstate.edu. Especially notable for our work, Dr. Ball said “we do this work every day… and we want to be pushed.”
Dustin Hicks and Sydney Blume presented a proposal for a movement organizational structure, the Climate Action Organization Tree. The Tree is designed to maintain cohesion within our diverse network, support the continual exchange of ideas, and keep action focused on the issues that matter most to the community. Perhaps most importantly, it ensures that decisions are made deliberately and democratically, with careful attention to strategy and ethics. Everyone has a place in this movement, and the Tree helps maintain engagement to keep the movement moving. We hope you’ll review the description and consider whether you want to be involved as a movement-keeper, an action team member, or a member of the general assembly and occasional volunteer. All of this work is essential!
Rick Rheingans presented on the current carbon emissions reports and existing carbon neutrality plans. The bottom line is that--although some sectors of the university’s carbon impact are on track to meet our current (and insufficient) 2050 carbon neutrality commitment--the university as a whole is far off track. He suggested that new proposals draw from these data to be most effective.
Valerie Wieskamp, Antonio Reid, and Nathan Teeters represented the Carbon Neutrality Team in proposing a draft commitment for Appalachian to aim for carbon neutrality by 2025. You can see the full text here. Note that this format (a long list of “whereases” followed by some “resolveds”) is awkward but typical of policy proposals. Basically: it’s putting the justification first (“because x and y and z”) and then following with the suggested action (“we should do 1 and 2 and 3”).
Rachel Milkereit represented the Connections Team (formerly called Outreach) and shared their goals to build relationships and facilitate connections with people, organizations, and other groups throughout the community to create an inclusive and aware movement based upon authentic community-building. They are creating a database of existing organizations, community groups, and resources as well as identifying how the community will be vulnerable to climate change. Help them build community connections by sharing your insights here.
Susan Reed and Jacqui Ignatova represented the Curriculum Team and shared proposals to incorporate a climate change designator in the General Education requirements and generally expand courses and faculty trainings on issues relevant to climate change resilience. Please join this team if you have more ideas to add regarding curricular innovation for climate change.
In discussion, people offered possible avenues for action related to the UPPC Strategic Plan and the new QEP, discussed issues of funding, energy use, and efficiency, and offered encouragement to make change transformative and energizing, drawing from the Leap Manifesto and the “New Green Deal”.
It takes you to make the movement move.
Please fill out this form to offer your involvement in the movement as a member of the general assembly, a part of an action team (existing or to-be-created), or a movement keeper. For a reminder on how these roles might interact, refer back to the Climate Action Organization Tree.
Reminder: this is our movement. The only limitation to the action we take is our collective imagination. Have an idea for new action? Offer the idea in the involvement form and the movement keepers will help assemble a team.