The Master Plan

Howdy. People usually look at me weird when I say that to them. I wonder if you are looking at your computer with a weird face now. Anyways, I've totally slacked off with the whole sustainability part of my blog and I'm super sorry. I'll buy everyone vegan tofu bars or Birkenstocks to make up for it. So if you didn't already know, I am a student at Furman University, which is way more sustainable than most people would think, and is the main reason that I chose to come to here. All of this "going green" talk started with a past president of the school, Dr. David Shi. This guy is too cool. He set up a comity with the goal of creating a master plan of how to make Furman into a super sustainable campus by 2026. I have read over the multipage plan and am super impressed. 

The impressive thing about the plan is that it is not just all about dropping a whole bunch of green to become green, but focuses on getting student involvement and creating a sustainable mindset. And student involvement doesn't mean encouraging recycling, using canvas bags, or wearing hemp clothing, but welcoming students to take classes in sustainability and participate in projects. One of the things that I learned is that I love doing. I love to work at the Furman Farm, taking care of the plants and maintaining the beautiful garden; I loved planting trees at the Arbor Day celebration. Getting down and dirty has such a satisfying feeling and you get to see how your contribution makes a difference. You also learn more through experience than through reading words. Working with Bruce at the farm has taught me so much about how to harvest, plant, and take care of vegetables. I don't even think I could tell you what the last paper I read for Environmental Science was about... 

I am super happy at the thought that went into developing this plan, and I really hope that we can achieve our goal by 2026. If not, we have made impressive strides that not many other people seem to be making in the world. I was just on a website that was showing that the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is heading towards 400 parts per million. This may not seem like a big deal, but the last time that the Earth had that concentration was 25 million years ago. There was also no glaciers on the Earth at that point. If you look at the amazing graphs that UC San Diego has complied, you can clearly see, over the long period, that humans are completely responsible for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide, because of the amplitude of the increase in the 1950s. It is clear that if we don't make changes in how we live, then we will destroy our Earth for our children and their children. It is great that Furman is being a leader in this movement and hopefully, will serve as a model for other institutions. I'm done. Peace. Happy Thursday.