–Dana Monz ’18
Each year, the Office of Sustainability hosts the 13 Days of Green. This Colgate tradition marks the thirteen days leading up to Earth Day, highlighting local and global sustainability challenges and initiatives, while demonstrating ways in which individuals can create change. Notably, two events that feature students, faculty, and staff who have played a substantial role in sustainability and addressing global climate change on campus are coming up this week on Thursday, April 12th in Golden Auditorium.
For this year’s Green Summit, we are inviting the Colgate community from a variety of disciplines to sit on a student-organized panel and share their perspectives on the current and future implications of climate change. The panel will be moderated by Professor Catherine Cardelús, an associate professor of biology and environmental studies. The mission for the Green Summit is as follows:
The Green Summit aims to highlight the relationship between climate change and a diverse group of disciplines across campus, beyond the traditional environmental science perspective, to equip the Colgate Community to address the multifaceted implications of climate change. In doing so we will:
– Highlight the importance of Colgate’s carbon neutrality commitment
– Mobilize multiple stakeholders within the Colgate community
– Demonstrate how everyone fits into the fight against climate change
This year’s Green Summit aims to help people understand that regardless of who they are or where they are on campus, we are all connected to the impacts of climate change. The panel will consist of two students and two faculty members. The first panel member is Kimberly Duncan, a senior Environmental Studies and Studio Art double major. She has increasingly incorporated environmental activist themes in her artwork while at Colgate and has been an Intern for the Office of Sustainability since the summer of 2015. The second panelist is Christopher Mather, a Peace and Conflict Studies major and a Political Science minor. Chris is also the former president of the Students for Environmental Action club here on campus. The third panelist is Professor Chandra Russo, an assistant professor of Sociology, who focuses on social movements and environmental justice in relation to the issue of climate change. Lastly, Professor Richard Klotz, an assistant professor of Economics, whose work focuses on greenhouse gas emissions and climate policy. Our goal in selecting these panelists is that they will be able to help you all, the Colgate Community, address the multifaceted nature of climate change and recognize how it will impact people from all disciplines and walks of life.
To wrap up the Green Summit, the Office of Sustainability will present The Oak Awards, celebrating those who have made a significant contribution towards sustainability efforts at Colgate. The categories for the awards are: group of the year, staff member of the year, faculty member of the year, and student of the year.
The Oak Award recipients of 2017.
A complete list of all of the 13 Days of Green events can be found on the Colgate Calendar and in the Colgate Mobile App. Please make an attempt to get involved and help promote sustainability efforts around campus by developing a better understanding of how climate change will impact you.