Higher education’s responsibility to address climate change
Why do we go to college? I could be wrong, but students come to learn and become educated. As an institution of higher education, Utah State has an obligation to teach us how to think logically and provide us with an education that hasn’t been sold, bought or owned by anyone. We are not here to learn professor’s biases or institutionalized fallacies. We hope to obtain a greater understanding of the world around us.
We do not live in a bubble or sealed vacuum. The world’s climate is rapidly changing due to excessive human activity. We know this to be true, and not acting upon these promptings will create global instability. No longer can universities and colleges sit idly by within their silos and let the world keep the mentality of business as usual. Faculty, students and staff must stand together and speak the truth even if it’s not convenient to do. As individuals blessed with the opportunity to go to college, we have the responsibility to share our knowledge and remain neutral.
With this said, I would like to talk about what I have been taught recently in my schooling. Since taking a natural resource statistics class, I have learned that with a lot of decision-making there is uncertainty and risk with every choice. In this class, we learned about the precautionary principle and its effect on decision-making. It basically implies that when catastrophic events are identified and scientific evaluation of the potential damage is not sufficiently certain, action to prevent these potentially adverse effects need to be addressed. In other words, if we don’t know the possible outcomes of a decision, we should be cautious and plan for the worst and prepare for the unknown. In addition, it is irrational to base decisions on best-case scenarios. We all know that things don’t always go the way we want or think. In nature, this happens far too often and we cannot expect nature to always be kind.
When talking about climate change, we must be vigilant and aggressive on our adaptation policies. Our president, Stan Albrecht, has committed Utah State to become carbon neutral by 2050. This is a great first step in addressing the issues at hand. Now no one knows the true damage climate change will have on our world, but it may be great and we must be careful of what we do in the future. Personally, I don’t want to be caught with my pants down around my ankles when it comes to climate change. Fossil fuels and carbon polluting energy sources must be reevaluated and all externalities accessed. Based on the evidence and research, we humans make a huge impact on the earth. Those people who will be most affected by climate change are the poor and less fortunate among us. Many countries are on the front lines and have contributed little of the gases that produce atmospheric warming and cooling. As those privileged to gain an education, we have a moral obligation to help those who are most affected by our carbon-intensive lifestyle. We must break down the silos of education and help bring unity to this issue. Human-to-human generosity is what separates us from other species. This must lead the way in our fight against climate change.
Because climate change affects everybody, that’s the reason why everyone should care.
If you want to make a difference; Learn your ecological footprint.
— Darren is a super-senior majoring in Environmental Studies. He wishes one day to work for large businesses as their sustainability consultant. Darren strives every day to improve the status quo. For further reading on this topic check out this article. Shoot him an email if you want to talk at darren.bingham@aggiemail.usu.edu or on Twitter @darrenbusu