Middlebury College takes center stage today in an ABC News story discussing the growing movement of informed students on the issues of climate change. The article comments on Middlebury’s leadership in this area: “By 2012, the college will be “carbon neutral” — producing all of its own clean energy locally. Long known for its progressive outlook, Middlebury is now at the forefront of the student “climate change” movement.”
The news story is just in time for the Campus Climate Challenge, which is ramping up for a 5-day demonstration on January 29th through February 2nd. Student leaders and activists will speak to their campus and political leaders about taking action in their local communities against climate change.
ABC went on to aptly call this a “Civil Rights Movement” – a borrowed phrase from many movers-and-shakers in this area. Nineteen-year-old Catherine McEachern of Cornell University agrees: “We don’t just see this as environmental but about civil rights. It’s the calling of our generation. Global warming has been neglected by the previous generation, and we see it as an injustice that needs to be changed.”
For further reading, check out the article here.
I agree that global warming is much more than a purely environmental problem. I also think that by confronting this challenge, we will inevitably affect for the better many other issues, from rainforest destruction to racial discrimination. I’ve posted more on the subject at my own blog, “Lotus on Trial,” at http://lotusontrial.blogspot.com/