Hopkins must revisit its environmental initiative

Earth Day 2000 was the first time the University formally addressed a commitment to a greening program that would "bring an environmental ethic to the University's operations." Since then, the "Greening Initiative" has faded into the background of University operations. Despite the hard work of individuals and a loosely formed, ad hoc Greening Committee, there is no concentrated University-wide effort towards sustainability and improved environmental policies.

Sustainability -- meeting the needs of the present society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs -- is a principle that should be at the cornerstone of every education and is integral to the operations of any good institution. Hopkins prides itself on being a world-renown research university, yet it lags behind peer institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania, in furthering environmental programs to reduce the school's ecological footprint and improve environmental literacy among students.

A major obstacle to greening Hopkins is the decentralized campus and the lack of support and publicity for the actions that are being taken by isolated groups. The creation of environmental committees at each Hopkins campus and an overseeing Sustainability Coordinator position would help to revitalize the greening initiative. When the Greening Committee was created in 2000, one of its goals was to establish environmental committees at each of the University campuses. Currently, only the School of Public Health has an Environmental Stewardship Committee that meets regularly. The Greening Committee itself, which was an all-volunteer group, has semi-dissolved due to a lack of administrative support.

Greening Committee co-coordinator Dr. Bob Lawrence of the School of Public Health said in an e-mail message, "We tried repeatedly to get the University to create a standing committee on the environment. Student interest waxed and waned, faculty interest was always spotty, and we were never able to get the commitment at the highest levels in the University."

To further the greening initiative and increase communication among departments on environmental issues, the university needs to appoint a Sustainability Coordinator to head a university-wide environmental committee similar to the Greening Committee. The Sustainability Coordinator would handle environmental information on purchasing, recycling, transportation and dining and would serve as an environmental policies resource for Hopkins departments. The coordinator would also be a person to whom students, faculty and staff could voice their concerns and suggest ways to improve campus environmental policies.

Individual student activism first directed the University's attention to the need for a recycling program in 1990, and that drive to cause change is needed to continue developing environmental programs at Hopkins. To initiate greater interest in environmental issues, the administration should play a bigger role in promoting environmental literacy among students. Starting with freshman orientation and the first residence hall meeting, students should be taught to recycle and to act conscientiously. An even better way to increase student knowledge of environmental issues would be to create an environmental studies department in the School of Arts & Sciences or at least regularly offer courses pertaining to sustainability and conservation through existing departments.

The Greening Committee held a conference in October 2000. There was a keynote speaker and staff members made reports on recycling, purchasing, energy and transportation. Hopkins should hold another conference to discuss what improvements have been made since the initiative began and to set new goals for the future. Also, small-scale, in-depth studies on Hopkins' operations should be conducted. A departmental survey was taken in 2001, but there have been no recent environmental audits.

Many people are working on projects to reduce Hopkins' ecological footprint by making the school buildings more energy efficient and by increasing our recycling rate, but their work goes largely unacknowledged by the rest of the university community. Recycling Coordinator Pat Moran is integral to greening the campus, encouraging recycling and the purchasing of post-consumer recycled goods. Among other projects, Moran is currently working to institutionalize a University policy to recycle computers. Also, the Greening Initiative would not have begun without the efforts of Dr. Bob Lawrence and Dr. Polly Walker of the School of Public Health.

Hopkins should start living up to this goal by renewing its greening initiative with an active, University-wide environmental committee and a permanent paid administrative position to coordinate and investigate issues pertaining to sustainability on campus. More discussion among staff, faculty and students should be promoted through new environmental studies classes in the curriculum and increased publicity for the achievements that are made in greening the campus. Brody's Earth Day address should not be the last time Hopkins talks about the environment. Let's continue the discussion.

--Mitra Heshmati is a freshman neuroscience major from Columbus, Ohio.