Question: What should Lehigh do to become more sustainable?

The sustainability movement must first be realistic about its goals. Opponents justifiably bristle at the suggestion that we can save the environment, lower tuition and overtake the Ivy League just by switching to fluorescent light bulbs. In this regard, Professor Dork Sahagian was wrong when he told the Brown and White, “It’s our impact on the world that matters.” Steps that make our campus more sustainable or climate-friendly have no global consequences. We should be instrumentalists regarding the environment – seizing the mantle of sustainability to enhance student experience.

Thus far, the administration’s approach to this issue has been utterly incoherent. There are at least three campus environmental groups, including the Lehigh Environmental Advisory Group, the Environmental Coalition and the Environmental Initiative. All of these efforts fly under the radar at best, or worse, they make the University look ineffectual and incompetent. High profile projects, like the STEPS building, are far more effective. If the University takes the lead and puts its money where its mouth is, students will be far more responsive.

Put sustainability in terms that Lehigh students will understand. Don’t tell us we can save the environment by walking instead of driving to class. Remind us that we can be the billionaires of tomorrow if we invent, engineer, or finance green technology. Recruit professors who are passionate about finding practical solutions to the energy crisis – not professors who are going to rant about how we’re all going to drown when the sea levels rise.

Piecemeal steps like those currently being peddled as a sustainability strategy won’t result in any progress. Big ideas and the execution of those ideas will be necessary to bring about the systemic changes that will define our future. If Lehigh is serious about contending in the global marketplace, we must realize that sustainability begins at Lehigh, but the focus should be on the bigger picture.
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