by tom robinson - University of Kentucky

As seen in the July 2008 issue of
STUDENT
emPOWERment
BY TOM ROBINSON
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0807Robinson.indd 20
July 2008
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© 2008 The Greentree Gazette
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As seen in the July 2008 issue of
Students smile when
they make a difference.
T
oday’s students want to
change the world for the better.
Many of them want lives of
impact. Some are already
making a difference while they
are students. Their success
is often determined by what
faculty
faculty and administrators contribute—or don’t.
In this article you’ll meet Judy Walton, the acting
director of the Association for the Advancement
of Sustainability in Higher Education. Judy is
helping colleges integrate sustainability on campus.
You’ll also meet three students with impressive
accomplishments. Maryland’s Joanna Calabrese is
the politician. Kentucky’s Matt Harmin is the Zen
philosopher. Cornell’s Carlos Rymer is the student
organizer.
The drive for activism
The growth of the sustainability movement is
attributable to the energy and determination
of students, says author and activist David
Bornstein. What makes those students tick? What
are they accomplishing? What do they need to be
successful now and after graduation?
Junior Matt Harmin is a Japanese studies major
at the University of Kentucky (UK). He was drawn
to sustainability through the work of Masanobu
Fukuoka, author of One Straw Revolution. The
94-year-old Fukuoka has practiced “natural farming,”
which is small in scale, organic
and requires no weeding, pesticide, tilling or fertilizer. Yet it
produces yields equivalent to
modern agricultural practices.
“It formed my concept of sustainability as a philosophy, as a
performable activity, and what
it means to wrestle with issues over the course of
one’s life,” Harmin says.
In addition to high profile efforts like energy
management and recycling, Harmin is involved
with other activities like Wildcat Wheels Library,
which provides free bicycle use to UK students,
The interviews begin on the following page.
Joanna Calabrese, Matt Harmin, Carlos Rymer, Judy Walton
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© 2008 The Greentree Gazette
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As seen in the July 2008 issue of
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Joanna Calabrese
Sophomore, environmental science and policy
EXPERTISE Co-founded Clean Energy for UMD. Student representative on the school’s Climate Action
Workgroup. Intern at Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, U.S. Congress.
Fellow of the Breakthrough Institute.
Describe the benefits of interning on Capitol Hill.
I work for the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming. I get to apply what I’ve
learned in school. I’ve gained insight into the political process—why it takes so long to implement a policy, why
there’s so much bureaucracy—and how successful people navigate. I’ve learned about professional research, where
to go for credible information, who to talk to . . . and I am developing a network.
Exactly what do you do for the House Select Committee?
This committee doesn’t have legislative jurisdiction. It develops strategy and recommendations. I mostly do
research and media projects. In preparation for hearings that involved the top oil company CEOs, I wrote a history of
the Synthetic Fuels Corporation, did compensation analysis on executive pay, fact-checked company profits and dug
for the percentage they spent on developing renewable fuels versus their PR.
Is activism on campus and in government executed the same way?
The obstacles to policy change are the same: miscommunication and competing interests, for example. The
right people with authority must be identified and accessed. Knowledge of previous successes and established
precedents is crucial to help those in authority feel more comfortable about change and compromise.
Has becoming a Breakthrough Institute Fellow affected your thinking?
So many social movements are based on scare tactics: If you don’t stop global warming, the Chesapeake Bay will
flood and your children will die. The Breakthrough Institute has a more inspiring approach, particularly for my
generation. We want to take a broader approach based on a new political order, human aspiration and innovation
to create prosperity. We will frame the issues differently.
What was PowerShift and its focus?
Along with others, I persuaded our university president to host PowerShift last year. So 5,000 U.S. students met
on the University of Maryland campus for workshops and more than a hundred speakers and panelists from
government agencies to scientists to student leaders. The last day of the conference was a training day for lobbying.
Then 3,000 students called on their Congressmen for action on climate change and other environmental issues.
What are your plans for the future?
I am only a sophomore. While I value my classes, they are so big that I can’t find an individual experience. I don’t
connect the way I do in my other activities outside the classroom. I don’t know exactly what I want to do after
graduation, but it will most likely be in government or special interest or an NGO. I might teach with Teach For
America for a few years first. I am more of a doer than a thinker.
faculty and staff. Who needs hydrogenpowered buses?
Even within the big topic of energy
management, not every sustainable
program is a cookie-cutter exercise. Desert
colleges can set up solar arrays while
plains colleges can harness wind energy.
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July 2008
Kentucky is a coal state, with a capital C
for carbon. While coal-fired electric power
generation is a dreadful chimera for many
environmentalists, UK deep mines a lowsulfur coal from a local mine in Perry
County and forgoes expensive and energyconsuming hauling. It also provides good-
paying jobs in a state where unemployment
is high.
Harmin does not see himself so much as
an activist, as he does a citizen. He believes
the skills, tactics, goals and expertise
usually attributed to activists need to be
those of fully realized citizens, not just a
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As seen in the July 2008 issue of
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
Matt
Harmin
Senior, Japanese studies
EXPERTISE ASSHE intern. Student representative on the University of Kentucky Sustainability
Advisory Committee. Sustainable Agriculture apprentice. Radio DJ at WRFL 88.1 FM.
Do you consider yourself an activist?
Activist is not a word I use to describe myself. In my opinion, the skills, tactics, goals and issue expertise usually
attributed to activists need to become associated with the word citizen. Sustainability is a realm in which all
fully realized citizens—not just a few fanatics—operate in a well-functioning democracy.
What is sustainability to you?
For some, sustainability is often a response to climate change, or declining fossil fuel reserves, or other
environmental damage. For me, sustainability is its own motivating force. Rather than an outcome, it is a
process that we, as citizens, use to improve the performance of ourselves, our cities and our institutions.
Sustainability is an organizing principle that will help us reorganize our business and social institutions with
cost effective changes that improve not only environmental performance, but generate beneficial social
outcomes in the community.
What advice do you have for well-meaning students?
Capitalize on existing campus culture, tradition and precedents.
Understand the constraints and limitations that sustainability-minded
university staff members must work under. Make connections with other
student campus organizations. Do not be bashful about having a meeting
with anyone in any strata of the campus hierarchy. Students are often
surprised at who would love to talk with a crew of students with big plans
or new information.
How can faculty and staff help?
They can empower students to communicate ideas to staff and
administrators. And encourage the confluence of scholarly and
professional pursuits, with the campus as a lab for applied learning.
What should the learning outcomes be?
Participation in a change process provides experience in project
management, collaborative team building and problem-solving. Many
organizations want graduates with that kind of experience.
Does Kentucky walk the walk?
We have to deal with our own region’s sustainability contradictions and
conundrums. Unlike the desert areas that have opportunities for solar
or the Midwest with its wind, we burn coal and natural gas to power our
campus. What I didn’t know until recently is that our university uses only
deep-mined coal from a particular mine in Perry County. Deep mining is
dangerous, but it employs several times more Kentuckians, and yields coal
with lower sulfur content than coal derived from mountain-top removal.
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0807Robinson.indd 24
U of Kentucky students
are busy with
agricultural pursuits
t6NIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY GREENTHUMB
is the largest student run
environmental club in Kentucky.
It sponsors Earth Day and river
gorge cleanup events. It protests
mountain top removal coal mining,
and coordinates events with
other organizations like Amnesty
International and the Sierra Club.
t4645"*/"#-&"(3*$6-563&"113&/5*$&4)*14
enable students to work side by side
with farm managers.
t$0..6/*5:4611035&%"(3*$6-563& is
an extension service supporting
a variety of direct farm marketing
practices which began in
Massachusetts in the 1980s and is
growing in parts of the U.S. now.
It emphasizes the sale of shares or
subscriptions to locally produced
fruit and vegetables before the
crops are planted and provides
weekly deliveries by farmers to
members/subscribers throughout
the season.
July 2008
© 2008 The
Greentree Gazette
6/23/2008 5:56:10 PM
As seen in the July 2008 issue of
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, 2008 GRADUATE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Carlos
Rymer
Master’s candidate, public administration in environmental science and policy, Columbia University
EXPERTISE Former leader of Cornell Sustainability Hub and KyotoNOW! student organizations.
Co-leader of New Jersey Climate March. New York Student Sustainability Coalition founder.
Partner in a sustainable energy non-profit organization in the Dominican Republic.
Describe KyotoNOW!
Founded in 2001, the group launched the national youth climate movement by sitting in the President’s office and
demanding that Cornell commit to meeting the goals of the Kyoto Protocol. Cornell thus became the first institution
in the United States to do so —and Cornell has met those goals. KyotoNOW! also ran a campus-wide campaign that
convinced the administration to go beyond Kyoto and commit to the Presidents Climate Commitment.
What is the Sustainability Hub at Cornell?
The Sustainability Hub is the largest sustainability organization on campus. It is dedicated to 1) raising awareness; 2)
engaging students in projects and campaigns; 3) connecting the work of various campus social and environmental
organizations. Projects range from biodiesel production to local community work to sustainable investing. Awareness
programs include sustainability presentations in residence halls, a tap water campaign and sustainability boards.
How do students progress from emotional to effective?
Once students feel they can create change, they are ready to work to make a particular project or campaign a reality. As
they make progress, the have a greater incentive to work harder. In my experience, it seems that leaders are pretty good
at getting new, excited members up-to-speed. But sometimes there are other barriers.
Are students the adversaries of administration and faculty?
Not in the case of the Presidents Commitment. We started a petition campaign with coverage in the student newspaper
looking for support. We called or visited faculty offices and 90 faculty members joined the 5,000 students who signed.
In another situation involving Cornell’s use of Cayuga Lake to cool campus buildings, students assured townspeople that
the administration was monitoring the environmental situation responsibly.
Is there life after student activism?
There are plenty of jobs related to sustainable development. These range from sustainability manager positions at
colleges and businesses to jobs in renewable energy, waste management, non-profits, government, foundations and
even investment firms. One key area of growth is sustainable business. Numerous colleges and universities are offering
or planning to offer MBAs in Sustainable Business.
Is there any money in doing good things?
I was offered jobs before graduation without applying or being interviewed. My sophomore friend is interning with a
wind manufacturing company in Boston where he expects to continue working full time after graduation. Starting pay
is around $50,000 to $60,000 for jobs in renewable energy. Policy work pays about $50,000. NGOs and non-profits will
be lower. Another friend with a master’s in environmental toxicology works for Greenpeace in Denmark for $40,000.
few fanatics. And he defines sustainability
not as an outcome, but as a process or
organizing principle.
Organizing students
Carlos Rymer just graduated from Cornell
with a degree in sustainable development
26 THE GREENTREE GAZETTE
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July 2008
and has enrolled in Columbia University’s
Master’s of Public Administration in
Environmental Science and Policy. At
Cornell he was active in KyotoNOW!
which applied carbon-reduction principles
to the micro-environment in Ithaca, New
York. He organized the Sustainability
Hub, a collaboration among all the student
environmental groups on campus. Campus
sustainability is a priority at Cornell
University.
Rymer organized a New York State
Climate Summit and co-founded the New
York Student Sustainability Coalition. He
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The Greentree
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5:56:24 PM
As seen in the July 2008 issue of
Student EmPOWERment
was a co-leader of the New Jersey Climate
March that resulted in the Global Warming
Response Act legislation that commits the
state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
80 percent below 2006 levels by 2050.
Rymer realizes that the continued
success of these programs depends on other
students becoming leaders and learning
to work with campus administrators for
change. He offers a plan:
How student leaders nurture
effective student organizations
Step 1. Recruit.
Step 2. Get students excited.
Step 3. Plan specific campaigns and
projects.
Step 4. Mentor and advise.
Step 5. Monitor progress weekly.
Step 6. Provide constructive feedback.
Step 7. Identify and align with
empathetic faculty and
administrators.
Step 8. Present compelling arguments
and allude to other campus
precedents.
Michael Crow and others drafted and
signed the American College & University
Presidents Climate Commitment. Since
then 550 presidents have since signed the
agreement that calls for reduction of the
campus carbon footprint and infusion of
sustainability into curricula.
According to Walton, sustainability
programs on campus differ greatly, as do
their managers. At some campuses, the
effort may be headed up by a graduate
student. At others, it may be the job of a
vice chancellor or dean.
AASHE is working on a classification
system for campus sustainability, with
guidelines by which institutions may measure
themselves and qualify for recognition of
accomplishment.TheSustainabilityTracking,
Assessment and Rating System (STARS)
is a voluntary, self-reported framework for
gauging relative progress toward sustainability
for colleges and universities. STARS is guided
by representatives from academe, higher
education associations, related nonprofit
organizations, businesses and government
agencies.
As a freshman, she co-founded Clean
Energy for UMD to stimulate climate
activism on her campus. Clean Energy
for UMD recognized student interest in
funding green initiatives. They helped
win a statewide commitment to make all
Maryland System schools carbon neutral
and persuaded the campus president to sign
the Presidents Climate Commitment.
Calabrese serves as a student
representative on the school’s Climate
Action Workgroup. She has been a
legislator in the Student Government
Association, writing policies in support
of environmentally responsible campus
affairs and registering new voters. She
helped organize Recyclemania 2008,
a Green Groups Roundtable and
PowerShift 2007.
Calabrese has been interning this
past semester on Capitol Hill for the
House Select Committee on Energy
Independence and Global Warming. She’s
a sophomore.
She’ll visit Berkeley this summer to join
with people who want to counter the oneproblem-at-a-time social movements of the
60s and 70s, still in use today, with a more
holistic approach. “Instead of isolated issues
that have to be controlled, we want to take
a broader approach based on a new political
Playing well with others
Organizing sustainable campus
Joanna Calabrese is a sophomore at
communities
Sustainability on campus is a natural. A coll- the University of Maryland majoring
ege campus is often a tailor-made blend of in environmental science and policy.
motivation, intellectual capital,
research and interdisciplinary
cross pollination. A campus is
Campus sustainability models
often a microcosm of larger and
t"RIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY “Global Institute for Sustainability.” High-level commitment,
less manageable communities.
catalyzed from above with primarily an education and research focus, rather than campus
Environmental and social
operations.
movements are not new to
t6/*7&34*5:0'#3*5*4)$0-6.#*" “Sustainability Office.” Innovative programs and a great
college campuses, but they were
website. This campus excels at funding from the savings produced by its initiatives.
often operated asynchronously.
UBC gives a new twist to the term “sustainability coordinator,” who can be a staff or
To galvanize people and defaculty member in any of 300 departments who commits to advancing UBC’s sustainable
partments, deans and faculty
development goals.
members in 11 western states as
t6/*7&34*5:0'/&8)".14)*3& “University Office of Sustainability.” Unusual because it is
well as Alaska, Hawaii and two
endowed.
Canadian provinces formed the
t45"/'03%6/*7&34*5: “Department of Sustainability and Energy Management.” Interesting,
Education for Sustainability
because it’s a high-level department rather than an office.
Western Network. Judy Walton
t.*%%-&#63:$0--&(& “Office of Environmental Affairs.” Overseen by a Dean of Environmental
became its first director. EFS
Affairs, an innovative position.
West expanded in 2006 to a
t)"37"3%6/*7&34*5:“Harvard Green Campus Initiative.” Contract out sustainability
national organization, the Assocconsulting services to the rest of the campus. Has a “green” revolving loan fund.
iation for the Advancement
of Sustainability in Higher
CampusERC.org is a library for use by college and university environmental officers on
Education, or AASHE.
At
the
organization’s environmental issues, best practices, case studies, and regulations provided by the National
inaugural conference Arizona Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).
State University president
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© 2008 The
Greentree Gazette
6/23/2008 5:56:34 PM
As seen in the July 2008 issue of
ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF
SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Judy
Walton
Acting director
EXPERTISE Founding member and executive director of Education for Sustainability Western Network.
First executive director of AASHE. Long-standing interest in sustainability, reflected in both her
academic work at Humboldt State University and her green building consultancy work in Washington.
Ph.D. geography from Syracuse. M.A. geography, San Diego State University. B.A. political science, UC
San Diego.
What is AASHE’s biggest success so far?
The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), with 550 signatories to date,
is transforming many campuses as they conduct their greenhouse gas inventories, implement tangible and
immediate actions and begin developing long-term climate action plans. ACUPCC began at AASHE’s inaugural
2006 conference and now AASHE is one of three coordinating organizations behind the drive. Largely due
to wonderful leadership from campus presidents and chancellors, we’ve seen tremendous growth in campus
sustainability initiatives at all levels.
What are your top priorities?
AASHE supports the signatory institutions as they implement the commitment, report progress and develop
climate action plans. More than two hundred experts from virtually every area of higher education were involved
in the creation of another initiative, STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System), which has 90
participating campuses in its pilot phase. STARS is a transparent and self-administered assessment tool—from
scoring to documentation. We expect to launch STARS 1.0 in 2009 and hope it will become a clearinghouse of
information about sustainability efforts. AASHE’s third priority is to upgrade our web content with interactive
capabilities, searchable databases and forums and blogs.
What skills do campus sustainability officers need?
Interestingly, their job descriptions seem to emphasize technical knowledge. However, many sustainability
practitioners say that social organizing, marketing and communications skills are the most necessary for this type
of work. In essence it’s about being a change agent, because sustainability asks us to look at the world through a
new lens. Several practitioners emphasize the need to be a “polyglot” or jack of all trades, to have the capacity to
make critical connections and think outside the box.
How does a campus start a sustainability office?
There are many excellent models of sustainability offices, and no prescribed way to go about it. Regardless of
how the office is configured, success is dependent on adequate funding and the commitment of the campus
administrative leadership, with support from students, faculty and staff.
order, human aspiration and innovation to
create prosperity,” she explains.
How can you help?
From the mouths of relative babes come
cogent lessons.
Make formal instruction better and
more relevant for Millennials. Bright,
motivated students are easily bored, even
when they are hungry to learn. Joanna
Calabrese: “While I value my classes, they
are so big that I can’t find an individual
experience. I don’t connect the way I do in
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my other activities out of the classroom. I
am more of a doer than a thinker.”
Prepare students for lives of impact.
Carlos Rymer: “Careers range from
sustainability manager positions at
colleges and businesses to jobs in
renewable energy, waste management,
non-profits, government, foundations
and even investment firms. One key area
of growth is sustainable business, with
many institutions offering or planning to
offer MBAs in Sustainable Business.”
Take advantage of the learning
laboratory that is your campus. Matt
Harmin: “The professors and students
involved in the Sustainable Agriculture
Program at UK show us how to learn by
doing, while worthwhile research is done
on campus as well.” 
Look for more coverage of green,
sustainability and social
entrepreneurship topics in future
issues of this magazine and on
GreentreeGazette.com.
www.greentreegazette.com
© 2008 The
Greentree
Gazette
6/23/2008
5:56:49
PM