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(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Kevin Redmon The mailman delivering to my Washington apartment is not known for his attention to detail. I end up with a lot of other people's magazines this way. Normally I crumple up the pages to stuff into the crumbling masonry of my poorly constructed and very drafty basement room. Yesterday's wayward arrival gave me pause, though. Plenty magazine is a self-consciously stylish harbinger of the eco-revolution to come. Replete with features like Miss Eco Etiquette, Green Gear, Eco-Eats and The Dirt - "celebrity gossip from an eco perspective" - the publication feels like a middle school girl who wants very badly to fit in. With features on the movement's darling children Gore and DiCaprio, reviews of recycled Patagonia jackets, recipes for "green cocktails," and discussions of whether wrapping Christmas presents is morally (that is, environmentally) reprehensible, it is a magazine that misses the disease while diagnosing the symptoms. The editors revel in the providential good fortune that refurbishing one's countertops with certified bamboo or shopping for responsibly-panned Sierra Leonean diamonds are now selfless acts demonstrating environmental concern. What luck, that we can save the planet by ensuring that our next pair of Ferragamos is sewn of sustainably culled, free-range leather. Fact: the "green-collar" jobs that environmentalists love to promote won't be filled by workers who spend a lot of time choosing between organic vodkas.Plenty is a small part of a larger, problematic trend: the eco-movement is preoccupied with appearances rather than dialogue. Underlying this, there is a tremendous amount of energy being devoted to creating a "green identity." Environmentalism and all its discontents - climate change, deforestation, ad nauseum - are at peril of being reduced to a slogan and a brand image. It's simplistic and it's dangerous. Why? Because it replaces nuance with ideology, complexity with dichotomy - us vs. them, greens vs. everyone else. With regard to affecting real change, though: you can't get there from here. It's time to abandon our misguided faith in continued consumption, as if consuming differently can preclude consuming less. The indomitable Ed Abbey cautioned against precisely what Plenty champions: "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." It is a Faustian bargain that consumer culture is striking with eco-entrepreneurs. Caveat emptor.
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Jack Byrne The current economic turmoil in the world comes with many lessons, some of which we know but seem to have forgotten. A core principle of economics involves the relationship between capital and interest: invest your capital wisely and spend the interest it earns. By some strange mathematics we had capital that was leveraged way beyond any realistic return on its investment and a lot of people are holding worthless IOUs because they believed in the impossible. Sometimes such illusion is useful, such as when pursuing grand aspirations of human achievement. But when it includes a disregard for some fundamental principles of how the world works, it can lead to disaster.There's a parallel turmoil in the world of natural capital. I refer to the value of all the services nature provides us: flood surge protection by coastal mangrove swamps and estuaries, soil aeration and fertilizer production by earthworms, fish and shellfish food produced by the oceans, and so on. The best estimate of the value of the fertile soils, fresh water, breathable air, stable climate and the other life-support services provided by Mother Nature is $33 trillion in 1997 dollars. That's about twice the global gross national product. Just like we treated our financial capital as though it could generate interest that was impossible, we are treating our natural capital as though it can provide impossible rates of interest. The best measure of this imbalance is expressed by the ecological footprint which includes all the agricultural land, forests and fishing grounds required to supply the food, materials, and space we humans need to live. It also includes the ecosystem services mentioned above. By the best estimate available, at our current rate of consumption we have gobbled away about 25 percent of the earth's natural capital. At this rate we will need two earths by 2050. I don't know how to create a second earth and I'd bet the smartest people on earth don't know either. We are smart enough however to learn and to act for our own self-interests. We are also capable of unselfish cooperation, which is what it will take to avoid kicking half the population off the planet if current trends continue. The countries with the biggest ecological footprints will have to reduce their consumption of natural resources while those with the smallest, with very few exceptions, will need to grow theirs in order for their people to have a dignified and adequate quality of life.What will help us get there? For starters, it would make sense to put a price on the value of the ecosystem services that we do not include in the cost of the products and services we purchase. We did this years ago when we put a price on acid rain causing pollutants and it did wonders. There is legislation in the works now to put a price on carbon dioxide emissions and we need to tell our political leaders that we want that done ASAP. We also need to support the creation of a global carbon trading system in which all countries participate including our own.Closer to home, we each need to take a look at our own ecological footprints and ask "What choices could I make that would make a significant difference in my use of natural capital?" Little things add up quickly when a lot of people do them. For example, if every household in the US had energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs we would reduce consumption of electricity by 35 percent, which would also significantly reduce the amount of climate warming carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. The next time you need to replace a vehicle, get one that has higher mileage efficiency. In the meantime, look for ways to reduce the miles you travel alone in your vehicle. And so on. The point here is to make this kind of thinking and acting a habit. Each of us can pursue sustainability in our own unique ways while we work together for the bigger changes needed on the national and international front to assure that all of us here now and those to come will have a decent life on a healthy planet.To calculate your own ecological footprint go to www.myfootprint.org.(Jack Byrne is the College's Director of Sustainability Integration.)
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Stephanie Joyce, Ian Trombulak, Adam Schaffer, and Tess Russell COLLEGE KEEPS UP WITH CURRENT PRINTING TRENDSEven printing has a taken on a distinctly green hue in recent years as Middlebury has kept pace with the national trend, switching to 100 percent post-consumer waste paper in most publications, reducing printed publications and encouraging recycling. Even so, the limited oversight of publications on campus leaves the choice to 'go green' or not print at all largely up to the individual. Steve Goodman, manager of Reprographics, the on-campus printer, estimates that roughly 25,000 pages get printed for College purposes every day. Programs, sports schedules, event fliers, alumni newsletters, yearbooks and directories are just some of the daily printing projects at Middlebury.Reprographics designer Lyn DeGraff noted the importance of using environmentally friendly papers, inks and printing practices, but was quick to point out that cost plays a major role in decisions about printing. "Often it's more expensive to be environmentally friendly, so it requires cutting back on quantity to compensate," she said.Sometimes though, all that is required is innovation. In an effort to be both sustainable and cost-effective, The Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL) has ceased their bi-annual mailing of student fundraising projects, opting instead to send a postcard inviting parents to a Web site. Other publications, such as New Faces and the Winter Term Workshop catalog have simply been reduced in number and target only specific groups.The alternative, of course, is not to print at all. Director of Communications Maggie Paine stressed the importance of thinking before printing. "How do you get the right message to the right people at the right time?" she asked. "That's how we can be good stewards of the College's mission and money." COUNT PAPER PROVES COST-EFFECTIVE AND ECO-FRIENDLYThe College's most noticeable effort to increase environmental friendliness may be the biomass gasification boiler next to the McCullough Student Center, but smaller initiatives such as Count Paper are aiding the cause as well. The initiative, which began last year in the form of e-mail notifications to all students reporting their individual paper consumption from networked printers, aims to cut paper waste in half.The basic idea of the Count Paper initiative is to remind students that every sheet counts. It will not restrict your paper use - rather, it will tell you the exact number of sheets you have used. Carol Peddie of Library and Information Services undertook the challenge following a charge by the environmental council on campus to address the paper waste on campus. Though the initiative began with the environment in mind, the increasingly bleak state of the economy now gives the initiative the dual purpose of being a vital cost cutter as well. If the College can reduce the amount of paper it wastes by half through initiatives like Count Paper, as well as an increased level of encouragement to print on both sides of a sheet, it will reduce the budgetary stress and allow the College to focus its resources elsewhere. Unlike the biomass gasification boiler, the Count Paper initiative does not come at any cost; instead, it serves to reduce cost in addition to promoting eco-friendly behavior, getting us that much closer to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2016. GREEN ORIENTATION DRAWS MIXED REVIEWS FROM STUDENTSRanked as the number one "school that gets it" by the Sierra Club for its environmental initiatives, the College has extended its stewardship to educate students and staff on maximizing campus sustainability. The effects of such programs, however, remain in question. All residential life staff were required to undergo a 45 minute session to help them to "better understand the issues and priorities and practices of sustainability at Middlebury and to be better able to communicate with students about the topic," explained Sustainability Integration Director Jack Byrne in an e-mail.Reflecting on the experience, however, many were left without useful knowledge."All I remember is that we should unplug our computers when we're not using them and use energy saving lighting, and then I fell asleep," said Will James '10, a First-Year Counselor (FYC) in Ross.Also remembering many students nodding off during the program, fellow FYC Emmy Burleigh '10 felt that the experience failed to connect environmental sustainability practices to her job as an FYC."It didn't relate at all back to what our job was, and the point of our training … was to be prepared for our job for this year," she said. "It was not relevant at all."During a recent review of programs undertaken by residential life staff, Burleigh recalled this environmental program as one that many FYCs believed to have failed to educate them for their work ahead.Byrne, for his part, now gives a new employee orientation to help people joining the College community integrate sustainability into their work with the College.The College also attempted to include first-year students in the process. Each incoming student was sent a welcome letter encouraging the use of public transportation, recycling and energy conservation.Nina Wright '12 said that although she does not remember this mailing or receiving specific guidance from her FYCs about how to be more environmentally friendly, "there still is an overall atmosphere of environmentalism on campus."FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR SITE DEMYSTIFIES CARBON STATSAs Middlebury students, we are certainly conscious of our carbon footprints and cognizant of small steps we can take to reduce the impact that we have on climate change. Still, it can be hard to grasp the weight of our personal carbon contributions when faced with intangible metric measurements. With that in mind, the Global Footprint Network (GFN), a nonprofit organization which cooperates with various campaigns and initiatives to work towards a sustainable future, has created an interactive "footprint calculator," located at www.footprintcalculator.org.Unlike other carbon quizzes, the GFN's calculator is easy to use and couches emissions in easily relatable terms, showing as a final result how many "earths" it takes to support each of our lifestyles. To start, participants are enabled to choose from a range of wacky hairstyles and outfit choices to create their own avatars, whom they will follow through a series of questions.The first query deals with dietary habits - specifically, we are asked how often we consume animal-based products, how much of our food is processed and where the majority of our food comes from - and respondents can elect to provide a few "basic" answers or, alternatively, multiple "detailed" answers. Subsequent questions deal with our recycling habits, our usage of electricity, the size and structure of our homes and our travel patterns via public transportation, car, motorbike and airplane. The graphics, which show our waste literally mounting up on our computer screen in the form of plastic bottles, power lines and gas-guzzling automobiles, are both amusing and intentionally disturbing.And now, the moment of truth: how many planet Earths would we need to provide enough resources for everyone to "live like me"? I will not disclose the exact amount, but I can tell you that it is not too far off that incurred by Jack Byrne, the College's director of sustainability integration, and that the "average" American uses five times (i.e., five planets worth) his or her share of Earth's resources. Perhaps the most useful aspect of the GFN calculator is that it allows users to backtrack to direct questions and see where their environmental impact is the most significant - I was doing pretty well until the air travel section. (Looks like it might be time
to find some new vacation spots.)In addition to its personal footprint calculator, GFN's Web site allows users to compute the output produced by their businesses, cities and nations. They also provide a useful, and surprisingly comprehensible, explanation of how the equation for the "planet" figures was designed.
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Andrea Glaessner "Conservation Congress" conjures up an image of a room full of Vermonters drawing up legislation and making decisions on local environmental issues. Against the backdrop of society's current fixation with climate change and national politics, "conservation" could only mean environmental conservation, and "congress" obviously alludes to decision making and action. Yet at the end of the day, the Addison County Conservation Congress did not produce laws, nor did the group spend hours debating the merits of wood pellets over clean coal energy. Instead, participants of the Congress walked out of Mount Abraham Union High School in Bristol singing the lyrics of a song called "Hope" in a three-part harmony. "It was ephemeral, it's about learning. [It was] never intended to be an institution or to have a life beyond the day," explained David Brynn, one of the main organizers of the event. "The idea is that people can just relax, it's not about policy setting, not about voting. [It's] a chance for people to sit around and just get to it."Co-sponsored by the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACoRN) and Vermont Family Forests (VFF), this year's event opened up to encompass a range of topics. Focusing on three issues - peak oil, the financial crisis and climate change - the 150 attendees divided into 12 rooms to discuss these issues through the lens of various aspects of the community from food and farming to heat and power to faith and spirituality. Each room's discussion was led by an expert or leader in the respective area.Rather than placing environmental conservation at the center of the discussion, it was taken as a given. "We basically made the point that we were assuming that we were going to take excellent care of the land, that we view land as the foundation of the community and that all our plans would keep in mind that we needed to sustain the health of the land," explained Brynn.Brynn has been organizing these Conservation Congress forums for community dialogue since the 1990s. The first Congress was held in 1993, and Brynn continued organizing the forums annually for the next five years before taking 10 years off. "The idea, initially, was that we needed a place where the community could come together and discuss controversial conservation issues in an environment that's respectful, but get right to some of the major conservation issues facing us," said Brynn.Last year's Conservation Congress marked the first one in a decade, and focused on community energy. As successful as it was, Brynn decided to keep the tradition going, hence the decision to organize this year's Conservation Congress, imbuing it with a new theme entitled "Visioning Our Community in 2020 and Mapping the Next Steps to Get There."Initially, the Congress forums tended to focus exclusively on "conventionally defined conservation sustainable forestry and energy," said College Professor John Elder, who led the "visioning exercise" in this year's event. But according to Elder, the context of this year's event was more inclusive than that of years past."[The environmental movement] has evolved quite a bit in the last quarter century, and while wilderness conservation and biodiversity are all still highly important, we have a tendency now to integrate them with the needs for social sustainability and the human community; we see them all as inextricable," said Elder, "I think this is good because it makes environmental movement feel pertinent to a broader range of society, some of whom were inclined to think it elitist before."The idea for this year's theme came about over a typical afternoon coffee break at the Bristol Bakery and Café. "It actually started right here, almost a year ago now," said Jonathan Corcoran, who helped Brynn organize the event. Corcoran's connection to the event comes through ACoRN, which promotes awareness about local sustainability, primarily through food and energy. "We're just a loose network of people who are really interested in rebuilding the local economy around our basic needs," said Corcoran, explaining ACoRN.Corocoran described the context for this year's Congress as "The Great Turning." Arguing that we are "on the cusp of this change that some say is as big as the shift from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance," Corcoran believes humans, and Addison County more specifically, are gradually shifting dependence back toward local and regional economies.With the context in place of future change and transition to local - as opposed to global - economic interdependence, Brynn and Corcoran began delving into the details."From there, David and I started talking about bringing the community together to vision our future in 2020. We started with 12 rooms, [going] from our most basic material needs, to our social needs, to our spiritual needs. We really tried to basically represent the entire community. The idea is that people would go into these rooms and spend several hours visioning 2020, and then come out of that with a common vision," said Corcoran.The vision for the congress conjured up in the Bristol bakery was realized one year later. Over 150 participants engaged in deep discussion over the future of Addison County and how to design its destiny. Yet several features of the daylong discussion were innovative additions to the old Congress model. The introductory "ohm" chanting, the "localvore" lunch made from Vermont's best local goods, the envisioning exercise led by John Elder, and the "cranky show" (a type of moveable animation) at the end of the day were a few of the new, exciting additions. According to Elder, "In each group there was a highly skilled artist who tried to boil down some of our objectives and put it into a kind of moveable animation. Then they made a kind of movie in which the images of our conversation formed a continuous sequence." "If you can envision the future you want then it's easier to make it a reality and bear in mind how you want to achieve that ideal," said Elder.As for the physical results of the Congress, each group produced a "vision statement" inclusive of major ideas discussed, along with three decisions of how to implement that vision within each individual's respective household, town and within the county."To sum it up, it was really about celebrating community and celebrating what we have and just recognizing what a beautiful, rich place we live in, and at the same time, making it clear that we really have come to a crossroads, and that its up to us to create our future," said Corcoran.
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Kate Lupo Environmental art has become ever more popular in a world that wishes to acknowledge and solve the problems of climate change. What is "environmental art" anyway and what sets it apart from other contemporary art? According to GreenMuseum.org, an online collaboration of environmental artists, environmental art helps improve humanity's relationship with the natural world and is oftentimes "ephemeral (made to disappear or transform), designed for a particular place (and can't be moved) or involves collaborations between artists and others, such as scientists, educators or community groups." Middlebury's Committee for Art in Public Places (CAPP) brought two environmental artists to our campus last year: Deborah Fisher and Patrick Dougherty. Deborah Fisher created the cement and tire sculpture Solid State Change outside of Hillcrest and Patrick Dougherty set up shop in front of the CFA and made So Inclined, a grouping of his signature monumental "hive" sculptures made with local saplings.While these sculptures were at least partially created to serve as reminders of Middlebury's commitment to the environment, they are not without controversy. Deborah Fisher's sculpture in particular sparked a storm of heated conversation and debate on the Middlebury campus, with many students wondering why Middlebury had paid money for such an "ugly" sculpture that looked like "trash." Patrick Dougherty's sculptures also had people asking why this "environmentally friendly" artist needed to kill hundreds of young tree saplings in order to create his art. These conversations had people thinking about what "environmental art" really means. Should environmental art be beautiful? Should it be environmentally efficient? How do we measure the success of an environmental artwork at all?Deborah Fisher's Solid State Change certainly succeeded in creating debate and conversation on campus, but it did not succeed in translating its environmental message to the Middlebury community. I believe that Solid State Change would have been more likable and communicative if it had been installed indoors, which would have put the focus on the sculpture's impressive size and allowed people to more closely observe and appreciate the intricate work that went into each tire fold. Solid State Change could have also included a more informative and easily read label (not one hidden in the grass) if it had been placed indoors. A label would have helped viewers to better understand the environmental message of the artwork and how the cement base of Solid State Change was created to represent the geography of Middlebury and create a "symbiosis" with the recycled tires on top. As it is now installed outdoors, the sculpture is either ignored or scoffed at. Thus, we can see how the placement and presentation of environmental art is important in the interpretation of its message. Patrick Dougherty's So Inclined sculptures are more aesthetically pleasing than Solid State Change and the process of weaving the sculptures created a closer relationship between the artist, volunteers and the natural environment, but wasn't the destruction of hundreds of saplings a contradiction of Dougherty's environmental message? These public sculptures at Middlebury have shown how environmental art is not always easy to define and understand, which means that the public must begin to look at this new type of art in a new way. Perhaps we should not simply judge the success of an environmental artwork by its aesthetic beauty, but by how well the artwork furthers an environmental message in its materials, location, installation, etc. It is important that people at Middlebury questioned both Patrick Dougherty and Deborah Fisher's works as contradictions of their environmental themes. As I mentioned before, people lamented Dougherty's use of harvested saplings in his 'environmental art,' while others were troubled by the fact that the transportation of Fisher's huge sculpture from New York to Vermont probably wasted gasoline and produced pollution. As environmental art begins to change the face of the Art World, we should all continue to voice our opinions to help rethink and redefine what "environmental art" should be in the 21st century.
(11/20/08 12:00am)
With all due respect to my fellow faculty members, I'd like to think that Nick Muller and I, with joint appointments in Economics and Environmental Studies, have the best teaching jobs on campus. Our students not only study the great challenges of this century; if we're doing our job, they also acquire the critical tools to begin to take them on. So many of the students who are burning the midnight oil in Warner and Hillcrest these days (and yes, soon they'll be burning biomass!) are learning to think like economists and ecologists.
I admit, though, it's not really the choice of discipline that determines whether students are acquiring tools to lead a life of meaning. Biology, Political Science, Dance: randomly choose any major in the Middlebury College catalogue and you'll find a unique, valid means to understand the world's complexities. And there's one other thing you can be sure of at Middlebury: behind every major are outstanding scholars.
But in these changing times, how can we faculty members do even better? It can be difficult for modern educators to connect the everyday experiences of the student - what is immediately observable and within the grasp of even the most sophisticated student's worldview - with the systemic challenges that the global community now faces: stabilizing the climate, alleviating poverty, and expanding human rights. I've recently adopted an approach called "open-source learning" to increase the odds of success. This approach includes five basic elements: a non-hierarchical classroom; group-based learning within the classroom; network-based learning across classroom walls; real-time creation of knowledge; and knowledge creation for the common good.
In the spirit of John Dewey's vision of the civic purpose of democracy, the open-source classroom is dedicated to the proposition that the classroom has a public purpose. In a non-hierarchical classroom, students are taught that knowledge which they create is potentially as legitimate and important as knowledge from elsewhere. Through group-based learning within the classroom, students learn the importance of persuasion, reflection, and collaboration. Network-based learning across classroom walls - for example, analyzing data for a social-service agency - dramatically expands the scope of enquiry. Perhaps most importantly, the joint call for real-time creation of knowledge and knowledge creation for the common good lets students know that what they learn now can matter for others, now.
I have found that that open-source approach is consistent with three aspects of a successful 21st-century classroom: developing students' awareness of their own agency (what William James calls "the ability of a person to structure and make sense of her life experience"); assigning challenging content (for example, analyzing the interrelated determinants of poverty); and using the power of networks in this digital age (our students, masters of the world of Facebook and Kiva.org, need little nudging here!) Ultimately, to challenge students with the open-source approach is to ask students about their own role in effecting social change. And critically, doing so can lead to the self-discovery that is the very core of the educational experience. As Ron Nahser, a scholar of pragmatism puts it: "Through inquiry, you find what you do believe, your values and vision."
Given the traditions behind the liberal arts model, it is not difficult to take on this call for open-source, pragmatic inquiry. In his recent Save the World on Your Own Time, Stanley Fish writes that the professor's job is to: (1) introduce students to equip bodies of knowledge and traditions of inquiry that had not previously been part of their experiences; and (2) equip those same students with the analytical skills - of argument, statistical modeling, laboratory procedure - that will enable them to move confidently within these traditions and to engage independent research after a course is over.
I believe that the first part of Fish's formula is paramount. Indeed, users of the open-source approach can flounder (at times I have) without it. To eschew analysis, to jump right into "problem-solving" dilutes what students learn and sells them short. Above all, higher education needs rigor.
But (rigorous) open-source learning calls for a modification of Fish's final phrase: it should read "and to lead collaborative research while a course is underway." The end result of matching Fish's call for comprehensive rigor with pragmatic, meaningful inquiry? The opportunity to achieve, in this challenging new century, John Dewey's ideal: education as "the fundamental method of social progress and reform."
My confidence about this approach is not solely based on my own experiences in the classroom. It also comes from the outcomes of many comparable experiences on campuses nationwide. For example, scholars at MIT and Berkeley have successfully guided students in the design of clean-energy solutions. Here at Middlebury, open-source learning can help Middlebury students to prepare for a life of meaning in a challenging new century.
JON ISHAM is the Luce Professor of Environmental Economics
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] To the Editor:Once carbon levels in the atmosphere reach 350 parts per million, drastic changes will occur in the global climate, according to Bill McKibben. The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is currently at 387 ppm and the world is in need of a leader who will recognize and face this problem. A US president who effectively addresses climate change and the environmental crisis will not only be taking action on the most important international issue of our time, but will be taking huge strides towards improving America's image abroad. President-Elect Obama, you ran on a platform of change, and this challenge will unflinchingly demonstrate the extent to which you intend on keeping your promise. Reduce carbon emissions; increase funding for research on renewable energy sources; sign on to the Kyoto Protocols; yes, you can.Sincerely, Katie Siegner '12
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Jesse Davidson If you want to call yourself an athlete, but don't want to deal with physical contact, sweating, or heavy breathing, I think I have found your sport. You need only three accessories - a big stick, a piece of metal, and fondness for all things slippery. In a competitive sport known as "worm grunting," found in Florida and other southern states, an "athlete" sees how many earthworms he or she can pluck from the ground in a limited amount of time, the record firmly standing today at 511 worms in 30 minutes. There is no digging involved, though. The competitor stabs the stick into the ground, shears the top with a metal file or saw (creating a grunting sound), and waits eagerly as earthworms struggle to the surface of the soil for immediate capture. While this technique has been used for many years by fisherman to score some free bait, not until last month has science swooped in and found that this shearing of metal-on-stick produces the same sound frequencies as a burrowing mole - an earthworm epicure. A worm gets fooled into coming to the soil surface to escape death, but ends up in a tally as a sports statistic. Humans have a lot more to attribute to earthworms besides entertaining country bumpkins, though. In 1881, Charles Darwin warmly described them as such: "It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures." If they weren't already red, I'm sure they'd be blushing. In giving credit where it is due, worms are our most respected underground act (sorry, haus) because they do the same thing as farmers before planting crops: they till and aerate the soil. More importantly, though, several types of worms have been receiving waves of media coverage in the past decade because they have the ability to turn all kinds of toxic waste into nutrient-rich compost, usable as detoxified fertilizer. The best part about worm labor is that they don't care about their working conditions, as long as there is garbage or something funky to munch on - one species' idea of a corner office is a pile of manure. Landfill waste management today makes use of these worms to break down organic materials before bacteria can do so, preventing the release of noxious gases like methane and nitrous oxides (which are much more potent effectors of climate change than carbon dioxide).Although I sing their praises in this column as some of our most significant sustainability leaders, I have to make a personal apology to earthworms. I have no regard for them. When I see them splayed out on the sidewalk after a heavy rain, I have to bite my lip and trudge on to BiHall, trying not to cringe when I feel their soft ketchup-packet bodies under my feet. Horrible, I know. With a thesis looming, my "move it or lose it" attitude does not give me time to tiptoe up College Street. The next time you find yourself in a similar situation though, try your best not to look down; you may begin to feel differently about your carbon footprint.
(11/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Layout by Hannah Wilson, Photos by Andrew Ngeow and Angela Evancie From our earliest discussions of making this issue, we knew the most effective approach would be twofold - the week's content would focus on pressing environmental issues, of course, but we would also endeavor to change certain aspects of our normal production in an effort to fully understand the implications of green publishing. Below are examples of some of those adjustments that we made, or at the very least, of ideas that the past week has inspired us to explore._____________________________________________________________ What do silver halide particles, mercury, table salt, and egg whites have in common? They have all been employed in the taking and making of photographs. Beginning in 1837, with the invention of the daguerreotype, scientists and artists alike began to experiment with different combinations of chemicals and processes, all in the name of finding the perfect balance of light sensitivity and image longevity. But besides being messy and emitting strange odors, these processes proved wasteful. Even today, the production of a single traditional photograph could mean toxic chemicals and 20 gallons of fresh water washed down the drain, not to mention lots of failed attempts that end up crumpled in the trash.With the inception of digital photography in the l980s, this mess gave way to thousands of neat little pixels comprising an image file. No more egg whites, no more mercury, and a reduced environmental impact for a once materially extravagant medium. Our very own Campus photographers used to spend hours in the darkroom on production night; these days we tinker with Photoshop and never print a page. And while there is something quite pleasing about a vintage black and white photograph, for our purposes you really can't beat a memory card and a USB cord.- Angela Evancie, Photography Editor One of the questions that often goes unasked (and necessarily unanswered) about those newspapers waiting patiently for readers in the dining halls, library, Grille or myriad other places on campus is how they got there. To minimize the negative environmental effect of delivering our papers, we purchased carbon offsets from Vermont-based NativeEnergy to offset the trip from Plattsburgh, N.Y. (the location of our printer) to Middlebury. We bought $12 worth of offsets, which neutralized the 0.056 tons of C02 emission from driving a total of 114.55 miles. Once in Middlebury, The Campus editorial board delivered the papers by foot or bike, a route that is normally done by car.- Jack Lysohir, Managing Editor The obvious irony of a newspaper producing a green issue is that it has to print thousands of pages of paper in order to highlight environmental issues. Though it draws about 80 percent of its readership online, The Campus distributes over 2,000 hard copies of every weekly 24-page issue. As a result, challenges existed to make the printing process as environmentally friendly as possible. Fortunately, The Press Republican (our printer) assured the editorial board that the paper was already in good, green hands. The paper used for each issue of The Campus is 80 percent recycled and completely biodegradable. Furthermore, the Press Republican uses soy-based, petroleum free and compost-friendly ink when printing. Despite our initial thinking that a black and white newspaper would be more environmentally sound, the difference of printing in color turned out to be negligible The process requires minimal electricity as well, with The Campus taking all but ten minutes to completely run off the presses. - Scott Greene, Editor-in-Chief Our office is located in a dark, leaky basement where, on a good day, the climate seems to vacillate between arctic and tropical. As such, we sometimes forget the good conservationist measures that Middlebury has instilled in us and throw caution to the wind, leaving lights and monitors on, opening windows when the heater is churning, and printing article drafts in - gasp - single-sided mode. Recently, we employed brilliantly named "Kill A Watt" devices to discover that, if left running indefinitely, our seven computers normally use around eight dollars of electricity on a weekly basis. And so, to pay homage to the Green Issue (and, perhaps, to absolve our guilty consciences), we decided to be extra mindful of our paper and energy usage this week, making all of our edits directly onto our computers (thus saving over 200 sheets of paper) and working during the daylight hours whenever possible.- Tess Russell, Features Editor
(11/06/08 12:00am)
Author: Eleanor Horowitz On Oct. 29, a group of over 50 students gathered to watch Al Gore's live webcast for Power Vote. The Sunday Night Group (SNG) and the College's chapter of Power Vote sponsored the event held in the Orchard in the Hillcrest Environmental Center on Wednesday night while American Flatbread provided two dozen pizzas to keep supporters energized.Middlebury joins hundreds of other college campuses in supporting Power Vote, a national nonpartisan initiative organized by the Energy Action Coalition. The group aims to promote a green political platform and to hold elected officials accountable for their decisions regarding the climate crisis and clean energy.Former Vice President Al Gore addressed a live Internet audience about the importance of voting on the basis of a Power Vote agenda and on his Repower America challenge.Emphasizing the connection between the current climate crisis, energy crisis, economic crisis and national security crisis, Gore said that the answer to all of the crises is to switch to renewable carbon-free energy."All of these crises have a common thread running through them," he said. "That common thread is our ridiculous, absurd, dangerous over-dependence on carbon-based fuels."The half-hour webcast opened with the theme of "We Can Change" and concluded with the same message. Gore compared the clean energy movement to the Civil Rights movement and said that the days before this election will be a time that young activists and voters will look back on for the rest of their lives.Before the webcast began, organizer Ben Wessell '11 played video clips from 350.org to raise awareness for additional environmental action initiatives, such as urging the President-elect to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland this December. The GoreCast attracted other "get-out-the-vote" movements on campus. Members of MiddVote and College Democrats attended the event and responded to the webcast. "He just rallied the base. You need to do what Gore didn't do," wrote Vice President of College Democrats Jeff Garofano '10.5 in an e-mail to SNG members just hours after GoreCast aired. Garofano urged students to participate in phone banking and a trip to New Hampshire in an effort to rally undecided voters. With less than a week until the election, Garofano's message focuses on getting out the vote, regardless of its focus on energy and climate. "I would argue that the practical matter of getting [Obama] elected is a more worthwhile use of time than the moral victory of baptizing someone into climate change rationality, given that there are only six days until the election," he wrote. "You need to speak directly to the voting priorities of undecided voters. They think of the economy first, and usually think of climate change near last."Power Vote consists of a pledge declaring, "I pledge to make clean, just energy a top priority in my vote this election." The Power Vote platform includes a commitment to create more green jobs, invest in a clean energy economy, cut global warming pollution and end dependence on dirty energy. During the GoreCast, organizers passed around a computer and pledge sheets for attendees to join the Power Vote pledge.
(10/30/08 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] The long, arduous trail to the White House will reach its conclusion this week, with Election Day serving as the summit that will motivate the American electorate through the final days of the uphill climb that is partisan presidential politics. On this greatest of days for American democracy, we enthusiastically endorse Senator Barack Obama for the office of President of the United States. While we respect Senator John McCain's service to his country and the United States Senate, we feel that Senator Obama epitomizes the ideals that Middlebury holds dear. He is intellectually curious, an able communicator, and understands the value of community. We do not endorse Senator Obama to rubber stamp his candidacy in this generally liberal atmosphere; we support his candidacy because we feel he is the candidate that best understands the challenges that this country will confront, and that our generation must overcome.Symbolically, Senator Obama's election would also turn the page from the current Bush administration, which we feel has failed to lead our country in the right direction these past eight years. The most senior class at the College, the February Admissions Class of 2008, arrived on campus only two weeks after President George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005. The political climate of that time dispirited many young people hoping to affect political change, and spawned a great deal of activism these past four years. This election embodies that change, as issues that are important to Middlebury students are at the forefront of the debate.The candidates' positions on the challenges this country will face have been well documented in the press and these pages, and while these are of great import, our decision to support Senator Obama is firmly grounded in his impact for our generation. His economic plan is a refreshing break from the current administration's, and should be more sustainable. Stepping out from behind the veil of ignorance, we also realize it could have tangible effects on recent Middlebury alumni who will be paying taxes as non-dependants for the first time, in tax brackets far below the much discussed top five percent. And while Senator Obama's approach to rebuilding our financial institutions is not yet apparent, we trust his executive abilities. Senator Obama's call to service for young people resonates with us. We have yet to face a generational challenge along the lines of a military draft or even a race to the moon to unite us; we believe Senator Obama has the ability to inspire this unity as our country faces an unraveling economy and looming environmental crisis. Regardless of the candidates, we also celebrate the democratic process that will anoint one of them on Tuesday. This fall has brought interest and excitement in politics that our country has sorely lacked with regard to important decisions in our recent past. For proof, consider the surge in interest for Saturday Night Live's political satire. The activity on campus has also been commendable with the College Republicans, Democrats, and non-partisan organizations like the Roosevelt Institution and MiddVote taking the lead. We applaud the effort of these groups and all Middlebury students that have taken the time out of their busy academic schedules to fulfill their civic duty. It is often said that "This election is the most important of all time," and while we resent that declaration's decay towards cliché, we do acknowledge that what happens on Tuesday will have a profound impact on both the immediate future of the United States and our collective future.
(10/30/08 12:00am)
Author: Will Bellaimey "This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly," Franklin D. Roosevelt told the country in his first inaugural address, "but let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."The policies Barack Obama offers are nothing revolutionary. For years Democrats have proposed similar plans to slow climate change, to reform our broken health care system, and to restore a vibrant middle class based on equal opportunity for all.What is revolutionary about Obama is his willingness to speak the truth, frankly and boldly. Throughout this campaign he has spoken to Americans with an eloquence and maturity that we imagined had been lost to the era of the five-second sound-byte. Democrats from Bill Clinton to John Kerry believed that liberals could only succeed with laundry lists of issues and poll-tested buzzwords. They ceded morality and guts to the Republicans, who gave us fear and blind machismo in return.Words matter. The most important job of the next President will be to articulate a compelling vision of America at home and abroad. Barack Obama can't deliver all the changes we need by himself. That will take a decades-long movement and a broad political coalition. But he can speak the truth like no one else and inspire hope, yes hope, that oft mocked antidote to the fear that has paralyzed us for far too long. We cannot retreat.
(10/30/08 12:00am)
Author: Jaime Fuller Rolling Stone magazine editor Eric Bates gave an opinionated address on the presidential election on Oct. 28 as part of the "Meet the Press" lecture series. Bates spent half-an-hour giving his perspective on the candidates, the campaigns and the mainstream media before relinquishing control of the conversation to the inquisitive audience.Bates has been executive editor of Rolling Stone since February 2008 and recently conducted a one-on-one interview with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama for the magazine. Previously, he worked as the magazine's political editor, and also has experience as an investigative editor at Mother Jones and as editor-in-chief of the political journal Southern Exposure.When Scholar-in-Residence in English Sue Halpern, organizer of "Meet the Press," rose to the podium to introduce the journalist, she recalled the inaugural lecture of the "Meet the Press" series, which occurred exactly four years ago with the same speaker. "A lot has happened in those four years," she said. "I thought it was only fitting that Eric come back and help sort it all out, and I'm hoping to make it a tradition."She also gave the audience a disclaimer, noting that last time she remembered that Bates made an incorrect prediction that John Kerry would win the 2004 presidential election."Thanks for reminding me how much I suck," Bates responded as he took the podium.Bates began the lecture by reiterating Halpern's point that much has changed since the last election."We tend to look at past elections to predict what is going to happen, but often times the rules have changed."He argued that this is the reason that Senator Hillary Clinton was unsuccessful in the Democratic primaries, that "playing by the old rulebook" doesn't work when the old rules don't apply anymore. Obama's success, on the other hand, he believes is a direct result of his ability to respond to the changes in the political climate. "His path to the election is inspiring," Bates said. "It's a reminder to us that far more is possible than we could ever imagine. He saw that the conditions were such and the rules were changing so he could take advantage of the moment."However, Bates doesn't take stock in those who cite the polls as an augury of an Obama victory next Tuesday."Obama could be 30 points ahead in the polls and we'd still be biting our nails," he said. Republicans never get like that … but [Democrats] always think something is going to go wrong."The reason he doesn't trust the polls is because he believes that like the Clintons, the polls are still playing by the old rulebook. He cited the polls' reliance on landlines, their ignorance of new voters and the unknown impact of the Bradley effect as reasons why the public shouldn't get too comfortable with the current media narrative. Despite his distrust of the polls, he still is confident that Obama will be successful on Nov. 4."The Republicans really only have two things going for them this election: racism and the ability to rig the vote."Bates believes despite the Republicans' dominance in politics over the past few decades, that this election is going to recreate the political landscape in the Democratic Party's favor in a way not seen since the era of the Great Depression. What is even more important, according to Bates, is that larger shifts are happening in the American electorate. Some he sees as positive and diversity enriching, such as the impending loss of majority status for whites and the increase of unmarried and alternative families in the populace. The shift he finds more worrisome is the increasing homogeneity of the electorate."The world is starting to look like the Internet," he said. "People are only grouping together with like minded people and they don't have any idea what the other group is like or about." He then turned the discussion to the possible problems of an Obama presidency."There is eight years worth of pent-up Democratic energy where they didn't get jack done," he said. "Now [Democrats] are going to have their hand in the cookie jar, and Obama's going to have to manage this. The Democrats could easily blow it."He also noted that Republicans should be glad that they might lose the majority in Congress, as it would "restore [them] to the job they were meant to do-the opposition""Republicans don't believe in government," he said. "They really suck at government, but they don't suck at being the opposition. They're really good at that."At the end of the lecture, when the audience assumed the role of the press, many topics were discussed, including the nomination of Governor Sarah Palin, the potential for bipartisan action in an Obama administration and the role of David Axelrod in the Obama campaign. He ended with an analysis of journalistic responsibility in the political process, and the changing role of the mainstream media in an increasingly cacophonous arena of media outlets and opinions. His conclusion is that despite criticism that the media is biased, the media has "done a good job," and that fairness, not objectivity, should be the goal of journalism."The media plays a role in being combative, skeptical, funny and occasionally tasteless," he said. "The media puts things into perspective in a way candidates can't."The "Meet the Press" lecture series is presented by the Middlebury College Institute on Working Journalism and is designed to bring distinguished journalists to offer their experience and opinion to the campus community. The event was co-sponsored by Brainerd Commons and the Department of English and American Literatures.
(10/23/08 12:00am)
Author: Ian Trombulak The College's weeklong Food Symposium kicked off on Oct. 20 in the Orchard at Hillcrest Environment House, where Professor of Environmental Studies John Elder gave a lecture about local food and its potential to help fight climate change.Elder began the lecture discussing the beauty he found in the process of sugaring maple trees: how the sap is sucked up to the branches when it freezes at night, and then trickles down as it thaws during the day. He related this to the process sugar makers themselves go through, before going into the ways in which our increasingly warmer winters have hindered the production of sap and thrown a wrench in the system. "As I became more aware of the impact of climate change on Vermont forests," he said, "it became hard for me to maintain this lyrical pitch … it sapped my confidence in the future."He followed this with excerpts from his current writing project, which illustrated how he regained his confidence that the hard times we now face should not be met with more negativity, but rather community organization and celebration. He then related the local foods movement to Mardi Gras, saying that both help people through hard times: sugaring through the winter, and Mardi Gras as preparation for Lent. "Celebration is a response to life's fragility and to the world's peril," he said, stating his belief that more positive feelings, such as delight in eating homegrown food, will be beneficial to the fight against climate change. "If you think of it as a party, there's no need to punch a time clock."
(10/23/08 12:00am)
Author: Kelly Janis Last week, the non-profit organization founded by President Emeritus John M. McCardell Jr. in 2007 to foster dialogue about underage drinking relocated from the cramped Middlebury store front in which it was born to a new office in southeast Washington, D.C., just blocks from the Capitol. Although McCardell will continue to live and work in Vermont, he plans to travel regularly to the new headquarters, where a small staff - including Grace Kronenberg '06 and Nick DeSantis '07.5 - is still slogging through unpacked boxes."I think having a presence in Washington makes a statement that you mean to be a serious player in these discussions, and I think the fact that we have gotten the level of financial support to be able to do this means that there are at least some people out there willing to support us in getting the discussion and the debate going," McCardell said in an interview with The Campus on Tuesday evening, prior to addressing several hundred students at American University's Bender Arena. The event was organized by Kennedy Political Union, a student-run speakers' bureau, in conjunction with National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. McCardell responded with a smile when a student informed him that AU is a dry campus, on which alcohol consumption by any student, regardless of age, is prohibited."You mean it's not even a little moist?" he joked, before resuming a serious pose. "You tell me how that's working."According to some students, not particularly well."Drinking goes on, even on a dry campus, " said Bryan Avolio, a junior in AU's Kogod School of Business. "But it's closet drinking, which is more dangerous than open, leisurely drinking."Carlos Guruceaga, a sophomore in AU's School of International Service, had his first beer with his father as a 14 year-old growing up in Venezuela, where the legal drinking age is 18."It's something you have to be introduced to," he said. "You can't learn by yourself. I know the effects of it. I'm not holed up in my room, drinking shots, trying to get drunk.""I am!" exclaimed Emma Hardy, a junior in AU's College of Arts and Sciences, only half-jokingly. "High five!"Hardy recalled her experiences studying abroad in Mexico this summer."I would just sit and have a beer and there was no pressure, because I could drink legally," she said. "It was kind of like, 'well, this is anti-climatic!' I feel like lobbyist groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving that have a lot of influence. And younger people don't have that influence. So I'm glad these college presidents stepped up and said 'maybe we should take a look at this.'"AU President Neil Kerwin has refused to join 130 presidents and chancellors of colleges and universities across the United States - including current Middlebury College president Ronald Liebowitz - in signing the Amethyst Initiative, a public statement declaring that it is "time to rethink the drinking age" in response to the "culture of dangerous, clandestine 'binge-drinking'" which has cropped up around it."I am interested in the policy debate underway and the arguments and alternatives," Kerwin said in an Oct. 2 article in the University's student newspaper, The Eagle. "At this time, however, I have not seen compelling evidence to suggest that dropping the drinking age will deter the epidemic of destructive behavior prompted by alcohol abuse that we've seen on our own campus."McCardell takes Kerwin's decision in stride. In fact, the majority of the schools at which he has spoken this fall - including St. Michael's College, Keene State College and Ball State University - are headed by similarly weary administrators. But the notion that such institutions are willing to engage the issue by inviting him to campus anyway, he said, demonstrates that they are "Amethyst in spirit, if not in fact."In his talk, McCardell praised signatories of the Initiative for "acknowledging the fact that alcohol is a reality in the lives of young adults." The United States can either change that reality, he said - likening such a recourse to prohibition - or it can "create the safest environment possible" in which to contain itNot everyone in Washington is welcoming the organization and its goals with a warm embrace. "College officials who have signed on to the provocative proposition that the legal drinking age of 21 isn't working say that they just want to start a debate," wrote The Washington Post in an Aug. 24 editorial. "Perhaps when they get done with that, they can move on to whether Earth really orbits the sun. Any suggestion that the current drinking age hasn't saved lives runs counter to the facts."The piece goes on to reference findings that rates of alcohol-related traffic crashes involving young people have decreased since the legal drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 in 1984.In his presentation, McCardell disputed the precision of such statistics. He noted that fatalities began to dip two years prior to the increase in the legal age, shot up subsequent to its implementation and have stayed mostly flat for the past 12 years. In addition, he said, automobiles have become safer, and "designated drivers" more common."Certainly, raising the age was a factor," McCardell said. "But that's the most and best that can be said about it."McCardell believes it is time for a change."I think we can do better," McCardell said. "I think the status quo is unacceptable. I think young people - having reached the age of adulthood - can and should be entrusted to carry out adult responsibilities, with care and with judgment. And most of the time, they will award the confidence placed in them with appropriate behavior."He concluded by emphasizing the movement's urgency."The longer we delay in recognizing the unintended consequences that our current policies have wrought, the more at risk we put the long term health and safety of our population, off the highways even more than on.'"
(10/09/08 12:00am)
Author: Miles Abdilla and Ian Trombulak PROFESSORS EASE STUDENTS' FINANCIAL FEARSIn response to a bombardment of questions from both students and faculty members regarding the state of the U.S. economy, Professors of Economics David Colander, Peter Matthews, Scott Pardee and Bob Prasch held a discussion panel on Oct. 1 at Dana Auditorium. Aptly titled "The Financial Crisis" the professors hoped to answer the simple question: what is going on with the economy? "What got us into this [financial crisis] is greed," said Pardee. He added that Americans, in buying new homes, relied on mortgage brokers that offered subprime loans to consumers who were not necessarily able to pay for it. What ensued from this risk were scams and fraud. "Finally, the market collapsed," Pardee continued, "and as prices began to fall, people didn't want to buy. This is greed."With no credit and no capital and with failing firms such as Wachovia, what can be done? Matthews suggested the Paulson plan-giving $700 billion for U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson to spend. "If we're going to do socialism," said Matthews, "we should do it right."Associate Professor Prasch shifted the discussion to areas that college students can relate to. "Students and poor folks tend to have unmet needs," said Prasch, "[Students] are reliable spenders." Money given to students will no doubt be spent. This spending will go to the infrastructure and, as Matthews stated, "what we ought to get is wholesale infrastructure investment. [A] crumbling infrastructure is an impediment to long run growth."CARBON NEUTRALITY 101 FOR PARENTS' WEEKENDProfessor of Physics and Environmental Science Rich Wolfson gave a lecture for parents and students on Oct. 3 in the Axinn Center regarding climate change in the world and the College's own goal to be carbon neutral by 2016. Wolfson, who describes himself not as an "environmental activist, but really just a scientist," spent the first half of the talk explaining how we know we're experiencing a significant climate change, why it's happening and what can be done to counteract it. He indicated weather patterns and certain biological indicators, including coral reef bleaching and the increase in the growing season, as signs that global climate change "is occurring in a very real way.The talk then moved to what the College is doing to reduce its own carbon footprint. "Vermont doesn't release much carbon from electrical sources," Wolfson commented, belaying many peoples' assumptions that wind turbines and solar panels may be enough to counteract a large chunk of emissions. Instead, Wolfson noted, "we are planning to reduce by a million gallons the amount of #6 oil used on this campus." This plan comes in the form of the $12 million Biomass Gasifier & Boiler currently set to open in January of this year, which would cut in half the largest contributor to carbon emissions on campus."Our red buildings are a huge disaster right now," continued Wolfson, referring to buildings like Munroe Hall, which are out of date and should, he says, be made more environmentally friendly through increased insulation.The lecture drew a full crowd of students and parents, including Ellen Coccoma '75, who is "very interested in energy conservation" and "very intrigued by the idea that the College is trying to go carbon neutral." The engaged crowd seemed to share Coccoma's view of Wolfson as a "great lecturer," and questions continued following the conclusion of the lecture of roughly 10-20 minutes.
(10/09/08 12:00am)
Author: Jessie Singleton Sarah Palin did a fine job of memorizing her foreign policy vocabulary words for the VP debate last week; however, I'm not exactly sure what she said, or what she meant to say, or what questions she thought she answered. I get it: Iran hates Israel, Ahmadinejad is a really mean dude, and Hamas is the wrong leadership for Palestine (thank you GWB). But I still want to know what she and John McCain are going to do about it. After digging through JohnMcCain.com, I finally found a bullet point-press release outlining the McCain-Palin approach: "diplomacy." Did the third graders in Alaska get extra-credit for helping draft this, too? Let's get real: ignoring the people who hate us does not punish them, nor does it teach them a lesson the "hard way;" it appeases them, adding fuel to the fire in their fight against Western values, American elitism, and the failed Bush policies of the last eight years. John McCain, you should know better, America cannot put other nations in "time-out." I care about our country's position and prestige within the world community and I want to make sure my vote goes to the best team to restore both the influence of our soft power, and also our legitimacy in using hard power when necessary. The Obama-Biden plan does this, taking a few hints from the godfather of diplomacy, Henry Kissinger. Kissinger still insists on the value of communication, the importance of bringing friend and foe to the table, and the need to garner widespread support through inclusion. The Democrats know that the challenges of the global fight against terrorism, climate change, disease, and poverty can be addressed through America's restored leadership in the world. But we can't do it alone, and we can't do it if we're acting like children. Sorry, Sarah. I guess it turns out third grade foreign policy doesn't work in the 21st century.
(10/02/08 12:00am)
Author: Derek Matus The Sunday Night Group (SNG) is sponsoring the national initiative Power Vote in hopes of spreading environmental awareness as we approach the 2008 elections, joing an effort which has already sprung up at dozens of campuses around the country. SNG hopes that the initiative's message makes an impression on the student body in the upcoming weeks.The Energy Action Coalition, a collection of social activism and justice groups with like-minded environmental concerns, established Power Vote to bolster its green political platform. Power Vote's mission is to generate awareness for the environment and environmentally safe energy among young voters in November. Its method is an online petition which affirms "I pledge to make clean, just energy a top priority in my vote this election." The petition relies on the circulation and publicity created by local groups of young people in communities and on college campuses. By setting the ultimate goal of 1,000,000 signatures, the effort hopes to create at least a wave of environmental sentiment in this historic election. The SNG hopes to contribute a significant chunk of those signatures to the national total."We're hoping to get 1000 signatures, which would be awesome," said Ben Wessel '11, President of SNG, "seeing as that is such a large part of the student body."The fact that this initiative is specifically targeted at the young voter legitimizes the growing influence of this demographic. According to the Power Vote website, the millennial generation, ages 18-34, now comprises a quarter of the entire American voting population. This influence was seen during the last presidential election in 2004 when a similarly youth-based initiative called Rock the Vote mobilized an army of new voters through the music industry and celebrity endorsements. Even during the primary season this year, the youth vote was instrumental in securing the outcome; newcomer and Senator Barack Obama only slightly edged out the early favorite, Senator Hilary Clinton, for the nomination. Obama's victories, especially the kick-off election in Iowa, are ascribed to the support of young people, who pundits said connected more with the young senator than his senior counterpart. In the general election this fall, the youth contingent will likely hold a significant influence over the outcome.Like Rock the Vote, Power Vote is a non-partisan venture. For some, this may seem a contradiction, given the historical tendency of the Democratic Party toward environmental protection. This election, however, has witnessed both presidential candidates stressing environmental issues, albeit with differing views. The Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, a staunch advocate of the environment compared to the conservative base, has voiced concern about climate change and the environmental effects of foreign oil. On the other hand, Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama, who served as a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works during the 109th Congress, has also shown regard for global warming and the energy crisis, pledging to reduce greenhouse gases and promote alternative energies if elected.Co-President of the College Democrats Will Bellaimey '10 appreciates bipartisan efforts for environmental action. "I look forward to the day when climate change is treated with equal urgency by politicians on both sides of the aisle," he said. Bellaimey believes, however, that in regard to picking the candidate with the better environmental policy, "the choice couldn't be clearer. I hope [Power Vote] will push millions of people to take environmental issues seriously this November. If they do, Barack Obama will be elected in a landslide." Heather Pangle '10, President of the College Republicans, declined to comment. Instead of entering the partisan debate, however, Power Vote seeks to improve the visibility of the environmental issue with positive attention.Not all students are as environmentally avid as the SNG. First-time voter Tyler Norris '12 said, "Yeah the environment is important, but I don't think it's the most important thing. I'm still more concerned with Iraq and Afghanistan, now the economy and even poverty than I am with the environment which isn't that urgent." Norris' comments are not isolated from her peers; many fellow young voters share similar thoughts that there are more pressing matters for the average American voter. Nevertheless, Vote Smart and the SNG will circulate the petition at Middlebury to publicize environmental issues and voting on campus. The Power Vote subgroup will hold meetings after SNG meetings Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Grand Salon of Le Chateau. The SNG will officially launch the Power Vote initiative in campus dining halls Oct. 7 by selling green t-shirts to raise money. The SNG also plans to host a "green" party in the Bunker Oct. 25 with the help of a local band in anticipation of the general election on Nov. 4."Middlebury Power Vote will hopefully show that Middlebury students are some of the most engaged students in the country concerning climate and environmental issues," said Wessel.
(09/25/08 12:00am)
Author: Emma Stanford Last Friday Middlebury students and community members alike flocked to "The Boycott," the inaugural production sponsored by Middlebury College in the recently renovated Town Hall Theater. The show cast a new and whimsical light on an issue that lies near the hearts of many Middlebury students: climate change."The Boycott," written and performed by touring actress Kathryn Blume, is based on Aristophanes' play "Lysistrata," in which a band of Spartan women led by the title character attempt to end the Peloponnesian War by withholding sex. In Blume's adaptation, the central action revolves around Lyssa Stratton, First Lady of the United States. The issue at hand is global warming instead of war, and Blume led the audience on a giddy adventure punched up by talking frogs, hazes of absinthe and a scene in Congress where a construction of foam, softballs and pantyhose illustrated the senators' sexual frustration. "Open scene," Blume shouted gleefully, waving her prop on high, "and insert giant phallus!"The lavish and expensive renovations of Town Hall Theater were completed just seven weeks ago, and it was clear Friday night that the new performance space has already found its niche in the community. Audience members arrived early to soak in the eccentric and utilitarian stage set, where a collection of chairs, tables and plastic storage bins reminded college students of their own dorm rooms. When Blume swaggered onstage, she began with a classic opener. "Once upon a time," she said. "I've always loved that beginning. When you hear that you know it's time to settle in for something good."Blume did not disappoint. She punched up her pell-mell comic storyline as a would-be screenplay, complete with cameos of famous actors and a musical score pirated from "Lord of the Rings" and "Mission: Impossible." As the sole performer, Blume portrayed a dozen different characters, dashing from one side of the stage to another to capture each perspective. She was most convincing as her good-natured lead, Lyssa Stratton. Lyssa, wife of swinging President Jack Stratton, is rudely awakened to the climate crisis by an ambassador from a small island nation. After going on a bender fueled by Abraham Lincoln's hidden stash of absinthe, Lyssa resolves to confront global warming in her own way: a nationwide sex strike. Her campaign lobbies the President to take aggressive measures against global warming, drawing activists all across the country. The result is a phenomenon of national abstinence that affects America in some surprising ways. In time, of course, the President caves in, the planet is saved and the camera pans out on a global love-fest.Unfortunately, standards of comedy have grown subtler since the days of Aristophanes, and Blume's determination to entertain grew tiresome. The show would have been better without the number of comic accents, suggestive props and grating references to "The Princess Bride." The play was saved, however, by Blume's decision to juxtapose its plotline with a memoir of her own journey as as activist. After every sexual innuendo or Secret Service joke, the stage lights came up and she told the audience about her doubts that a theater performance could stop global warming. Later, she entered a hysterical tailspin describing the predicament of buying groceries: plastic bags, paper bags, canvas bags and organic canvas bags. "Look at me!" she shrieked, dropkicking one of her plastic storage bins. "I'm doing this show, and I've got plastic on the stage!" When she sensed that the audience was nearing emotional overload, she squatted on a table with her cheeks puffed out and said, as her character Iniga Frogtoya, "You killed my planet. Prepare to die."In the end it was not the pop culture gimmicks or the funny voices that made the show compelling, but Blume's earnest concern about climate change. Flitting between giddy parody and wide-eyed sincerity, she hammered home her cause from every possible angle, desperate to convey its urgency. She was, of course, preaching to the choir, here in Vermont. But after Lyssa Stratton got her happy ending and the world was put to rights, there were few in the audience who could doubt Blume's faith in our planet's potential for "blazing, unquenchable hope."
(09/18/08 12:00am)
Author: Tess Russell On Sept. 10, acclaimed author Eric Schlosser - most famous for "Fast Food Nation," his radical critique of "the All-American meal" - addressed a packed Dana Auditorium in which the student crowd overflowed onto the stage. Schlosser, who began his career at The Atlantic Monthly and has since written for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and The Nation, was on campus in connection with the Meet the Press Lecture Series. Co-sponsored by Brainerd and Atwater Commons and the Department of English and American Literatures, Meet the Press has brought reporters and other newsmakers to the College since its inception in 2003.Scholar in Residence Sue Halpern introduced Schlosser by invoking the tradition of muckraking, an early form of sensationalist American journalism that sought to expose the harsh realities of industrialized society and reached its peak at the beginning of the 20th century under forerunners like Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell. Halpern identified Schlosser and documentarian Michael Moore as possibly our most visible modern-day muckrakers.When Schlosser took the podium, he was quick to point out that there are many other contemporary investigative journalists doing good work that goes widely unread in today's harsh publishing climate, but not before good-naturedly chiding his audience for staying indoors on such a beautiful day. He soon explained that his lecture would be more concerned with his own process of writing in general than with any of his specific subjects."It's my old-fashioned aim to leave my familiar surroundings and explore worlds rarely depicted in the mainstream media," said Schlosser, "to bring to public attention the realities and the voices that you never hear. It's a great time to be a muckraker, because everywhere you look in society, the levels of corruption are extraordinary."He would come back to this theme again, noting Fast Food Nation's primary success among young people."I wasn't intentionally targeting the book towards young readers, but it has affected them the most," he said. "Your generation has been exposed to more disinformation, to more outright lies crafted by people trying to deceive you, than mine was. I see my work as a pushback against that and it is encouraging to me that the people who have been the most targeted by advertising have also been the most willing to question the practices of these [fast food] companies.Still, Schlosser maintained that even when his research has taken him to the lowest depths of misery - as with his current undertaking, an exposé of the nation's deeply flawed prison system - he has never felt depressed or begun to view our societal problems with a sense of futility. Instead, his work has made him "angry and energized.""I never bought into the idea of inevitability," he said. "If you don't believe things are inevitable, then they don't have to be the way they are. That's an empowering notion, that all problems have direct causes and can be changed. But it can be amazing how long it takes for that change to happen."Schlosser cited the recent agreement between Whole Foods Market and the Florida-based Coalition of Immokolee Workers, with which he is active, as an example of that sort of positive change. He criticized, however, the narrow, elitist approach of the Slow Food Movement in general."Slow Food dictates that food should be three things - good, clean and fair," he said. "That last component refers to social justice and that's where the movement has been less effective. Does it matter if a piece of fruit is local and organic if it's harvested by slave labor? The scope needs to be broadened to bring in ordinary working people and one of the big concerns is making food cheaper versus making sure Americans have a decent minimum wage. The stagnation of household wages has corresponded directly with the rise of the fast food industry in this country."Because his projects tend to make public information that powerful corporations and institutions have spent large sums of money trying to suppress, Schlosser has often found himself under attack. He stressed the importance of transparency in his work, referencing his time-consuming but necessary system of footnoting that allows readers to access his sources firsthand, if they are so inclined.In Schlosser's mind, the most important measure of success is how his work is received by his disenfranchised sources."One of the best lessons I've ever gotten is, 'There But For The Grace of God Go I,'" he said. "I've realized how thin the line is between privilege and devastation - between who is fortunate and who is miserable - and I've gotten a sense of our shared humanity. If the people I write about feel that I have accurately portrayed what they have to say, then I've done my job.Finally, Schlosser warned Middlebury students that, while we should enjoy our idyllic environment here, we should never become complacent and "mistake this for the real world.""I can't urge you strongly enough to use the knowledge you acquire here to leave your comfort zone," he said, "and to push yourselves into the real world. It is so fulfilling to see reality clearly and not to live in a state of denial and self-absorption, not just because of the effect that you have on others, but because the process of taking those risks is a pleasure in itself."
