To The Campus, In response to, “U.S. Military Orders Less Dependence on Fossil Fuels” by Elisabeth Rosenthal, published on Oct. 4 in the New York Times, I offer this opinion. Michael Klare, in his book Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet, warns readers that growing scarcity and sustained worldwide ...
At last weekend’s TEDx talks, my friend Sierra Murdoch ’09.5 gave an unexpected piece of advice. “Stay away from screens,” she cautioned, “Be wary of social media. It’s an important tool, but if relied on to much if can trick us into believing change can happen quickly.” I looked up from ...
The current environmental movement is driven mostly by concerns about sustainability coupled with energy independence and the threat of global climate change. While we have made progress through more efficient cars, eating locally and switching to compact florescent light bulbs, the vast majority of ...
To The Campus, The bicycle need not be abandoned when we turn 16 and (finally) pass the drivers test. They are generally so beneficial to society. Heck, my college roommate rode her bike 300 miles in three days over the summer for the Make a Wish Foundation in Michigan. Still there is a discrepancy ...
Almost every day at Middlebury College, I receive an influx of emails announcing the latest environmental initiatives and encouraging students to make their voices heard. Last weekend, climate change activism took the global stage by storm with the 10/10/10 Global Work Party organized by 350.org. The ...
Thanks to dogged efforts this month by leaders of “Race to Replace” — yet another inspired project of Middlebury’s Sunday Night Group — several hundred college students at University of Vermont and Middlebury are newly registered to vote. Whether from Vermont or out-of-state, these newly ...
If Middlebury has taught me one thing, it’s that this planet is absolutely mind-blowing incredible. Think about it: Earth has created and supports countless forms of simple and complex life, including humans, which are (most likely) the most intelligent beings within five light years in any direction. ...
When Senator Michael Bennnet (D-Colo.) was the superintendent of Denver schools — a public school system at the very bottom of national rankings — he spent his first summer on the job going door-to-door in Denver’s most underprivileged neighborhoods, engaging kids on the importance of a high school ...
To The Campus, It has been nearly five years since President George W. Bush’s explicit remark on ‘America’s addiction to oil’ in his fifth State of the Union address. Despite the consensus shared by many of us to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil, this addiction has remained the same — ...
Anyone looking out upon the green hills and dusky red vistas of Middlebury College would be aware of the beauty of the world and the importance of keeping it that way — Republicans and conservatives included. Like most people at this school I grew up with the golden rule of Green living: Reduce, Reuse ...
Statistical evidence from student/faculty research has shown that the College’s biomass gasification plant is running to its full capabilities and will help Middlebury remain on track for its goal of carbon neutrality by 2016. Over the past year, students working under Director of Sustainability ...
Americans tend to dislike regulations. We don’t like being told what to do, much less how or why to curb our appetites. Yet we are in the midst of a social transformation based on rethinking the value of local and organic foods that is both market-driven and ethically compelling. Consumers want to ...
The Brooklyn-based indie rock band Yeasayer will play in Nelson Recreational Center on Nov. 13. DOM, the Worcester, Mass.-based electronic pop group, will open. For Middlebury students, tickets are available online now: until Oct. 18, tickets cost $7; until Oct. 31, they will cost $10; from Nov. 1 ...
Sunday, Oct. 10 — the serendipitously timed 10/10/10 — saw a profusion of environmental activism under the auspices of 350.org, the campaign to reverse climate change spearheaded by Scholar-in-Residence in Environmental Studies Bill McKibben. In an effort to catalyze the global reduction of green ...
The Solar Decathlon team continues this fall to work on the design, fundraising and community outreach for their project in preparation for the competition held in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall in late September through early October of 2011. According to the United States Department of Energy ...
One of ten early career journalists to have received the Middlebury College Fellowships in Environmental Journalism this year, Sarah Harris ’11 plans to “tell the story of cement” through the mediums of print and radio. Harris will spend her J-term semester and part of December in Midlothian, ...
On Oct. 9, hundreds of Vermont college students were registered to vote as part of an effort through the Race to Replace campaign. Teams of environmental advocates across the state organized in this “dorm storm” to help promote clean energy resources. The Race to Replace campaign was created by ...
American Poverty in Context, a fall symposium exploring issues of poverty and hunger in the U.S., will run from Oct. 21 to Oct. 29 and feature lecturers from the College community as well as nationally-recognized speakers. “We really hope that students will come away from the symposium with a more ...
Falling leaves, shorter days and chilly nights. Summer in Vermont, sadly, has definitely come to a close. But in the Harris Farmhouse, things are still heating up for the Solar Decathlon as we plan out the coming year. That’s right: one more year (11 months, to be more exact), and the Middlebury team ...
Aiming to influence elected officials for the midterm elections in less than a month, students, faculty and advocacy groups have begun demonstrating publicly to show their support for public higher education. As a result of the economic recession that has hit the country recently, states have been forced ...