Excelsior

Issue date: 11/23/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Simone Herbin The issue of a more sustainable Brooklyn College was fromt and center at the town hall meeting.

Brooklyn College students, faculty, administration, and community members met for the second of three town halls concerning sustainability on campus this past Tuesday in the Student Center.

"[Students] aren't learning what [they] need to learn to address the chief problems of the 20th century. That's a problem for us as educators," said Michael Menser, philosophy professor and panelist at the evening's event.

"Universities buy things, lease land, feed people-they have all of these sectors right there on campus," Menser said.

Moderated by chemistry sophomore Mubashir Billah, the goal of this town hall was to present efforts the Brooklyn College community was making to address this important issue. While the common conception of sustainability conjures up images of going green, hybrid cars, and conserving energy, it was stressed that to be truly sustainable means to meet the increasing social, economic, and environmental demands which result from increasing population growth.

"Imagine a river leading to absolute catastrophe," said freshman women's studies major and panelist Isabelle Jagninski. "There are two solutions: plant sticks in the mud to slow us on this path, or build a new channel to divert the river to a more sustainable future."

The Brooklyn College community has been taking steps to alter practices across the board to create a more sustainable environment. One year ago the Mayor's office presented the CUNY system with the initiative of reducing carbon dioxide emissions 30 percent by 2017. BC Superintendent of Facilities Joseph Nigro believes this can be possible through reforms on energy, transportation, and waste reduction.

"We have installed steam traps and control upgrades on Boylan, Whitehead, and Ingersoll Halls, and are looking into the installation of rooftop solar paneling," Nigro said.

The College advocates the installation of high-efficiency lighting and motion detectors, a clean fleet policy for campus work vehicles, and the construction of additional bike racks to encourage pedestrian traffic. Paper recycling has increased on campus by 25 percent in the past year, and cooking oil waste from the cafeteria is being recycled into bio-diesel fuel.

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