A long-term perspective on the environment is the most imperative change needed at Boston University, the president of the Environmental Student Organization said Thursday.
As part of a panel of advocates for the Net Impact Undergraduate Club at Boston University, ESO President and College of Arts and Sciences senior Rachel Weil discussed the importance of sustainability from a student perspective, answering questions on how students could get involved and raise awareness about the university’s impact on the environment.
The panel spoke to about 50 students and professors gathered at the Law Auditorium for an event titled “Building a Better Boston University.”
Net Impact is a global organization that promotes awareness on environmental issues, sustainability goals and building a “greener” community, according to its website.
The Net Impact Undergraduate Club at BU is a student group that aims to encourage positive action on campus and in the community.
School of Management sophomore Rebecca Farmer, the vice president of events and programs for Net Impact at BU, said that although the group is a relatively new addition to the plethora of environmental groups on campus, it has a different goal in mind.
The organization aims to bring people together from different schools and different levels of education, she said.
Farmer said Net Impact also wants to bring local business professionals onto BU’s campus to educate students and raise awareness about businesses that promote the preservation of the environment.
Panelist and BU professor of geography and environment Robert Kaufmann said he believes changing minds is not realistic or effective.
“Small behavioral changes don’t change minds. It just gets people to do small things without thinking about it,” he said. “So if you send people the right messages, you can get people to act in a positive way without them realizing it.”
“I’ve noticed over the past two years that not very many things are environmentally conscious here at BU,” said attendee and CAS sophomore Mike Murowchick.
Murowchick said he thinks students should do little things around campus to improve the environment.
“Net Impact is looking for ways to bring all the sustainability groups on campus together,” said BU Sustainability Director Dennis Carlberg. “What will it take to get people connected?”
The speakers often turned the table on the attendees, asking them open-ended questions such as “what is sustainability?” to which the audience responded “recycling,” “re-using” and “consuming less,” among other answers.
Farmer then defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without sacrificing the needs of future generations.”
One member from the audience asked about big issues that future generations face, besides carbon emissions.
“I am convinced that the next world war is going to be over water,” Weil, a former Daily Free Press columnist, said. “Climate change is destroying ecosystems and we’re going to have to deal with that. Water pollution doesn’t get as much attention as carbon emissions, but I think that is about to change.”
Attendees said it is important to educate people on sustainability to encourage change.
“The college community is a big group,” said attendee Sara Crandall, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior. “If you start change here, it could make a big change if we encourage sustainability on campus.”
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