Campus Club was full of students eating sustainably grown, local (free) food, watching various student groups perform and signing the USG’s sustainability pledge. Why? Because Saturday was the International Day of Climate Action.
Called for by 350.org, the day was an attempt to show world leaders that people around the world want legislation that reduces carbon emissions and reverses climate change. Indeed, more than 4,000 events were organized in Yemen, Antarctica, Sweden, Chile … name any place where there are people, and there was probably an event. While the particulars varied, every event produced a photo full of people and the number 350 in some form or another. (350 parts per million is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to scientists. We have surpassed that at 390 ppm.) These photos were then broadcast in Times Square.
Climate change is the most important issue we face today. Whether you are concerned about human rights, biodiversity or national security, the evidence is staggering — left unchecked, our carbon emissions will cause tragic losses sooner rather than later. The projections are dismal, but I know humanity has the creative potential to match the destruction we’ve caused. Several clean-energy technologies already exist, and studies by environmental economists show that, contrary to popular opinion, quick action toward ambitious targets is economically viable. Saturday’s events stand as testament to the fact that people of all different nationalities, races and religions are worried about the Earth and are ready to do something about it. I fervently hope that our leaders not only saw this, but will also respond positively and strongly.
The perfect opportunity for international government action comes at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. In only a month and a half, representatives from 170 different countries will meet in Denmark to debate the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
At home, the U.S. Senate began debating over the Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill this week. (The House of Representatives already passed a bill in June.) Last Friday, President Obama kicked off his push to help pass the Kerry-Boxer bill with a speech at MIT. In his usual Obama way, and to my frustration, he failed to mention any specifics about what a bill that could succeed in reducing America’s carbon emissions would look like. Broadly, he said, “There may be plenty of room for debate as to how we transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels.” But despite the vagueness, we now have a president who recognizes that climate change is a problem and is man made, and who is willing to fight for carbon-reducing legislation. And we have pending legislation. Those are huge steps forward.
Here on campus, the University’s Sustainability Plan calls for a reduction in campus carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, in effect a 25 percent decrease. While at the low end of the International Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) recommendations of a 25 to 40 percent decrease by 2020, it is a good start. The new Butler — with efficient insulation, lots of natural light, a trayless dining hall, and green roofs on three out of the five buildings — is the latest representation of the University’s commitment to these reductions.
The International Day of Climate Action is an important reminder that our international, national and collegiate leaders need us to remind them that we care. Without popular support for legislation, it will be hard to garner the votes in Congress to pass anything meaningful. The day is also a reminder that we must hold our leaders accountable when they under-deliver. The Kerry-Boxer bill is imperfect, and neither it nor the University’s Sustainability Plan demand large enough emission reductions (the Kerry-Boxer bill only calls for 20 percent reductions by 2020, which is not even within the IPCC’s suggested range). We cannot let pseudo-solutions assuage our guilt and make us feel like we have succeeded. Rather, we must continue to demand more until we reach a truly sustainable result.
Though this may seem daunting, we cannot give up. As Obama noted in his speech at MIT, we have to dispel “the idea that there is nothing or little that we can do.”
“Implicit in this argument is the sense that somehow we’ve lost something important — that fighting American spirit, that willingness to tackle hard challenges, that determination to see those challenges to the end,” Obama said. Well, Obama, I refute such pessimism. I know that if we apply our scientific know-how persistently, we can succeed. And I call on my fellow Princetonians to stand with me in demanding action from our leaders near and far.
Miriam Geronimus is a sophomore from Ann Arbor, Mich. She can be reached at mgeronim@princeton.edu.
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