The Falcon   |   Volume 81, Issue 26

Published 6/02/10   |   Log In

Green more hip than trend

Make impact on environment, not ego

By CYAN QUINN, Opinions writer

Published: June 2, 2010

After drinking the last drops of lemonade from a glass bottle, I faced three grey containers labeled paper, cans and waste. A quick scan of the room revealed there was no one terribly interested in what became of the object in my hand, so I quickly tossed the bottle in the container labeled "waste" and left the library.

Most will share my "green guilt." But when the option to recycle is not available, what is the perplexed "SPUdent" to do?

However, perplexion turned to frustration when I received an e-mail to fill out a commuter transit survey as part of SPU's commitment to build an action plan necessitated by the American College & University President's Climate Commitment signed by President Philip Eaton in 2008.

Not only was the removal of glass recycling environmentally harmful, it was downright hypocritical.

But I would soon learn that this hypocrisy was only superficial.

Last Tuesday, my indignant self demanded an answer from Bethany Walrad, SPU's sustainability coordinator. Instead of an excuse, I received a smile and an explanation of Seattle's recent switch to "single-stream recycling."

Walrad not only enlightened me on the university's new recycling policy, she also changed my view of the phrase "going green" that seems to be popping up like chicken pox on the bookstore's new merchandise.

"It's just a fad word," Walrad said over the phone. "When people talk about 'going green,' it's really meaningless."

Take a look around the room you're sitting in right now. Go ahead. Count the number of T-shirts in the room with a "green" slogan, a picture of the recycle logo, or maybe a cheeky picture of a tree with the word "hugger" next to it. But what percentage of consumers make a habit of picking up the copious amount of garbage outside the Seattle Center as they walk by for their Dick's fix?

I am not accusing anyone, but rather, asking what do you think about when someone asks you what "going green" means?

It's not about buying clothes from Buffalo Exchange. It's not about composting. And it's definitely not about finding the right place for your glass bottles. Yes, "going green" means changing one's behavior, but as Walrad said, "it's a much bigger picture." We need a change in attitude.

It's about opening the blinds between us and every other living thing that inhabits this planet.

"Regardless of where they are, people are entitled to a certain standard of living," Walrad said. She put it simply, "Other people have to breathe."

When the ACUPCC's commitment text explains that we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century at the latest by 80 percent, it puts humanity on one team. It is our job to work together, not just as students, not just as a school, but as an entire human race, to make this happen.

Seattle Pacific is making changes for the better. Walrad was the first sustainability coordinator hired in 2008. Now, the university has a Sustainability Committee dedicated to outlining a "climate action plan" to be completed in July. Walrad also suggested switching out the "parking application" in the new student guides to a more general "getting around" notebook outlining the major bus routes.

So, go ahead and put that glass bottle in the paper recycling. It's not about the label on the grey container. It's not about the phosphorus-free dishwashing liquid on your counter. "Going green" is about sharing a simple breath of air.

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