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Tuesday, 27 June 2006 15:53 |
 In the national debate over global warming, oil depletion and other issues surrounding energy consumption, rhetoric often drowns out practical solutions.
However, the students at one local college are doing their part to resolve these issues.
Warren Wilson College ?? a school long recognized for its environmentalist ethic and commitment to public service ?? recently announced that it will soon convert to using 100 percent ?®green?∆ electricity.
Effective Saturday, the college will begin paying an additional $20,000
per year to use windmill-generated electricity. This will make WWC the
first school in the Southeast to do so.
The
environmental impact of the conversion is estimated to be a cut in
carbon dioxide emissions comparable to 2,404 car trips driven from New
York to Los Angeles.
Furthermore, the move is being funded by the students, who actually
proposed the idea. In a campuswide survey, the school??s 825 students
agreed to each pay an extra $20 per semester in order to use only green
energy.
We commend these young people for their depth of vision and their willingness to go the extra mile for the environment.
And we urge others to recognize their choice as an example for others to take personal steps towards sustainability.
What if every citizen in Asheville chose to contribute $40 per year to
get the city off its dependence on coal-powered electricity?
With a population roughly 100 times that of WWC, the environmental effects of such a move would be tremendous.
What if everyone in America made such a choice?
It is time that we all stop looking to outsiders for solutions to our
problems. If we are not willing to make personal sacrifices to avoid
environmental destruction, why should we expect the government,
corporations or anyone else to do so?
Both wind- and hydro-power are viable options in Western North
Carolina. Why should we not look to these resources, rather than
destroying mountain tops in West Virginia, to fuel our coal plants?
We all know the problems. It??s time to start working on the solutions.
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