The Badger Herald

OPINION & EDITORIAL

UW falls behind environmental curve

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Also by Letters to the Editor:

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Organic food: Deliciously safe (December 10, 2007)
Diversity deserves attention at UW (December 7, 2007)

by Letters to the Editor

Friday, February 23, 2007

First of all, thank you to Cassie Kornblau for writing the article, "College Leaders Fight for Clean Air." I was thrilled to hear about all the great environmental changes that are being made on college campuses across the nation; however I was also upset that this amazing news was not coming from The University of Wisconsin in Madison. Out of the four UW schools that were named to be completely energy independent by 2010, UW-Madison was not on this list. Cassie noted that seventy colleges nationwide have signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment proposal and yet our university still has not chosen to do so. C'mon Madison, we're better than that.

We pride ourselves on being a progressive university that is "ahead of the curve" and I imagine this is a mentality we would like to keep. If we, the students, do not take the time to make changes and put pressure on those in charge, then these opportunities to better our university and our environment will simply pass us by. Global Warming is a major threat that our generation needs to deal with now, so let's get on that.

The Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group (or the group many of you know as WISPIRG) has a campaign called Big Red Go Green that is dedicated to addressing the Global Warming issue. Members are currently working with UW administrators on a campus sustainability plan that focuses on conservation and energy efficiency. We have some great leaders on these campaigns, but these leaders also need some help. The Midwest Student Clean Energy Conference is coming up and it will take place from March 2nd through the 4th. This conference will take place right on campus in 3650 Humanities where we will all have the opportunity to hear about these issues and how we can combat them. To find out more about the Midwest Student Clean Energy Conference or even WISPIRG itself, please go to

So if you didn't know about the energy-related obstacles that our university faces, now you do. The members of Big Red Go Green (as well as all WISPIRG members) hope to have Chancellor Wiley sign the University Presidents Climate Commitment, reduce greenhouse gases, and eventually become independent of fossil fuels. I encourage everyone to help us meet these goals.

Abigail Lynch (aalynch@wisc.edu) is a sopohomore majoring in history and French.

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