Spring Break
Students attend environmental conference
Naomi Parikh
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: News
Drexel University's Sierra Club took 35 undergraduate and graduate students to the Power Shift 2009 Conference in Washington, D.C., from which they brought back recommendations on making Drexel a more environmentally friendly campus.
According to Catherine Burtness-Adams, sophomore hospitality management major and president of the Sierra Club, the four-day conference included a green job career fair along with workshops, panels and lectures on a variety of topics.
"My third workshop explored the common challenges of motivating a school to sign a written commitment and implement changes," Burtness-Adams said. "I went to a workshop about beginning a revolving fund on our campus and then a panel discussing the importance of strong climate legislation before Copenhagen in December 2009, which is the location of the next U.N. Climate Change Conference."
Jennifer Cusick, freshman environmental studies major, also brought back ideas for the University.
"Personally, I hope that Drexel can become more open to local produce and partake more in more sustainable ways of getting food, waste management and energy," Cusick said. "One main thing I learned is that becoming more sustainable does not have to mean spending more money. Drexel must come together and brainstorm to help bring our school into a new and green future."
Burtness-Adams said two workshops from the conference directly related to Drexel: "From Climate Pledge to Implementation: Best Practices for Helping your Campus to Meet Climate Targets" and "Beginning a Revolving Fund on Your Campus and Greening Your School's Endowment."
"The climate targets workshop discussed the challenges not only in getting a written commitment from a campus, but also how to get them to continue working to meet those targets," Burtness-Adams said. "The challenge we face with Drexel is that they have refused multiple times to sign the President's Climate Commitment, yet we would just like them to sign a written document attesting to what they already plan to do."
According to Catherine Burtness-Adams, sophomore hospitality management major and president of the Sierra Club, the four-day conference included a green job career fair along with workshops, panels and lectures on a variety of topics.
"My third workshop explored the common challenges of motivating a school to sign a written commitment and implement changes," Burtness-Adams said. "I went to a workshop about beginning a revolving fund on our campus and then a panel discussing the importance of strong climate legislation before Copenhagen in December 2009, which is the location of the next U.N. Climate Change Conference."
Jennifer Cusick, freshman environmental studies major, also brought back ideas for the University.
"Personally, I hope that Drexel can become more open to local produce and partake more in more sustainable ways of getting food, waste management and energy," Cusick said. "One main thing I learned is that becoming more sustainable does not have to mean spending more money. Drexel must come together and brainstorm to help bring our school into a new and green future."
Burtness-Adams said two workshops from the conference directly related to Drexel: "From Climate Pledge to Implementation: Best Practices for Helping your Campus to Meet Climate Targets" and "Beginning a Revolving Fund on Your Campus and Greening Your School's Endowment."
"The climate targets workshop discussed the challenges not only in getting a written commitment from a campus, but also how to get them to continue working to meet those targets," Burtness-Adams said. "The challenge we face with Drexel is that they have refused multiple times to sign the President's Climate Commitment, yet we would just like them to sign a written document attesting to what they already plan to do."
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