"There is inescapable evidence that the massive national effort to restore the quality of the environment has failed," this according to Barry Commoner, a leading commentator on environmental issues.
Apparently, people are not doing enough to protect our Earth from deterioration. The increase in technology and factories causes pollution, acid rain and the destruction of the ozone layer. Landfills are too full, forests are being bulldozed, and toxins are being dumped into our groundwater sources. It is imperative that we cease this senseless degradation of our planet and protect our natural resources.
At Washington College, the Sierra Student Coalition has taken the above to heart in their efforts to safeguard our environment. The group meets Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. in Seminar Room #2 of the Casey Academic Center. Topics of discussion range from issues concerning endangered species to water and forest conservation in Maryland.
"People tend to separate themselves from the environment because they always think it will be someone else's job," commented senior Bill Brawner, president and founder of the Sierra Student Coalition.
Established in September of 1996, the SSC has been active in various protests. Last year, the SSC took an active role in protesting DuPont's mining for titanium in swamplands, and they have been instrumental in the renewal of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This law places increased regulations on grazing, logging, mining and many other consumption-driven operations so as to protect endangered animals in certain locales.
"I'd like to focus a little more on Maryland issues. It's a good source of inspiration to focus on one's [own] grassroots," said Brawner.
Currently, the SSC is developing outreach programs in Kent County schools to help inform school-age children about the effects of pfiesteria. Pfiesteria is a disease that killed millions of acquatic animals inhabiting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries this past summer and fall. The program will be designed to show kids how such diseases result from agricultural and factory waste. Also, the SSC has vocalized complaints against Home Depot for their participation in logging, and has sided with the Rainforest Action Network and the Defenders of Wildlife. The Defenders of Wildlife is an organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. In addition, the SSC intends to do more lobbying to have the ESA renewed again this year. When they attend sessions of Congress, students are encouraged to sit in on discussion and to learn more about the issues at stake and the legislative processes involved.
"The SSC is more conservative in that we want to defeat Congress at their level. We try to develop a humane relationship with the policy-makers," explained Brawner. "Anyway, you can't make progress when you have a lot of opponents. There is enough tension between environmentalists and everyone else to begin with. I'd like to ease that tension."
Brawner's main goal is to make students on campus more aware of issues. Although it is up to individuals to step forward and put together initiative to save the world, he believes that the SSC has succeeded in elevating people's environmental awareness on campus.
"I wanted to be instrumental in reshaping the whole mindset of students when it comes to their relationship with the environment," Brawner said.
Right now, humanity is living with the highest amounts of carbon dioxide in our air ever. More and more wildlife show signs of global poisoning. Desertification occurs with a new fifteen million acres each year. This means that even less land is available for farming, causing humans and animals worldwide to starve.
"It really is a passion and I'd like to instill that passion in others. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a bleeding heart environmentalist. I'm not going to chain myself to a tree in front of a bulldozer, but the group is capable of doing anything," Brawner said.
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