by Dean Keith Gilless
Frozen pipes never concern San Francisco residents, but Minnesotans insulate the pipes around their homes every winter. The West Nile virus scares many Californians but doesn't alarm Scandinavians at all. Where you are in the world goes a long way toward determining the things you worry about.
Some Californians shy away from using wood for fear of contributing to the deforestation so frequently associated with global warming. But relying on imported goods means burning fossil fuels to bring those goods to market, which increases greenhouse gas emissions. The arguments to promote "locally grown" are no more or less valid when considering one's consumption of lumber and other forest products.
“People often ask me, how did you come up with this subject?” says Carolyn Finney, assistant professor of society and the environment. “And part of it was academic — I’m reading stuff in classes, I’m not seeing very much at all in geography about African Americans and the environment, that interaction. And when I do it’s about environmental justice, which is kind of a narrowly defined experience of the environment.
“But I’m in many ways more interested in the public conversation,” she adds. “How are we having this conversation in the newspapers, on TV, who are we seeing, who are we not seeing, what are the stereotypes?”
CNR's new Society and Environment major helped propel the University of California system to the #4 slot in Sierra magazine's new story on "green" colleges and universities. The feature, "Ten that Get It", in its November/December issue also congratulates the UC system on its "green policy."
"When such a large and important educational institution takes such significant, systemic steps toward addressing global warming it can’t help but influence the thinking of many tens of thousands of students,” said Bob Sipchen, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “If students carry these strong environmental values back to their communities and into their careers, UC’s initiative will reverberate globally."
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