2010 Winner

By Katelynn Ondek

“The[se] are Man’s creatures… The boy is Ignorance. The girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy” (Dickens, 1843). Charles Dickens’ beloved Christmas Carol is hardly a tale about sustainability, and yet this famous quote expresses two of the greatest impediments to a more ecologically secure future: ignorance and want. A proposed solution to both is better education. This idea is the subject of much debate, especially for colleges and universities, as experts seek to define how institutions of higher education can best advocate sustainability, and what role they should take in “greening” education.

This year’s common reading focused on the impediments to sustainability. The most widely mentioned of these was, in concordance with Dickens’ quote, ignorance. If people do not understand that their lifestyle is unsustainable, they are not going to make an effort to change it. Furthermore, even if they do realize the need for change, they still may not know how to live sustainably. Author and local-eating advocate Barbara Kingsolver, reflecting upon the gravity of the global situation and wondering why some people continue in their unsustainable lifestyles, asserts, “We’d surely do better, if only we knew any better” (2007). Citizens need a leader to show them what it means to be sustainable and why this is important, and higher education institutions are in the perfect position to assume this vanguard role.

In recent years, a college education has become almost imperative for success; more people are continuing their education beyond high school now than ever before. With this increased flow of young minds constantly passing through, universities have a wonderful opportunity to influence the future of sustainability. They can dispel the dangerous ignorance that prevents greener living by educating students ecologically and emphasizing the necessity of a sustainable mindset. After all, “what is education for, if not to play a fundamental role in how our society moves forward in meeting its many challenges?” (Uhl and Anderson, 2001). There is no doubt that the energy crisis and dwindling resources constitute a challenge, one to which society has not yet responded well. By instilling in students the concept that humans are just one part of the web of life, and yet that personal choices can make a large difference, universities can reshape traditional views about success and what all should be considered when making a decision. In this way, more thought will be given to the biosphere, which is a crucial part of improving current circumstances (Bowling, 2010).

However, Ignorance is not the only problem Dickens – and environmentalists – calls to our attention; we must also beware of Want. In Dickens’ novella, Want can be interpreted two ways, but both are impediments to sustainability. Firstly, the ‘Want’ Scrooge would most likely need to watch for: greed, the American “affluenza” (Friedman 2008) disease that is causing energy consumption to expand so rapidly. This, too, can be curbed during the years spent in college. Re-education is necessary in order to shift America’s priorities away from the self, and for this radical redefinition of American lifestyle and success, there is no better place to begin than with the youngest generations. In his influential essay, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn points out that most of the breakthroughs involved in paradigm shifts were made by young scientists new to their field; he cites Charles Darwin as a prime example. Darwin began to formulate his evolutionary theories while he was still quite new to the field of biology. It was this inexperience that allowed him to keep an open mind, rather than obstinately adhering to the old paradigm simply because that was the way things had always been (Kuhn 1996). Likewise, the minds of young adults are still malleable, and colleges have the unique opportunity of influencing thinking patterns and opening students’ minds to the possibilities. By taking an active leadership role in promoting sustainability, learning institutions can help to redefine priorities and opinions, which is a necessary step to changing America’s lifestyle and curing its socially and ecologically deleterious affluenza.

However, it has also been argued that “Want” refers to poverty, and thus Scrooge would not need to worry about it as much as Ignorance, since he was by no means poor. This alternate interpretation is also applicable as an obstacle, because many connections have been made between poverty and unsustainable living. While few can argue that America is the biggest contributor to the impending ecological crisis, since it consumes so many more resources than developing countries, the fate of these the developing countries is still a major factor in the equation. It is these poor countries whose populations are expanding exponentially, adding even more people to an already exhausted earth. Many scientists agree that global population growth most cease if the earth is to survive much longer (Wilson, 2002). Furthermore, there is a direct connection between poverty and ignorance, since the poor cannot afford education. It may be argued that universities can do little to aid in this situation; while the approach to the obstacle may be indirect and not as immediately effective as education, it still has the power to make a difference. By making students more aware of poverty and the sustrainability-related problems it causes, schools can act as catalysts for change. Furthermore, scholarships and other financial aid packages allow more people access to education, which not only decreases ignorance but also gives them a better chance at a well-paying job, which protects them from poverty.

It has been said that “in the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we have been taught” (Baba Dioum, 2005). With this in mind, it is easy to see the importance of colleges and universities assuming a leading role in promoting sustainability. By overcoming Ignorance and Want, working to develop a greener frame of mind and to alleviate the effects of greed and poverty, schools can play central role in catalyzing change.
 
Works Cited
Curry, Maya. “The War on Cafeteria Trays.” Time Magazine, August 25, 2008.

Bowling, Emily. “Sustainability as a Paradigm Shift” (Lecture). October 1, 2010.

Dickens,Charles. A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.

Friedman, Thomas. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why we Need a Green Revolution - - and How It Can Renew America. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, LLC, 2008.

Kingsolver, Barbara, Stephen Hopp, and Camille Kingsolver. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.

Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Uhl, Christopher, and Amy Anderson. “Green Destiny: Universities Leading the Way to a Sustainable Future.” Bioscience, January 1, 2001.

Wilson, Edward. The Future of Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, 2002.