OUCAN is hosting a kick-off event that will bring together the OU and Athens community on Tuesday, March 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Nelson Commons (parking during the event is free in the lot below the building.)
In one of the most recent articles in The Post’s ongoing coverage of environmental and climate news, Bethany Bella reported on March 9 that Ohio University is launching a new project to identify and foster the best up-to-date practices in sustainable design. “The main goal of the project, which is a one year trial, is to focus on waste management and energy efficiency.”
I write this brief letter to call community attention to an allied initiative being undertaken by a coalition of OU undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty: Ohio University Climate Action Now (OUCAN). Our group is motivated by concern about climate disruption, which we believe warrants immediate, concerted and substantial action. We are motivated, too, by the fact that OU is currently planning a major re-engineering of its energy infrastructure as part of an even larger master plan for the university. Given the talent and open-mindedness of the university personnel involved, the scale of the financial commitments and opportunities, and the truly exciting and forward-thinking energy revolution being modeled at universities around the nation, OU is at a truly historic crossroads. We will either revise the university’s energy infrastructure based on continuing reliance on fossil fuel, or we will move now toward truly sustainable energy. It is hard to imagine a more important issue for OU’s future, for our students’ future. It is time to act!
OUCAN is hosting a kick-off event that will bring together the OU and Athens community on Tuesday, March 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Nelson Commons (parking during the event is free in the lot below the building.)
If you are concerned about climate disruption, please come to the event, and please spread word as widely as you can. If you are a member of a group concerned about climate and the environment, please come prepared with information about your group and be ready to network with others who share your concerns. We aim to build the activist energy grid! If you want to co-sponsor the event with us, let us know (email babrow@ohio.edu).
I hope to see you next Tuesday evening!
Austin Babrow is a communication studies professor at Ohio University.
