This Earth Day, a day for celebrating the planet we call home, welcomed feelings of love for the beauty of our planet, but also, panic for the future of the Earth. Less than a month ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the effects of climate change are now “irreversible” (read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60525591). It is hard to believe that there is nothing we can do at this point to save our planet, but at the current rate of change, this shouldn’t be so hard to accept. Governments around the globe have been slow to react to startling and concerning climate research urging reductions in carbon emissions.
At this point, what can be done to save our future? I’d like to think that the IPCC is wrong, and it is not too late to make a change, even if it results in a delay in damage rather than a reversal. When I learned that merely 100 companies were responsible for 71% of greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2015, it seemed like a simple solution to me to stop supporting these companies. (You can read through them here: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change). Most of these companies are involved in oil and coal. Fossil fuels are clearly the greatest threat to the future of our planet.
I thought about what ways we, as college students, can reduce our usage of fossil fuels. Ultimately, however, I realized that compared to other age groups, college students’ habits are fairly sustainable. Most of us do not have cars, and even if we do, we use them mainly for quick errands around campus. Everything we need access to — classes, dining halls, and gym facilities — are within walking distance of where we live. It is once we leave college that our reliance on fossil fuels increases as we have to drive ourselves everywhere for work, groceries, and to visit friends and family.
How then, can we create sustainable communities beyond college? The concept of walkable communities. Walkable communities promote good health and are better for the environment. These communities combat climate change and the obesity epidemic that America is dually fighting. In the future, communities should be built with walking capability in mind. America’s reliance on cars for individuals’ transportation needs can be most easily solved by making it easier to walk to essential locations in addition to increasing public transportation accessibility.