Erika Vargas, a senior criminal justice and sociology double major and Julio Cesar Perri, a junior international relations major, talk to a representative at the Florida Keys Coral Reef table at the Green Library Breezeway.
Image by Nicole Meza, video by Philippe Buteau/FIUSM Staff
Written by: Philippe Buteau/Staff Writer
Colleges across the country want to help young people know about climate change and how they can create solutions for a better future.
“Know Tomorrow” is a national student-led campaign that promotes facts on climate change and how to unify, amplify and synchronize voices to raise awareness.
FIU is among more than 50 campuses who support the campaign. Participants include the University of Miami, Stanford University, Georgetown University and Boston College, according to the project’s website.
Ali Dutton, Office of Sustainability program manager, said she wants students to understand the impact of climate change, especially in South Florida.
“If we don’t change our habits and if we don’t reduce our carbon footprint, there will be no tomorrow,” said Dutton.
FIU students commuting account for 42 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions and 35 percent from electricity, according to a 2010 report by the Office of University Sustainability.
The University’s total carbon emission in 2007 was about 127,136 metric tons of equivalent carbon dioxide, and about 143,288 in 2014.
The “Know Tomorrow” campaign included a National Day of Action, which took place Friday, Oct. 2. The University demonstrated support at both the Modesto A. Maidique Campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus.
There was a series of events at the Biscayne Bay, the University Nature Preserve, the Green Library Breezeway and the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. A mangrove restoration took place behind the swimming pool at the north campus, and invasive species were removed in the main campus preserve.
The Green Library Breezeway hosted a club activity fair where student clubs and organizations showcased their work to combat climate change. They explained how their work is directly impacted by the effects of climate change.
The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit organization that advocates against climate change, held petitions at the fair. The petitions ask President Obama to make a strong commitment to reduce carbon emissions at the Paris United Nations Climate Talks in December, according to an email from Alissa Weinman, the CRP field organizer.
Graphic by Jasmine Romero/FIUSM Staff
“We are trying to get 5,000 [signatures from] students [at] FIU and 500,000 nationally,” said Weinman.
“We are sending [the petitions] to our president for the Climate Talks this December to ensure we get a strong agreement to reduce emissions.”
Climate Reality is working on campuses across the country to mobilize the voices of students to prove that “we care about climate change as a generation and that we demand a strong emissions reduction commitment from President Obama during the UN Climate Talks on behalf of the U.S.” Weinman said to Student Media.
The United States is the second largest country to release carbon emissions in 2011 following China, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. “If we enter these talks with a strong agreement then other countries like China, India, etc will follow,” she said.
“It’s our future at risk.”
There was also a discussion on climate with students, researchers and the chief executive officer of CRP in SIPA. They talked about the local impacts of climate change, and the University’s solutions to stop climate change.
Ken Berlin, CRP CEO, spoke with four graduate students and the University’s Age of Aquarius Club who are doing environmental research.
Daniel Crowder, a biomedical engineering graduate student, moved from San Francisco, California, and he said he was surprised by how little people care about climate change in Miami.
Miami has the fourth-largest population vulnerable to sea-level rise in the world, according to the World Resources Institute.
“Miami is really vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and I was struck by how little people really care,” said Crowder.
Additional reporting by Camila Fernandez/News Director
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