DUELING COLUMN: FIU’s Arboretum Plan Is Pseudo-Environmentalist

Guido Gonzalez/PantherNOW

William Jennings Sadler/Staff Writer

As eco-activism gains traction among a forward-thinking generation, everyone and everything seems to be jumping onto the hypothetical emission-free bandwagon.    

From the rise of reforestation-centered search engines like Ecosia to companies like Trader Joe’s removing four million pounds of plastic from its merchandise, environmental awareness is profitable for as long as capitalism will allow it to be.     

On Thursday, Oct. 14, Student Government Association Cabinet member Amelia Leon proposed a resolution to establish an on-campus arboretum, which is a museum for living trees. Its purpose is to diversify the University’s ecology, promote eco-friendliness and decrease student depression rates.  

However, this proposal is a textbook example of pseudo-environmentalism because it fails to address any of FIU’s consumption habits that pose greater threats to our environment.

The plan operates under an artifice of ecological and mental health concern to push forward an agenda that will have little to no practical impact on students or the environment. Where was this same concern when the University demolished huge portions of the nature preserve to build football fields? 

If those who support this campaign were really passionate about ecological preservation, they would switch gears. Investing in renewable energy sources, reducing single-use plastics at University affiliated restaurants, expanding the FIU greenhouse and creating more environmentalism-centered community engagement opportunities would have more of a direct impact. 

I don’t want to minimize the serious threats that climate change poses to humanity. However, I do question the extent to which exhibiting environmentalist intentions may translate into social, academic or even financial capital for some of those behind this decision making process. 

FIU has the opportunity to make bold changes, but instead, the resolution SGA proposed uses tone-deaf logic to support a project that only pretends to care about the earth. We have trees, we have mental health resources, but do we have the nerve to address the real source of the environmental crisis?

 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

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