By Jamie Atkinson
Students, faculty and visitors gathered in the Scott Skodnek Business Development Center in the Axinn Library on Wednesday evening to hear a panel of professors and a state representative speak about climate change, green engineering, living green in the suburbs and what New York is doing to be more eco-friendly.
The panel discussion was aired live on WRHU, the University’s radio station, and was hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement in honor of Earth Day.
Geology professor Emma C. Farmer started the discussion by explaining the effects of climate change on Long Island. Farmer described how hurricane strength and patterns could affect Long Island if the effects of climate change alter the atmosphere.
“The most conservative estimate of sea level rise is about two feet in the next century,” Farmer said. “It could easily be, and is probably going to be, more than that.”
“We need to take action,” Farmer added.
The panel also discussed green engineering. Margaret Hunter, a professor of engineering, said there is no aspect of engineering that cannot be turned green. Simply altering and improving current technology would not be enough, she said.
“We are long past simply fixing what we have, we must now invent completely new technology to deal with this problem,” Hunter said.
Hunter was also quick to point out how effective the public voice can be. “Ask for it,” she challenged the audience. “They [companies] will make what consumers demand.”
Eric Strauss, the director of the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College, gave instructions on how to live green in a suburb such as Long Island. He began by analyzing the relationship between population growth and land usage in the past 38 years since Earth Day was first named a national day of awareness.
Strauss suggested simple steps people can make to live greener.
“Walk or bike to work, unplug appliances or let your clothes air dry instead of using an electric dryer,” Strauss said. “These little steps can make a big difference.”
Peter Washburn, a representative from the New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau, discussed the steps that the state government was taking toward being environmentally friendly.
He said that New York, along with several other states, is pushing for a stop on licenses for new carbon emitting power plants. He also touched on putting a limit on carbon emissions by vehicles. New York has adopted but not yet implemented many of these policies, Washburn said.
“Something has to be done in every aspect,” Washburn said, agreeing with the other panelists. “It must be a team effort.”
Speech Communication Professor Philip Dalton moderates a debate on environmental policy between Junior Political Science major Nick Bond, who represented the Democrats, and Anthony Lucci, a freshman economics major, who represented the Republicans. (Erin Furman)