Hood Museum Loew Auditorium

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[Note: For didactic, polemical, and provocative purposes, in this piece I imply a questionable/dubious opposition between (1) explicitly service-oriented, perhaps professional or semi-professional policy-types and (2) those who “actually get out there a lot.” One should not be so naive as to believe that a single individual may not embody both ideals. But do check around for yourself and see if there is any truth in what follows.]

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A Footprint Up Your…
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“There is a body of interdependent and unified interests and values… segregated by well-defined boundary lines from the rest of the world. The people in such a district have common interests, common rights, and common duties, and must necessarily work together for common purposes.”    -John Wesley Powell, Institutions for the Arid Lands, 1890

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We’ve all heard the warnings from scientists and environmentalists: “The polar icecaps are melting! Sea levels are rising! Extreme weather is coming! Carbon dioxide will be the end of us!” But isn’t global warming still a theory? Do we really know what causes it? Shouldn’t we just adjust to a warmer climate rather than try to prevent it? It turns out the answer to all these questions and more is a resounding “No.”

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The weather was windy and overcast the morning I set out for the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), located a little over a mile north of campus. I was interviewing for a Women In Science Project (WISP) internship entitled “Arctic Sea Ice Cover in a Changing Environment.” I was first interested in the role of the Arctic in a changing environment, and second, the lack of synergy between the scientists studying climate change and the public policymakers attempting to address the issue. That first meeting with Don Perovich, the scientist sponsoring the internship, turned into less of an interview and more of a discussion on the state  of the world; the apathetic, individualistic, short-term attitude of many toward the environment; and the implications of climate change.

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Presumably, there is a disconnect between mainstream, first world environmental values and environmental justice, which is a focus on the social and environmental needs of communities of color, the poor, especially poor women, and the colonized.

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Alcott Smith, a veterinarian-turned-naturalist and 60-plus year resident of these parts, can proudly say of himself that he was once the “New Hampshire answer to James Herriot.” But this description barely scratches the surface of Smith’s niche in the Upper Valley.

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Offshore wind power is a rapidly growing renewable energy source that has finally set sail for America. Cape Wind, a private corporation, hopes to harness Nantucket Sound’s constant gusts for 130 turbines that produce 420 megawatts of electricity, enough to power half a million homes and businesses. Each turbine would rise 270 feet above the water line, where a boxy hub links three blades together. At the tallest blade tip, they will reach approximately 40 stories in height. The lot of turbines will be arranged in a 25 square mile grid, located 5.2 miles from shore at its closest point.

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Climate change is a threat unlike any other that civilized man has ever faced. Most scientists agree that by curbing our carbon emissions through reduced reliance on fossil fuels and by promoting new forest growth, we can help stave off the worst of the dangers. So what can you as a Dartmouth student do? Offset your personal carbon emissions by donating to nonprofits like www.CarbonFund.org. These groups take your donations and channel them into renewable energy development, the protection of woodlands, and energy efficiency initiatives. Short on cash? Let your parents know that for only pennies more a day on their electric bill they can choose to purchase clean energy from their local suppliers.  They can use sites like www.RenewUs.org to get information specific to their region about purchasing renewable energy generated from sources like wind, solar, and small-scale hydro.