Sustainability struggles

It's only a few weeks into the semester, but IU already has some serious catch-up work to do, according to its College Sustainability Report Card 2007. This review of 100 schools, conducted by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, measured environmental policies and programs in the fields of administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling and shareholder engagement.\nApparently IU has been slacking off: It earned a D-plus.\nSo far, IU has questioned the validity of the low mark. Top-level administrators have protested, insisting the University meets state requirements as far as emissions and waste streams are concerned. In addition, the media-relations office has been touting the prospective establishment of a sustainability task force promised by IU Vice President Terry Clapacs.\nAll right, you may say, it sounds like we're moving in the right direction, more or less. So what's with the D, and all the cynicism, for that matter?\nSuffice it to say that the administration earned the suspicious attitude we now feel toward these seemingly encouraging gestures. About a decade ago, when the push for more eco-friendly University policies surfaced, the administration created a body similar to Clapacs' proposed committee. Upon its inception, the Council for Environmental Stewardship enjoyed broad administrative backing, but as the years went by, the interest of University higher-ups in the council dwindled, and last April, IU pulled its funding.\nClearly, as seen in the case of the Council for Environmental Stewardship, the University's interest in making its campus greener, cleaner and more sustainable was either a passing thought or a half-hearted attempt to placate those demanding change until their resolve dried up.\nWhile efforts to improve IU's environmental track record may be earnest, it is rare that the administration -- or the student body, for that matter -- follows through on its commitments. Here we have an opportunity to change that, and we cannot afford to have the Sustainability Task Force go the way of the Council for Environmental Stewardship. Concerns about global warming, drinking water contamination, deforestation and other ecological issues are changing the way that universities around the country interact with their environments. Purchasing departments are beginning to seek out sustainable or local food sources, physical plants are conserving energy and using cleaner burning fuels, and residence halls are expanding their recycling capabilities.\nThese, of course, are the universities that cleared the Sustainable Endowments Institute's standards of scrutiny. In terms of both monetary resources and manpower, IU's peer institutions of higher learning, including Ball State and Purdue, have attracted national attention with their sustainability initiatives and resource efforts. Not only have conservation efforts reduced these institutions' environmental impacts, but they have also saved them millions of dollars and garnered widespread positive publicity.\nIf the administration again sweeps environmental issues under the rug, it will put the well-being of the University at stake. So please, follow through with your commitment this time, and by the time your next report card comes out, you won't have to worry about flunking.