Panel on Climate Change and Environmental Issues

 

On March 5th and 6th, I went to a two day academic panel on climate change and environmental issues. The first day, located in Drake Hall, centered around international and national environmental issues whereas the second day was located in Hagerty Hall and focused more so focused on the state and local levels. The panelists included Colin O’Brien, staff attorney for Earth Justice, Scott Weaver, Director of Air Quality for American Electric Power, Cathy Becker from the Ohio Sierra Club, Kate Bartter from the Sustainability Institute at Ohio State, and Serdar Tufekci from Ohio State Energy Partners. Each panelist brought fascinating knowledge from their unique backgrounds and made for an informative and captivating discussion.

One of the discussions from the first night that stood out to me was sparked from the question of what is keeping the United States from using 100% renewable energy, especially considering how there are known renewable energy sources like wind and solar that our country could adapt. Even though energy companies and environmental lawyers are typically pinned against each other, both Colin O’Brien and Scott Weaver agreed that a large factor is that money talks for politicians. Since fossil-fuel companies are currently set up to be carbon-based and are profiting from how they are now, they do not want change even if it puts our future at risk and their donations to politicians sway politicians to agree with them. Additionally, another challenge that I had not thought about before is that there will have to be a lot of thought put into how to manage energy storage, particularly for cars, and keeping the cost manageable.

It was also exciting to hear from people who are involved in environmental issues particularly in Ohio and Columbus since that is easier to visualize and put into perspective. Before the second night of the panel, I did not know that the city of Columbus had committed to using 100% clean renewable energy by 2050. One of the ways to do so that I learned is to look at the areas that are consistently spending too much on energy to see if it could be because of inefficient buildings. Not only does this help the environment, but it also helps those living in these areas which tend to be lower income families to begin with. Ohio State University, specifically, is also working to be more environmentally friendly after the last president said that if universities do not take lead on climate change, then who will? The university now has 24 Gold, Silver, and LEED certified buildings. In addition, wind energy meets 15% of the main campus’s energy needs and some residence halls are heated and cooled with geothermal wells.

Being a student in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, this event heavily resonated with me because I got to hear from people working in this field. I am an indecisive person by nature, and when it comes to deciding on a major it is no different. My answer to the always pressing question “what do you want to be when you grow up” fluctuates depending on what movie I am watching or what book I am reading. However, after attending this panel discussion, I am more sure than I have ever been that this is the field I want to work in.

Climate change directly relates to International Affairs because issues like water pollution, air quality, and global warming do not stop at national borders. In environmental issues, politicians and civilians cannot only think about how policies and practices would affect them, but how it would affect the earth as a whole. Because this is an international issue, we need international commitment to switching to environmentally friendly practices.

 

 

 

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