Environmental issues are a prominent concern amongst Whitman activists, yet many claim that their youthful idealism dies out once faced with the 'real world.' Here, the Circuit catches up with four environmentally-minded alumnae to see how post-grad life has affected their environmental vision.
The Earth does not need saving, we do, and we must adjust our activism accordingly.
Despite popular images of environmentalists as rich, white hippies, much of the most forward-thinking environmental activism comes from the third world and other disadvantaged communities.
As you might suspect, my friends and I talk politics a lot. Because I am a green activist and an Environmental Humanities major, I can’t resist bringing up climate change frequently; because a lot of them are hard science majors, they can’t resist offering technological as opposed to social solutions. ...
A mental disorder can be almost as difficult to spot as it is to live with. Many students who suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other conditions are doing so in silence, at Whitman and at schools across the country.
Even if the current campaign to divest from fossil fuels is unsuccessful in its stated goals, it will still have succeeded in making a political statement that resonates with a nation-wide project to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
My northeastern relatives and their neighbors had another chance to go skiing through their town centers this weekend, as the snowstorm Nemo barreled through New England, dumping feet of snow on its way. I am told that in places where weather like this is relatively commonplace--i.e. nowhere I've lived since ...
I skipped the broadcast of President Obama’s second inaugural address in favor of reading it afterwards, so that I could better analyze its content without being distracted by the speechcraft. As an environmentalist, my response is optimistic—though it took some thinking to arrive at that optimism. In his speech, Obama ...
What if environmentalists have lost the fight for the planet? Green advocates will likely be prevented from implementing any meaningful solutions to our climate crisis, we must think of ways to live on a new planet.
We need to start curbing greenhouse gases right now, and it’s looking increasingly clear that economics is the only way to do it. The only responsible option is to instate a carbon tax to make emissions not an externality but a true cost for polluters.
The electoral college robs 80 percent of the country of a chunk of what it means to be American. Shifting to a system of direct proportional awards of electoral votes is the best way to maintain and improve the integrity of American democracy.
I am voting for Green Party Candidate Jill Stein because I refuse to compromise democracy by succumbing to political expedience.
Despite the benefits of the renewable energy they provide, dams have drawbacks that are worth incorporating into a balanced environmental ethic.
Ambre Energy's proposed coal processing facility in nearby Boardman, Ore. poses serious risks not only to the global climate, but to our own health and well-being here in the Northwest. Thankfully, there is much we can do, even as busy Whitties, to help put it to a stop.
Non-violent direct action is an effective tactic for environmental movements, but isn't happening nearly often enough to effect the change we need.
Today's levels of environmental degradation bears much in common with 18th and 19th century imperialism. Here in the 21st century, we are once again making a purchase with a whole swath of civilization as its externality.
People get angry about the cost of a gallon, and its easy to see why, but we need to be careful to not be too short-sighted when choosing our president.
The Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF) is the topic of the week among the Whitman Planeteers, soon to be formerly known as the Campus Climate Challenge. For those of you unfamiliar with the SRLF, it’s a pool of $25,000 of Whitman College money set aside for projects that will increase ...
Whitman students love to complain, but it is crucial that they harness that critical energy for productive change.
It's Earth Month, readers, and I can't think of a better time for me to actually do my job and fill this blog with the goings-on of CCC instead of my ponderous personal musings. If this is the first post you've read, it's important to note that the CCC is ...
Thinking of your life like you're writing a story can help build the most fulfilling existence possible.
Here's the latest dish out of the Campus Climate Challenge's smoke-filled room: we're thinking of changing our name, and this blogger is all for it. “Campus Climate Challenge” has a lot of problems. First of all, it's a mouthful—whenever I tell people who I blog for, I have to say ...
[caption id="attachment_47676" align="aligncenter" width="635" caption="Illustration: Emily Johnson"][/caption] With the Whitman administration having completed the latest in a series of shady land deals, the college is proud to announce the expansion of the Interest House Community to ...
Let me preface by acknowledging that I idealize the past; it's fallacious to assume that bygone days saw the meanest peasants talking like Shakespearean dukes. That said, I believe social media is hastening the demise of artful language. Language is the glue that holds society together—body language and tone of voice ...
Of all the detestable presidential candidates still in the race today, I reserve my worst ire for Ron Paul. True, some of the other candidates are far more despicable than henotably Rick Santorum, who believes that women should stay in the home and not the workforce, and claims that the ...
This week's post is about questions. What is a good environmentalist? More than that, how does one live? I've been pondering recently about what would happen if an ideal warrior were to join the ranks of the Campus Climate Challenge. What would this person be like? Would they have any friends, any ...
If you've been reading this blog regularly, you will know that I'm a rather strange person: more the type to be writing about where to find medieval coins with etching mistakes than about the personal journey of an environmentalist. Therefore, regulars shouldn't be surprised that one of the things I ...
For a one-time payment of $30 billion, we as a species could cordon off 25 hotspots across the globe and preserve 60 percent of the Earth's biodiversity, but is this plan worth the economic and ethical costs?
Bicycles are a complex business. On the one hand, they provide good exercise, fun, and speedy travel with zero emissions. On the other hand, they are expensive, difficult to store, harder to secure, and often sit idle for weeks at a time. Despite awareness of the benefits of cycling, lots ...
Starting this semester, the Campus Climate Challenge (CCC) initiated a tradition which has thus far proven to be quite interesting. Every week, as decided by the group (we truly are a bunch of contemptible Reds), a challenge is put forth for all members to undertake, should they so desire. The ...
Republicans have often had to shift to the right in order to win the Primary then shift back left for the general election. This year, however, will be more difficult given just how far right candidates have gone.
For my first post, I had a grand scheme in mind: one morning this week, when campus was stooped under a drizzle and dreary as all hell: just the way I like my mornings: I borrowed a tape recorder, filled a Nalgene bottle, and set out to search for the ...
United States policies have historically been based on hindsight, and climate change will likely follow a similar trajectory. Will that be enough, however, if climate change's effects become irreversible?
Next summer, members of the Whitman Christian Fellowship will find themselves about as far from campus as a group could be. For six weeks, members will participate in a cultural exchange mission in China, coordinated by the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a nationwide evangelical organization that works to establish religious communities ...
Now, red letters on the Climbing Center's website proclaim a change to the policy that loosens requirements for use of the wall. Students, faculty and staff may bring unlimited family and two guests for a fee of seven dollars.
The landscape of campus changes when you're a Whitman security officer. A peaceful place to sit and read or an easy path to take to get to class could become a more dangerous area after dark. These spots—whether poorly lit at night or difficult to see from trafficked areas—see criminal ...
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, students gathered in Olin to participate in a discussion with three experts about masculinity in the military, the subject of this year's gender studies round table discussion.
For a high school student searching for the perfect college, school rankings in the media quickly become familiar. This year, Whitman was ranked 42 out of 252 liberal arts schools by U.S. News and World Report.
Promoting sustainability on a college campus requires long-term change. The beginning of a new wave can be seen today in the restrooms of Reid Campus Center—and the people who started it are confident it can spread. The change began last year, when a committee within Campus Climate Challenge (CCC) installed ...
At Whitman's graduate school fair on Thursday, October 6, Peace Corps recruited graduating students, prompting discussion on ethics of development.
“I hope he's not innocent . . . I hope he's not innocent . . ." Whenever Juan Roberto Melendez saw the lights flickering in his cell, that was the mantra he repeated over and over in his mind.
Most larger universities, such as the University of Washington, have moved toward the trend of offering pre-professional majors, but Whitman is just one of the many liberal arts colleges across the nation that have remained committed to not bringing pre-professional majors to their campuses. Pre-professional majors are fields of studies where ...
In June 2011, Whitman's Daily Market Cooperative grocery store anticipated a move to a larger, more accessible location in downtown Walla Walla. More than three months later, the store has yet to make its move. After a series of obstacles, the Co-op store moved out of its Whitman campus location ...
At the beginning of this semester, the sociology department faced a dilemma: with three professors on reduced workloads and one on sabbatical, how could they continue to provide the full slate of courses their students required?
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