Perhaps, our need to go out and interact with the environment has never felt so important. While we sit back at home trying to fight back at the Covid-19 pandemic, the urge to go out feels surging. And even though the interconnectedness of us and nature is self-evident, it does not always feel so, especially when we are wrapped up trying to fulfill daily responsibilities like school and work and such. Yet, times like this allow us to internalize the role we play in the dynamics of the everyday world. Take this: our gasoline consumption has decreased so much that the crude oil price went below zero yesterday! This is astonishing considering how much in these few weeks we have reduced our carbon footprint. In some of the most polluted cities across the world, air pollution has gone drastically down. Take for instance, Kathmandu city, for the first time in 30 years, residents reported being able to see the snow-capped mountain in the north. If anything, contemporary events have emblazed us with passion, and the need to actively participate in bettering our environment and community. This is what UC Sustainability aims to do all year round, to aware and engage the UC community in sustainable efforts to better the world. It's more than ever important to reflect upon what kind of world we want to leave for generations to come.
Each semester, UC Sustainability hosts dozens of movies, lectures, tours, and volunteer opportunities to engage students, faculty, staff, and the Cincinnati community in activities pertaining to sustainability. All our events are free for anyone wanting to participate and learn about the respective topics we address in these events. Our movies are shown in the Cinema inside Tangeman University Center, often in the evening on weekdays, and relate to a wide range of topics. Some of my favorite ones are ‘If a Tree Falls’, ‘Requiem for the American Dream’, ‘Anote’s Ark’ and ‘WALL-E’. These movies often tell stories about contemporary topics relating to our role in climate change and make the viewers passionate about the necessary actions we need to be taking in terms of bringing about positive change. With our lecture series, we host experts working actively to promote sustainable practices on topics relating a wide range of topics, my favorite being one on Environmental Justice. From professionals like Researchers, Authors, Farmers, and Designers, one gets to actively engage and learn how to actively work to make the changes we seek in society. UC Sustainability also hosts several tours such as Rumpke Recycling Facility, Civic Garden Center, and many more. These events give us hands-on learning opportunities. We also partner with some other on-campus and off-campus organizations to host tons of events such as clothing swaps, tree plantation, neighborhood cleaning, farmers market, and many more. The opportunities to learn, engage, participate, and get inspired are myriad. I hope you see you at our next event! There is so much to learn and share!