Sarah Thompson
Published: October 29, 2008
Sustainability is a word heard often at PJC this semester, as the college kicks off a two-year, district-wide project related to environmental and economic sustainability. With the assistance of a task force and a website, instructors have developed a number of activities in many different subjects.
Mike Will, PJC instructor and task force co-chair, “incorporate[s] sustainability into course content.” Similar to other instructors, Will correlates sustainability to the subject matter in his English classes. Students learn the intended material for a specific course, as they connect what they study to issues of sustainability, Will said.
Another example of how PJC is promoting a more eco-friendly environment is the Angel course companion Web sites, where several instructors have made it convenient for students to complete and submit their homework online, instead of using paper.
In the physical sciences, students complete projects that illuminate the real effects of climate change, Will said. Other instructors are using service learning geared toward awareness.
“The biggest obstacle is that most Americans, and people in Pensacola specifically, don’t really think about these issues,” Will said.
Will has created a Web site, 60seeds.blogspot.com, which focuses on sustainability. The site offers many suggestions for “going green” for instructors, students, and anyone interested.
Erin Spicer, Warrington campus academic coordinator and co-chair of the sustainability task force, said she has been “pleased with the level of interest, enthusiasm and support” shown by PJC’s early progress in its earth-friendly goal. The PJC community can contribute to sustainability not only in class, Spicer said. Ongoing events, such as those found on the 60 Seeds site, “create an ideological shift” and suggest that “environmental themes force people to pay attention to things that they may not typically,” Spicer said.
The Sustainability Task Force has planned a number of activities for students interested in sustainability. For example, students were invited to view the film “An Inconvenient Truth” on Oct. 20, or may attend a performance of the play “Urinetown” Nov. 14-23.
“I hope that we all can achieve a deeper or renewed sense of environmental and social citizenship,” Spicer said.
Another benefit to PJC is that going green will make the campus more cost-effective, Will said.
“PJC spent over $2 million just on electricity last year. With the cost of electricity on the rise, we have to expect that figure to rise. So it’s actually in our best interest to figure out ways to cut down on our consumption,” he said.
“Initial costs can be high,” Spicer said, “but there are obvious economic and environmental benefits associated with energy and resource savings.”
Suggestions include using unbleached paper towels and environmentally-friendly cleaning products, light bulbs, recycled paper, and other resources to promote sustainability in small ways that have a large effect.
“To me, sustainability really depends upon everyday choices that people make,” Spicer said.
“It is important for colleges to be thought of as leaders in the community,” Will said. “It goes back to people paying attention. If the community sees that PJC is invested in making this transition, then [other] group members will be more likely to participate as well.