Save The Beach; Save the World

Climate change is real, and its impacts will unfold in ways that will have devastating consequences for people, wildlife, the environment, and the economy.  As a university located on California’s coast, CSULB must be particularly concerned about the role of climate change on rising sea levels, acidification of the ocean, and increasingly volatile weather events.

A few years ago, we joined nearly 700 universities in signing a commitment to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions and to achieve climate-neutral operations as soon as possible.  We emit about 60,000 metric tons of CO2 every year, 60 percent of which is attributed to commuting-related transportation.  Committed faculty, students, and staff joined together to form a Sustainability Task Force and have created a Climate Action Plan as a roadmap for meeting our goal of climate neutrality. Way to go!

We’ve already done a lot to reduce campus greenhouse emissions and these efforts have resulted in the elimination of about 16,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.  Now we’ve reached a point where we’ve plucked all the “low hanging fruit” and we need to set more ambitious goals to achieve the kind of reductions needed to meaningfully address the climate crisis. It has become clear that a business-as-usual approach will not slow the degradation of our wonderful Beach environment.

What more can the university do?  We need to invest more dollars in mitigation measures such as alternative transportation programs, renewable energy generation, green building practices, landfill waste reduction strategies, and procurement processes that reflect a commitment to ecologically responsible products. These mitigation measures will cost a lot of money but will generate operational savings as well. The unacceptable alternative is to close our eyes, ears, and hearts to the destruction of our planet.

Each member of the Beach family should commit to adopting at least one significant resource-saving habit, for example: biking, carpooling, or taking the bus to campus; eating more locally grown, organic food (or growing your own); switching from disposable products to durable, reusable ones; and conserving as much energy and water as possible.

Our campus is a living laboratory for sustainability.  As we strive to achieve climate neutrality we can teach other major universities to do the same.  By working together to make this happen, we’ll all learn how to live greener, more sustainable lives.  Research by faculty and students will accelerate our progress.  Courses that emphasize the role that humans play in contributing to climate change and the potential that exists for finding solutions will equip our students and alumni to lead the state and nation in a sustainable direction.

Let’s commit to saving our Beach as a way to learn and teach others how to save our planet.

Go Beach.  Go Green.