A Call for Revised Energy Policy

To the Editors:

It is time that Oberlin College adopted an energy policy. As an institution committed to the rigorous pursuit of knowledge, we can no longer deny the enormous threat that climate change poses to our world. As an institution committed to social justice, we cannot ignore the way in which poorer countries and communities will experience the effects of climate change more severely than the industrial countries that have caused it.
There comes a point at which the possession of knowledge becomes a responsibility to act. We have reached that point in our study of the risks of climate change, and it irresponsible to ignore. The Bush administration has and will continue to evade the issue, but it is cowardly to use Washington’s inaction as an excuse for our own.
Creating a policy at Oberlin may require certain short-term sacrifices, but our willingness to endure these relatively small financial setbacks and inconveniences is a measure, in my opinion, of the maturity and decency of our institution.
I urge Oberlin’s students, faculty, trustees and administration to respond to the unique challenge posed to us by supporting a campus-wide energy policy.

–Alyson Dame
College junior