March 13, 2018
There’s never a dull moment when you’re In the Green Room, but we really got to business today!
Some of us may not have many moments to spare, but there are still ways to contribute to sustainable causes.
Paul Hirt, with ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability, said busy people can come up with a plan on how to get involved whether it’s in your personal lifestyle or finding organizations and volunteering.
Barry Goldwater Jr. was our co-host for the night. He served in L.A. congress but surprised us when he said political TV dramas are not accurate representations of what goes on. Barry urged the public to get more involved in legislature because companies are resistant to change due to money and competition. This is why we tend to see national backlash to sustainability efforts. He claimed most Americans love renewable energy; it’s the business side of things holding us back. When it comes to newer projects in Arizona, Barry said the Navajo reservation coal plant is going to be decommissioned. Chet told us coal plants can’t improve, there is no such thing as clean coal. This is one of the many reasons the Salt River Project Utility and Navajos are working to get solar energy on the reservation.
Paul said challenges we face are not simple, we need multiple people from different backgrounds to help solve these issues. He asked citizens to get informed and get involved. He is on the board of the Salt River Project and they need 5 more pro-solar candidates. To get info on the clean energy team go to srpcleanenergy.org. He adds, don’t forget to request a ballot so you can decide who is making decisions when it comes to your energy.
Barry encourages more republicans to support sustainable efforts because it isn’t only a liberal idea. We would like to see Governor Ducey talk more about sustainability efforts, he supports it, but he needs to be more vocal.
For the entertainment portion of the show, Carlo Fontaine was our wonderful musician and said he plays the best kind of music around! He started with Here Comes the Sun and told us he wants baby boomer music to continue on forever. You can find him under Carlo Fontaine on YouTube if you liked what you heard. By now we’ve all heard the amazing things ASU has done when it comes to sustainability, but Paul informed us of their struggle about what the School of Sustainability would contain. They started thinking about it in 2005 and in 2010, they began offering degrees in sustainability.
Quita chimed in with a great thought: everything we do involves sustainability in one way or another. All careers and hobbies have some work to do in that area. Paul, proudly, told us ASU has the largest solar arrays of any university in America.
Jason Zeikowitz chimed in saying ASU’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2025. Just recently, Tempe became the first city in Arizona to make a commitment for 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. This means they will move away from fossil fuels and use renewable energy. He hopes this will build momentum for other places.
Written by Jodi Guerrero