November 18, 2019
As the climate crisis only worsens, the younger generation continues to get saddled with an unfortunate reality. The reality is that the climate crisis is only getting more catastrophic, and policies must be put in place in order to try and control the most existential crisis facing the world. Time is truly of the essence, and the time for maintaining the status quo regarding climate change has come and gone.
All citizens must work toward the collective goal of protecting the Earth we all inhabit. Those at FDU also must buy into the cause of combating the climate crisis and implement measures that would reduce the school’s carbon footprint and its overall impact on the environment.
FDU has defined itself as the “Leader in Global Education,” and this means the school must also be a leader in the fight against the climate crisis. The university must incentivize carpooling because that will reduce the carbon footprint created by commuters. This is an especially big issue at a school like FDU, where the vast majority of the student’s happen to be commuters.
1. The school must encourage carpooling by offering, at the minimum, premium parking spaces. This would be great if a student was running late to class/work, and it would provide all members of the FDU community with a shorter walk to their vehicle as the mercury on the thermometer continues to fall. Carpooling may not seem like an enticing idea to the student body, but if those who carpooled were provided with better parking spots, it could sway the opinion of the FDU student.
2. Another way for FDU to attack the issue of the climate crisis is to offer charging ports for electric vehicles. E-cars are undoubtedly the way of the future, and FDU can adapt to that changing reality by offering premium parking spaces to those that drive an electric vehicle. Once again, this would motivate students to decrease their carbon footprint.
3. FDU must introduce other modes of transportation in order to get people around the campus like city bikes or e-scooters. Both of these options would limit the number of individuals driving from one side of the campus to the other throughout their day. The e-scooters and city bikes would be stationed at locations all over the campus in order to get individuals from Point A to Point B. The mode of transportation would then be docked at the closest receptacle to the final destination.
FDU must take the lead in the fight against the climate crisis in many ways, and must implement policies that will make the ways to get to, and get around the campus, more sustainable.
4. FDU must charge $20 for each parking permit on campus. In order to offset our carbon footprint, we found an accurate collective cost for commuting.
We demand the school implement these measures. In order to decrease our collective carbon emissions by at least 20% each year, the university must act on and apply points 1-4.
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