The people at Schenectady County Community College were so excited for this year’s Earth Day that they celebrated the annual holiday nearly a week early.
While Earth Day was Tuesday, April 22, representatives from environmental organizations from around the region set up informational tables in the college’s Elston Hall Student Center on Thursday, April 17.
Exhibitors included Capital/Saratoga Energy $mart Communities, The Environmental Clearinghouse Inc., the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Schenectady County Department of Economic Development and Planning.
Highlights of the event included tours of a new CDTA hybrid bus and a talk by David Hennessy, associate professor and chair of the business and law department. Hennessy’s talk focused on the environment and politics. He said he thought the only way for politicians to make an impact on the environment is for voters to make ecology and energy conservations into issues of national importance on par with the war in Iraq and health care.
It’s about putting the environment first because it’s a long-term concern, said Hennessy.
It seemed the SCCC Science Club, who ran a booth at the event, had already put Hennessy’s advice to action. The group offered free canvas tote bags to their fellow students, urging them to use them at grocery stores instead of plastic bags. The students also handed out egg cartons filled with vegetable and flower seeds.
Chelsea Bennett, a science club member and student at SCCC, said she recycles, uses longer-lasting florescent light bulbs and tries to avoid using plastic bags.
When asked if the environment would be an important issue in the upcoming presidential election, Bennett and her science club cohorts responded with a resounding, `Yes.`
`As long as it’s a Democrat,` one of the students added.
According to Hennessy, that student might be right. He said studies have shown that the public trusts Democrats more than Republicans when it comes to environmental issues.
Conversely though, the public is still trusting of Republicans when it comes to issues of terrorism and the economy.
Hennessy said many of these generalizations by voters stems from what he calls `rational ignorance.`
`A lot of people think it’s smarter not to know stuff because they’re so busy,` said Hennessy. `It’s easier not to learn everything about the environment, and so the issues become superficial. It’s easier to say you don’t have the time because you have to take your Dad to the doctor or you have to buy diapers for your baby.`
Green tastes good
While the average person may not be an expert on the environment, the event at SCCC made it clear that `going green` is on more people’s minds than ever before, especially when it comes to local and organic foods.
`There’s a food movement, and it’s happening,` said Dick Shave, a board member for the Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market, a member of the Regional Farm and Food Project and a self-proclaimed food activist. At an informational table, Shave talked with students and staff about the importance of eating locally and supporting local farmers.
Shave is a proponent of the `100 Mile Diet,` which espouses eating foods produced within 100 miles of the dieters’ home. The idea of the diet is to bolster local food supply while reducing the pollution of long-distance food transport.
Shave said that eating locally also means eating fresh and eating healthy.
Shave, who is also a former student in SCCC’s culinary program, said he was working with school officials to bring more of a local focus into the kitchen.
`In Italy and France, it’s all about locality and local branding,` said Shave. `You can go to a restaurant and order something and the staff goes out to the garden out back to get the ingredients.“