The “Green Movement” seems to be everywhere now- sometimes daunting, and for some, perhaps annoying, but its presence is undeniable. “Going Green” can be heard more often than the latest Rhianna song, and green is most definitely the new black. With such a movement spreading, it’s nearly impossible not to get involved, whether one takes issue with the environment or not.
The start of Catholic University’s (CUA) Green Club has been everything we could have hoped for, with a great response from the entire school. As CUA’s Green Club fell off the surface in years past, it was brought back into action in 2007, and has been going strong since. Green Club at CUA creates a web for those who are genuinely interested in the environment, to share ideas, and get involved in the DC community. As a non-partisan group, we like to stress that we encourage all to join- regardless of how much “green” knowledge one already has. Generally we have informal meetings about twice a month, but meet more often for day trips and events throughout the DC area, including work with DCYEA. Our casual meetings are more geared from common interests of our global community and its natural world, and how we can enjoy it, as well as sustain it. The ultimate goal of CUA’s Green Club is not only a heightened awareness of the perks of “going green,” but also enjoying the simple pleasures of the great outdoors.
Personally, perhaps my strongest concern in the entire realm of the environmental movement is the labels placed on those that are involved in it. I’ve heard the countless “hippy, trendy, liberal” comments over the past couple of years, some of which have annoyed me, most of them I can brush off. But perhaps there are people involved in “going green” simply because it is trendy- but what’s wrong with that? Where’s the shame in this trend? No matter what stereotype a person falls into, they’re bound to believe in the presence of global warming, whether they want to or not, so how does one turn their head from the recycling can, or mock those that don’t? It is obvious that the greatest feat in the global warming crisis is converting those people that do not care about it people that do. I, myself, have hope for this, though radical changes must occur in order to do so.
Kristen McCarron is a senior Biology Major at Catholic University, and a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is co-founder and President of Green Club at CUA and interns at the EPA. She has plans on volunteering upon graduation, and eventually returning back to school for either public health or botany.
