The Ithacan

Ithaca College will no longer be purchasing plastic straws for its on-campus retail locations. Instead, the plastic straws will be replaced with compostable ones.

Old VHS tapes, Halloween costumes, crock pots, shower caddies, an ancient TV, lamps and a plastic fish tank litter the tiny Take It Or Leave It room.

The Office of Energy Management and Sustainability should be applauded for the work it has done to accelerate the college’s progress toward its goal.

At the All-College Gathering on Aug. 23, Ithaca College President Shirley M. Collado announced that the college’s carbon footprint is projected to drop by 45 percent this academic year. This decrease in overall carbon output is part of the college’s previous pledge to be completely carbon neutral by the year 2050.

I am not asking for anyone to put the wrongdoings of our generation onto themselves. I suggest only that we recognize the areas in which we negatively contribute and amend our actions accordingly.

Bill McKibben, influential environmental author, journalist and creator of 350.org, said activism is the most important tool in the fight against climate.

While a Climate Action Plan Reassessment Team has been in place since 2017, it must make the current administration’s intentions for sustainability more clear.

The panel discussion focused on identifying problems with student involvement in sustainability and talking about possible solutions.

CSAs are partnerships between farmers and consumers in which subscribers pay in advance for a share of a farm’s harvest.

Smith presented his research on sustainable development in Nicaragua. His observational research focused on the rural community of Sabana Grande.

Recycling makes up 20 percent of the college’s waste stream, not including composting, whereas the national household average is 35 percent.

Senior Tra Nguyen proposes a policy to make the campus 100 percent tobacco-free, following the national trend of private institutions banning tobacco.