Through Murky Waters: New student activists work to bring clean energy
The greening of JMU, part one
By Alex Sirney, senior writer
Posted on December 4, 2006

Ryan Powanda and Emily Thomas don’t fit the stereotype of environmental activists. They are shod and clothed. Powanda is clean shaven, and neither of them looks like they’ve just come back from the interior of the Amazon.

Nevertheless, they have become the de facto leaders of the Clean Energy Coalition at JMU, an association of student organizations dedicated to convincing the university to purchase environmentally friendly electricity. The average appearance of them and the new wave of activists like them signifies what their message will hopefully become — mainstream, accepted and common practice.

Environmental activism is nothing new to the JMU community — the seven groups that have joined the CEC already existed before the collation was formed in April, but now they are united with the common goal to gather enough student, faculty and community support by the end of the academic year to have JMU President Rose commit JMU to buying 100 percent clean energy within a certain timeframe.

This is a reasonable and modest goal; the plans the coalition has right now involve a trivial increase in student fees to pay for the switch. In return for a slight dip into the wallet — Tennessee Tech did it for $8 per student per semester — JMU would become a national leader in environmental friendliness, and more importantly, would be drastically decreasing the negative environmental impact of the university.

Most power in the United States still comes from coal power plants, which throws smog and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. These, in turn, lead to a range of local health effects, like asthma, cancer and even birth defects. An energy consumer as large as JMU backing out of the traditional power grid would not only reduce some of these effects but provide an example for other major institutions to follow.

Leaders like Powanda and Thomas are the ones that JMU should be looking to for direction, people with a sense not only of the issues, but how to garner support from students and administration.

Junior Aaron Sobel is another of these new environmental leaders. He is working, through his Natural Resource Conservation class (GEOG 240) to find ways to make buildings on campus more energy efficient through green building practices. His group is looking closely at the Potomac  Hall dorms because of the planned construction of two new dorms of the same style.

Sobel’s goals, like the Coalition’s, don’t sound like the shockingly extreme, social-revolution variety that many people expect from environmentalist groups. Rather, they’re common-sense measures that should be adopted as soon as possible.

The administration has been supportive, although Sobel noted a reluctance to try anything new and untested. “Everything is considered on current costs, not future costs,” he said. “That’s an attitude that needs to change.”

Thomas is optimistic, however. “We’re hopeful that JMU can set an example of students and administration working together,” she said.

These groups are clearly on the right track to bring about a change on campus. Students like Sobel are investigating how to change JMU for the greener, and Thomas and Powanda are leading the effort to get the university to commit to that change. The groups they’ve brought together are as committed as they are. Marley Green, a leader in Earth Club, said his group — a Coalition member — is ready and dedicated, and Powanda hopes for an even broader level of support.

“[The issue] is really global, so I think we should have every group on campus [involved],” he said.

Every group on campus should get behind this cause — one of the strengths of the coalition is that all its member groups work on their own sustainability projects, so there is a place for any group to find a home. Groups are nothing without their members, however, and it is the responsibility of students to take action.

This action isn’t extreme; all that is needed is to show support for the administration. Sign the petitions when they come up and, if you want to get involved, head to the ecoSymposium tonight where the coalition groups will be presenting at 5:30 in HHS, room 2301, about these issues.

Alex Sirney is a senior anthropology/SMAD major.