The Joke of Green

"'The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it...' Psalm 24:1"
--Found on the back of Shorter's Convocation T-shirt

Yesterday, the convocation speaker talked about the importance of being environmentally conscious and how it was important that Christians embrace a more sustainable way of life because of their duty as stewards of the earth. Gotcha. An appeal to religion at a religious school. But he makes a good point, and it was a good way to kick-off Shorter's "Year in Green" (I forget what the actual title is, but that's the gist).

Yet, immediately following convocation in my air-conditioned gym, I walked across my campus where we have recently put down sod to make the campus more attractive. I walked near the now cobblestone paths which very recently were brand-new concrete paths, replaced, I imagine, to appear more aesthetically pleasing. Walking through buildings burning lights that nobody was using, I arrived at the lunch for the day.

Due to the mass of people, the plates and silverware were disposable, mostly being made from plastic (requires petroleum in production) and styrofoam (takes about 300 years to biodegrade).

Later that day, we had a selective blackout around campus, but that didn't stop us from having our Midnight Breakfast.

At lunch today, they were still using styrofoam and plasticware...even though fewer than 200 people were in the caf.

On top of all of this, we don't have a recycling program, a compost program, a mandate towards a paperless campus, or any environmental initiative aside from the claim that we are "going Green."

I get the joke...somehow, though, I'm not laughing.