Sustainability & Resilience

There is no question that the climate crisis is the defining issue of our lifetime. The only question is how we will rise to challenges presented living in a world impacted by climate change, and whether we will take the step necessary to limit those impacts as much as possible.

As an individual, I have studied sustainability and resilience in my coursework in UNC Asheville’s Master of Liberal Arts & Sciences program, and work to highlight the stories of UNC Asheville’s sustainability efforts, from the university’s Carbon Commitment to individual faculty and student’s research. I also strive to limit my own impact on the planet by reducing my plastic usage, converting my lawn into a native wildflower meadow, installing solar panels and other similar measures.

But, as environmental activist Bill McKibben says, we can’t get ourselves out of this problem one Tesla at a time. We must all work collectively to demand changes to the systems that are failing us and our planet.