Third Night: Environmental Action Committee

Tonight, we are featuring the Harvard College Environmental Action Committee.

Self-description:

• The Harvard College Environmental Action Committee seeks to help achieve a sustainable world and protect the environment for its human and non-human inhabitants. To this end, the EAC aims to raise the consciousness of Harvard’s students to the effect of their own actions on the environment and to their status as stewards of this planet’s resources. We advocate specific changes at the campus, local, national, and international levels. Furthermore, we serve as a forum for discussion and a source of information on environmental issues. Finally, we seek to enrich our members through fun and fulfilling experiences.

Facts about the environment and human rights:

• An estimated 25% of preventable illnesses worldwide can be attributed to poor environmental quality.
• 3 of every 5 individuals in the United States of African-American or Latino background live in communities with 1 or more toxic waste sites.
• 350 parts per million is what many scientists, climate experts, and progressive national governments say is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. We have already exceeded this limit: today we are at 388 ppm.
• The International Red Cross predicts that there are currently more environmental refugees than refugees displaced because of war.
• Countries will review past progress and plan for the future at the United Nations conference on climate change, which is currently being held.