国外团队总结之七：阿肯色中央大学

片木

队长：Brett Scott
团队组织：Joel Ludford
初赛积分：200
报告：
    我们自小生长在阿肯色州，“自然没有边界，现代得以生存”的教导一直都耳熏目染着我们。丰富的自然资源、超长的生长季度以及处于两个两个国家级森林间的地理优势，都为我们提供了一个可持续发展的榜样。
    Conway最为独特的拥有三所大学，共计6万多名学生。（人数仍在不断上涨）为了保护自然之美，我们希望在每个学校都开始独立活动，但显然说要比做容易多了。Joel Ludford和我发现在这个活动中的机会和需要，于是我们在UCA注册一个学生组织——绿色社区俱乐部（GCC）。这是我们在短时间完成大型活动的重要一步。七月下旬我们在三个校园中走动确定我们的活动方案，在Hendrix这所文理学院，已经开展了很多可持续发展的活动。我们通过参加会议甚至聚会来扩大我们活动的声望。我们和另外十名GCC成员在Joel家一起做可回收传单用于宣传。街边的黑板也为我们的宣传工作增色了不少。
    尽管我们的关注点更多在UCA，但是Hendrix在宣传环保社区的工作中起到了至关重要的作用。通过GCC我们致力于提升同学们的环保意识、推动变革以及减少能源消耗。我们经常在La Lucha，当地一个可以享受食物和音乐的可持续社区空间举办活动来推动提升大家对环保和社会之间的意识。在UCA的咖啡馆，我们连续一周统计午餐时间的食物浪费情况（15小时工550磅！）。之后，我们公布了数据，并获得了一块由自然机理操作的校园肥料处理地。另外，我们举办了一场针对当地社区和教育的Conway’s环保盛会。我们用可回收物品制作了GPR和GCC的宣传板旨在提升能源和可持续发展意识。（这些宣传板被用在很多场合，迅速帮助我们和对此感兴趣的人联系在一起）。在此活动中，我们收集邮件，了解当地各类环保组织！直到10月我们始终保持着和Hendri队长Annie Phillips的联系，并在在10月5日和7日主办了“Conway 青年行动峰会”。受邀嘉宾Andy Cheshier讨论了天然气水力压裂法对于人类和自然的负面影响。另一名嘉宾Kevin Mequet也讨论了石油高峰，眼前危机，各类解决方法以及一个设想的应以社会公正为名义的科学变革。峰会结束后，Joel和我主办了一场在学院教授和学生间的指导性讨论。在下一个周末，我们继续组织推动了阳光音乐节，这是一个只使用太能能的社区音乐盛会，该活动将其一半的收入捐赠给了郊区学校。
    GPR对于我们而言，更多的是一次大展手脚的平台而不仅仅是一场竞赛。我们创造了很多机会，完成了数不清的活动而且我们还不想停止...这一切，只是一个开始！我们非常幸运可以加入到全球首个世界清洁能源竞赛中。我们感到，为了下一代的健康环境，我们必须在环境问题上有所变革！就像美国土著偶像，西雅图市的市长曾经说：“我们不曾从祖先继承土地，我们却从后代借来家园！

Team Leader: Brett Scott
Organizing team: Joel Ludford
Earned Points in the Race: 200

Report: While growing up in Arkansas, we’ve often heard that if you shut off the borders around the natural state, modern life could be maintained. Our abundance of natural resources and a long growing season amidst two National Forests makes this a perfect model for sustainability...

Just as unique, Conway has three universities with a 60,000 and rapidly growing population. To preserve its beauty, we wanted to start individual action at each campus and we soon found out it was a lot easier said than done. Joel Ludford and I saw the opportunity and necessity in this cause and created a Registered Student Organization at UCA, the Green Community Club (GCC). This was in an effort to create the biggest wave possible in the shortest amount of time. We got involved by walking around the three campuses in late July to find our target focus. Hendrix, a liberal arts college, already has many sustainable efforts in place.  We raised awareness and expanded our network through meetings and even attending a few parties!  We advertised our group through sidewalk chalk and recycled fliers made at Joel’s house with help from 10 GCC members.

Although we focused more on UCA, Hendrix was vital in reaching out to help create a sense of a universal and balanced community. Through the GCC we dedicated to raising awareness, empowering change, and reducing energy consumption. We were often hosted by and volunteered at La Lucha, a local sustainable community space which offers local food/art/music while also promoting eco-social awareness.  At the UCA cafeteria, we measured food waste during lunch for a week (550 lbs in 15 hours!!). We publicised our data and got a campus compost pile built by the phyical plant! We also helped put on a local festival dedicated to community and education, Conway’s Eco-fest. We constructed a GPR and GCC board with recycled materials promoting energy awareness and sustainability (These boards were used at multiple events and helped us meet the right people to be effective). There we collected emails and got to know the local “green” crowd! Coming up on October we maintained contact with Hendrix team leader Annie Phillips and on October 5th and 7th hosted a “Conway Youth Action Summit.” Guest speaker Andy Cheshier discussed the negative human/natural effects of Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing and  Kevin Mequet also spoke on peak oil, the crisis at hand, alternative ideas/methods, and a needed scientific revolution all in the name of social justice. Concluding the summit, Joel and I hosted a guided discussion panel of college professors and students. The following weekend we helped put on Sunshine Music Festival, a community festival using only solar power that gave half of the proceeds to rural school districts!

The Great Power Race wasn’t much of a competition for us, but rather a springboard for taking action. We created many opportunities and made innumerable contributions and have no intention of stopping soon... it has just begun for us! It was very enlightening to be a part of one of the world’s first international clean energy competitions! We feel change towards balance with the environment is a necessary step to ensure the well-being of generations to come.  This is our responsibility to solidify a global shift of lifestyles that will no longer result in mankind biting the hand that feeds him. As a Native American icon, Chief Seattle, so eloquently said, “We do not inherent the land from our ancestors but borrow it from our children.”