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Sustainable Works |
| “Californians create 46 million tons of trash a year , enough to fill two freeway lanes 100 feet deep from the Mexico to the Oregon border,” according to the Sustainable Works workbook. News like this is shocking. Everybody has heard of the problems of air and water pollution, deforestation and global warming. But since these are complex problems one can easily feel overwhelmed; one person’s actions might seem useless and inconsequential. But the reality is that we can each do quite a lot. At Sustainable Works at SMC they show you how. Formed in 2001 by former members of the Green Team, a national non profit organization, it is now directed by Genevieve Bertone and has its office the Center for Environmental and Urban Studies, 1744 Pearl St. The goal of Sustainable Works is to educate students and residents about environmental issues. As part of the Santa Monica City Plan, Sustainable Works is funded by both the city and the college. At SMC it’s an extra credit class. Sustainable Works offers an eight-week course that meets once a week. In groups of 10 to 15 students, led by a trained student crew leader, the six topics discussed are water, energy, waste, chemicals, transportation, and food and shopping. Several field trips, to the SMC wermitech for instance, contribute to understanding the consequences of your daily choices . Driving a car, versus taking the bus, versus riding a bike, for example. In the classes you are taught how you impact the environment on a daily basis and how you can responsibly change your habits achieve a sustainable lifestyle. Before you feel too overwhelmed, here’s an encouraging statistic from the Sustainable Works workbook. If only 15 percent of U.S. college students used mugs instead of dispensable cups every day, we would eliminate more than a billion cups a year. |