The environment belongs to us all

The mission of the Rubenstein school is to bring people and the environment together. For over 30 years, it has produced graduates that go out to create a world where this is possible. Not for some, for all.

The school provides training, not only for environmental education, but for community development and economics as well.

Over the years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has helped bridge this gap of inequality.

A large part of ensuring that communities across the nation is built upon the relationship between people and their environment. The EPA funds both environmental justice and educational justice, according to their website.

If we do not stand up against recent actions, not only are we allowing our own educational programs to be defunded, but our future leaders will be limited as well.

The place of science in the academic sphere is not something everyone has the privilege of accessing. It is our duty to educate others and to listen to their knowledge, too.

We are allowing money to be taken away from underprivileged neighborhoods, robbing them not only of health, but education for our future world leaders.

Our generation’s number of eligible voters is as large as as the baby boomer’s generation, according to Pew Research Center.

Still, we have the highest rate of voter apathy.

Well, here’s our second chance to take a stand; if we don’t, we might as well be siding with climate change deniers.

We call on the members of the UVM community to stand up and speak up.

Being at UVM means we have the opportunity and privilege to make a difference, even if it feels like things are hopeless. We call on you to take on the responsibility, to remain politically active, to ensure the health and happiness of future generations.

We have no time for apathy. This is a pivotal moment to demonstrate our strength and fight for our future.

Our society has one fundamental misunderstanding: that humanity is somehow separate from the natural world.We bulldozed and paved over the natural world for the sake of civilization, leaving a conceptual gap between environment and humanity.

The only way to preserve our planet is to bridge the gap.

We ought to replace the idea of “the environment” with “our environment.” It’s our duty, as a green university, to reinforce this idea.