Oswego State was recently honored in The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s top environmentally responsible colleges.

The most obvious aspects of our “green campus” include our water bottle refill stations, ample recycling facilities and entire eco-friendly buildings.  But we often overlook some other unique features on campus that make us deserving of this national recognition. 

The shuttle and bus services that transport hordes of students decrease the need for automobiles on campus. On campus bike racks and bike storage encourage zero pollution methods of transportation as well.  Every new building since 2005 has met the United States’ Green Building Council’s Gold certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Not only is this a commendable accolade worthy of praise from the Princeton Review, it should be a unique selling point to prospective students. Millennials are by far the most environmentally conscious demographic in America.  And if you are not concerned and doing your part to be environmentally conscious, you should be. 

In 2016, climate change became a huge issue on the national stage with an enormous amount of attention by the public, especially young people. Many future students factor in environmental sustainability in their choice of college. One survey found that 61 percent of teens and parents cite commitment to sustainability as part of their consideration for a school. More colleges are becoming eco-friendly as an attempt to appeal more to our concerned generation. 

Climate change is already affecting the world’s food supply, impacting natural disasters and threatening many species on Earth.  It is the single biggest threat to humans. Unless we make a concerted effort to change direction quickly it will only get worse. 

As one of the largest polluters and richest countries on Earth, the U.S. should revel in the opportunity to truly make a difference and reverse this dangerous path to total environmental destruction we are on. The older generations may not care as much about the environment ,but they are not the ones who will have to deal with the effects of pollution and environmental carelessness if we do not make a significant improvement. 

We must continue the fight and pressure our administrators to make sustainability a top priority in any new development decisions on campus. 

I feel honored to attend a school that has done so thus far, but I will not be satisfied if Oswego State becomes complacent. It is up to us, the students, to keep working toward a greener campus for ourselves and generations to come.