Meryl Phair

‘Our Voices, Our Platforms’: A Green New Deal virtual town hall with Senator Edward Markey and Carmen Yulín Cruz

‘Our Voices, Our Platforms’: A Green New Deal virtual town hall with Senator Edward Markey and Carmen Yulín Cruz

Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey and Carmen Yulín Cruz, former mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and current Harriet L. Weissman and Paul M. Weissman distinguished fellow in leadership at Mount Holyoke College, met in conversation for a virtual webinar-style town hall on April 7 at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The town hall was the second of the “Our Voices, Our Platforms” series, created through a collaboration of the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Miller Worley Center for the Environment with co-sponsored support from the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives and the Division of Student Life. The event included questions from current Mount Holyoke College students.

COVID-19 reveals the relationship of climate change with public health

COVID-19 reveals the relationship of climate change with public health

As the world contends with over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stability of environmental systems on health, well-being and quality of life have been brought to global attention. The pandemic has shown that public health hinges on the effectiveness of numerous medical, biological and ecological systems. These systems will change further as our planet continues to warm in response to environmental degradation and increasing carbon dioxide levels.

Degradation of Wilderness Threatens the Future of Human and Environmental Health

Throughout history, human development has steadily encroached further into the wild hinterlands of our natural world. Excluding Antarctica, more than 77 percent of land and 87 percent of the world’s oceans have currently experienced modification from human activity. With the global reach of climate change and pollution, nearly every corner of the Earth has in some way felt the impact of human life. Even preserved land, such as national parks and wilderness areas, contain air and water touched by pollution. This invasion into our global wilderness spaces has not only generated significant environmental damage but has also produced critical threats to human health. The degradation of our natural environment has increased the risk of global pandemics, and COVID-19 has been exceptionally demonstrative of the interconnectivity of public health to our current relationship with wilderness.

Dining Services Navigates Reopening on a De-Densified Campus

“Safety is hands down the goal but having great food needs to happen, especially during stressful and challenging times,” Richard Perna, director of Dining Services at Mount Holyoke College said. According to Perna, the past five months have been challenging for the dining staff, who have been constantly navigating and pivoting in response to COVID-19.

Calls to Reinvest in Marginalized Communities: The Green New Deal and Defunding the Police

Calls to Reinvest in Marginalized Communities: The Green New Deal and Defunding the Police

Calls from protesters to defund and abolish police departments have recently ignited a national uprising. Dissenters of current law enforcement establishments have amplified the need to reevaluate governmental allocation of financial resources.

Climate Change as a “Threat Multiplier”: Environmental Costs of the US Military Threaten Global Security

Security in the United States is currently a topic of discussion, centering around possibilities of reevaluating public safety, as brought up by racial justice protests and global security, as tested by the COVID-19 crisis. Alongside these systems is another operative institution meant to ensure protection to Americans, which comes at a steeper cost to the preservation and safety of our world than many realize.

How COVID-19 Has Impacted the Environment

How COVID-19 Has Impacted the Environment

The coronavirus pandemic has affected our environment, producing positive outcomes as well as changes that present further challenges to the preservation of our natural world. Limited travel and the slowing of economic activity have led to a reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale.

Environmental Intersectionality Illuminates a Complex Climate of Protest

Environmental Intersectionality Illuminates a Complex Climate of Protest

Protests currently embroiling cities across the U.S. were ignited in resistance to current structures and systems of oppression that have been locked into social, political and economic landscapes for centuries. Instances of racial injustice aren't the result of a few bad apples, but rather a product of a system designed to produce discrimination.

Cart (0)