With an economy in shambles, resource wars abroad and a climate on the verge of chaos, there has never been a better time for the United States to put an amazing leader like President-elect Barack Obama into office. Obama will have his hands full in his first term as president, but I have never been so optimistic about the opportunities he has to make huge changes to the status quo.
I believe Obama will make a great leader because of his patience, compassion, and especially his strategic foresight. Obama started his career as a community organizer, and if there is one skill you must utilize as an organizer, it’s strategic planning. One way that he is already planning for and investing in the future is by stimulating 5 million “green jobs” to rewire our national energy and transportation infrastructures. These jobs cannot be outsourced and will put Americans to work on problems that we can all agree need dealing with. We need to invest in the United States’ infrastructure and citizens to make our way out of these economic and climate crises.
While Obama will begin a journey to better the United States and the world today, students also have an opportunity to invest in the University of Oregon. The ASUO Department Finance Committee will decide today whether Campus Recycling deserves funding for its compost program today at 3 p.m. in the EMU’s Metolius River Room. A “yes” vote is a responsible decision for today and the University’s future.
First, the ASUO must be responsible with students’ money and realize the investments that students have already made. The ASUO last year invested $62,000 to get the compost program going, and stopping support now would not be a responsible way to respect the students whose incidental fees make up that amount. Also, housing, food services and the EMU have already invested in compostable serving products that would be useless to have without a comprehensive compost program to compost them.
An immediate benefit of funding the compost program is that students are enjoying compost as an option every day, and new students are learning from this option. Once students learns what they can recycle or compost, they will always have that knowledge, and the compost program is actively teaching new students every day. Another immediate effect of having the compost program is that we are reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and producing green jobs for students to work their way through college.
Looking to the future, funding the compost program is a smart investment for the ASUO because unlike an event or trip, it will be here as long as students produce compostable waste. Also, the University will further distinguish itself as a “green” campus and continue to earn national honors for our efforts. Lastly, we are creating a culture of environmental responsibility and sustainability, and to realistically deal with issues like climate change, we need that shift of culture now.
We are entering a new age of problems and opportunities, and I hope that Barack Obama and the DFC both have the foresight and courage to make smart choices that will benefit citizens for today and for the future.
Jesse Hough/strong>
University undergraduate and compost worker
Campus, national governments must plan for future
Daily Emerald
January 19, 2009
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