The climate crisis is undoubtedly one of the most urgent global concerns of our time. In word and deed, the City University of New York has emphatically supported the move to combat climate change and efforts to aid those affected by its physical manifestations. And we recognize that our great obligation to future generations is to help effect change in policies, practices and, most importantly, attitudes about how we coexist with the natural world.
That obligation compels each one of us to consider how we can best contribute to this important cause. One way to do so is by participating in this Friday’s International Global Climate Call to Action.
Students, faculty and staff whose class and work schedules permit them to participate in this event will have a high-profile opportunity to make their voices heard.
Interested students with classes on Friday could consider other opportunities that Friday’s call to action may present to learn more about climate change, pursue additional platforms of advocacy for this urgent issue, or discuss the possibility of an excused absence with their faculty.
In the end we all know that the magnitude of the climate change challenge we face will require sustained action over time, and we can take heart in the fact that the one of the most potent forces for achieving change over the course of human history has always been education.