Sustainability: It’s about respect
Growing up on a ranch in Northern Arizona taught me a lot about nature. My respect for the land comes from a long tradition of people who gained their sustenance there, and who understood its power to give or withhold. I was privileged to live in a region inhabited by four Native American tribes – the Apache, Hopi, Navajo and Zuni – all within a 50-mile radius of my home town. These indigenous people, living close to the earth, understood the natural world and its rules, and lived according to its cycles. It was a give and take relationship – and the consequences of neglect were understood.
Today, I am a long way from that ranch, but from where I sit, I see the big picture. Back then, it was called wisdom. Today, we call it sustainability. The scale is global now, but it’s the same story. We live in cities and suburbs and we reap the benefits of the earth, but we’re disconnected and out of synch. We’ve gathered our harvest but failed to tend the garden. Now, our relationship is in jeopardy, it’s time for us to reconnect and replenish the natural resources on which we rely.
Sustainability is more than a buzzword for me. And its importance is profound. It’s about respect. It’s about renewing and cultivating our relationship with the earth. It’s about care and attention to what sustains us and provides the natural beauty that surrounds us. It’s about taking responsibility for assuring that our children inherit a world that is not just habitable, but as magnificent as the one we know. And that is why I proudly support Sacramento State’s collaboration with the California State University to create a sustainable campus for California’s future citizens.
Most of us today may not live close to the earth, but we do have the expertise to help us live in harmony with it. And with that help, Sacramento State vows to lighten our imprint to help preserve the environment in which we live. As Sacramento State’s Vice President for Administration, I join President Alexander Gonzalez in his vision and commitment to the success of the University’s sustainability efforts.
ABA’s initiatives include: long-standing energy conservation and recycling programs, capital planning using LEED, environmentally-friendly purchasing practices, alternative transportation programs, storm and wastewater management, and risk management programs with human and environmental resources in mind. I hope you will join me in supporting these efforts and those of my academic colleagues who promote responsibility for the environment in the classroom.
I invite you to visit Sac State’s website to learn more about the University’s commitment to sustainability – http://www.fm.csus.edu/Sustainability.htm.
Stephen G. Garcia
Vice President for Administration
Sacramento State
