Eco - Eco Profiles

POSTED: Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2009

WWU student got early start learning about environment

From the moment she set foot on Western Washington University's campus, Andrea Thomas felt at home. Scheduled to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Policy in June, she became the leader of Students for Renewable Energy's Education Committee in 2007 and joined Carbon Masters this past January.

"Despite the fact that climate change is a seriously complex issue, I believe that we as citizens have the capacity to do something about the problem," Thomas says. "You have to start somewhere."

Along with recycling, eating organic, washing in cold water and carpooling, Thomas has reduced her meat consumption, takes seven-minute showers and has weatherized her windows.

"Living sustainably is difficult in a society that profits from inefficiency," Thomas says. "'Sustainable living' is really an objective rather than an endpoint. By reducing the impact we have on the environment around us, we will inevitably see an increase in our overall quality of life."

ABOUT ANDREA THOMAS

Age: 22.

Residence: Bellingham.

Occupation: WWU student.

Mode of transport: 2000 Hyundai Elantra.

Average fuel bill: $25 every 2 weeks.

Eco-cheat: "I always forget my travel mug when I leave the house, so I end up buying coffee in nonrecyclable cups when I'm on campus."

Turning point: "When I was 11 years old, I first learned about the Earth's ozone hole. I read an article about it in the fifth grade - the satellite images of the hole shocked me to my core. I couldn't believe we could let something like that happen. From that moment on I dedicated much of my free time to reading nonfiction books about the natural sciences and other environmental issues."

First step: "Also at the age of 11, I participated in a weeklong bake sale to raise funds for the Save the Salmon Coalition in King County. I (then) presented an educational lecture about salmon and habitat restoration to third-grade students."

Favorite green Web site: dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com (The New York Times Dot Earth blog with Andy Revkin).

Pet peeve: "Hybrid or flex-fuel Escalades or Hummers. These 'green-washed' and 'mixed-message' inventions are sending the wrong idea about sustainability to the American public."

Personal eco victory: "On a study-abroad trip last summer, I was given the opportunity to teach the rainforest version of the environmental education game Web of Life in Spanish to schoolchildren in a small Costa Rican farming community. Afterward, I was able to take the students out to plant native trees supportive of scarlet macaw habitat."

BEST TIP

"Look for ways to reduce your carbon footprint in every aspect of your life. Small changes add up: switching to CFL light bulbs, buying green power, seeking alternative transportation, composting, recycling, re-using, eating locally, etc."