Unintended Consequences of Cholera Relief Effort

Science Fair wrote an article about how an international relief effort to fight cholera and other water borne illnesses led to massive, mysterious arsenic poisoning.

when organic carbon settles at the bottom of these [manmade] ponds, it seeps underground where microbes consume it. This creates a chain of biochemical events that causes naturally occurring arsenic to dissolve out of the sediment and into the ground water.

Viva La Resolution: In Unanimous Vote, Wash U Student Union Senate Urges University to Change Name of "Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization"

The students have spoken!

In response to demonstrated student outcry over the naming of the "Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization" and with momentum from last week's flash mob protest, on Wednesday the Wash U Student Union Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging the administration to change the Consortium's name. See the Student Life article.

The vote came after a week of intense lobbying by students, during which senators received an extraordinary number of emails from constituents in support of the resolution. The resolution originated in last week’s session, but the vote was postponed until after a drafting session could be held to address senators’ concerns. Wednesday’s senate session was packed with supportive students who applauded after the resolution was passed in the first 15 minutes of the meeting.

A truncated version of the resolution reads (full version available here):

“Whereas, The term “Clean Coal” is an industry marketing term intended to obscure the negative effects of coal extraction, combustion, and disposal;

Whereas, The use of said term may invite doubt regarding the integrity of the research the Consortium conducts;

…

Whereas, The Student Union supports the research being done by the Consortium to develop safer and more effective coal utilization technology; and therefore be it

Resolved, That the Student Union strongly urges the Washington University administration to change the name of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization; and be it further

…

Resolved, That the Student Union urges that the Consortium’s research into future uses of coal include studies of the social and environmental effects of its extraction, combustion, and disposal.”

We look forward to open dialogue with the administration and invite any concerns and comments.

Viva la Resolution!

VIDEO: WashU flashmob confronts Coal Executives

Something loud is afoot on our sleepy campus in St. Louis. Washington University students are beginning to re-discover what connects them. Students that have never successfully worked together have just executed the largest direct action on our campus. The target: big coal’s influence on our institution.

At the end of this summer, Washington University appointed two new members to its board of trustees, Gregory Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy, and Steven F. Leer, CEO of Arch Coal. As you most likely know, they are the one-two of coal mining who together preside over 13 billion tons of proven coal reserves. They are both deeply involved in mountaintop coal mining, destroying communities and ecosystems across Appalachia. For years they have lobbied against positive protective legislation, including the Clean Air and Clean Water acts. Now, they check our chancellor’s every action and shape the future of our institution. This comes in the wake of the formation of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization (CCCU) last December. This research group, funded by (guess) Peabody, Arch Coal, and the local utility Ameren, plans to build a 1 megawatt demonstration carbon capture & sequestration plant on our campus. To read more about the truth, see here.

And this last Monday, our administration organized “America’s Energy Future,” a symposium to which Steven F. Leer of Arch Coal and Fred Palmer of Peabody Energy, among others, were invited to discuss our energy “future.” It was a five-hour-long symposium culminating in a reception in the new student center (to see a program description, see here). We saw presentations on “Green Coal” where earth movers the size of houses were depicted moseying through fields. There were a couple champions of reality, but the overarching theme was deceit. There was nearly zero representation from renewable energy companies. What is the “future” according to our administration? Well, it looks a lot like our present: coal, oil, and nuclear. This is not OUR Energy Future.

To coincide with the conference, we held a rally, a press conference, an alternate symposium titled “OUR Energy Future,” and executed a silent flash mob and banner-drop to challenge Big Coal on campus!

We had unsuccessfully lobbied to change the name of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization and remained silent since the appointing of the trustees. We really couldn’t take it anymore. We saw an opportunity- and they just made it so easy.

A coalition of student groups, including the student-run farm The Burning Kumquat, Students for Endowment Transparency, and Green Action planned a direct action to challenge our university’s failure to recognize the legitimacy of renewable energy. During their plush reception in our student center, over 100 students entered the building and dispersed themselves among the assembled crowd. Along the balconies lining the reception were five two-person banner drop teams. On a signal, four teams dropped their banners over the balcony, baring messages including “Coal Is Never Clean” and “Our Energy Future.” At the same time, the 100 assembled students raised their fists to display yellow wristbands made of global warming crime scene tape and held up yellow signs with the “Beyond Coal” logo. The final banner was dropped over the main staircase bearing the words “Power Beyond Coal” painted among students’ signatures. A student addressed the silent crowd with a megaphone, “We present to you a banner bearing our signatures as a petition on behalf of this and future generations. We will not stand aside while executives from Arch Coal and Peabody paint a dirty energy future for our school and our nation. We believe that America's real energy future uses renewable, socially responsible energy sources," and invited them to our alternate symposium. It was fantastic- ethereal- and it’s all on tape.

Where do we go now? Our Student Union Senate plans to pass a resolution denouncing Washington University’s use of the “clean coal” marketing slogan, supporting Monday’s direct action, and demanding the university change the name of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization. We will maintain the alliances we have developed and work on involving more students to feed off of the energy we have created. We will push forward, gaining momentum in our rally against the unjust actions and policies of our administration. This is the beginning- AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO KICK ASH!

EWB, My Future

Antigua, Guatemala? After freshman year?!

I moved into my dorm room in Umrath Hall freshman year 99% certain that I wanted to study electrical engineering. My certainty made all my high school friends look lazy and undecided when they couldn’t name their major. Here I was, a freshman, and I already “knew” what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After taking an intro to electrical engineering class, however…

It didn’t last long. I quickly grew tired of electrical engineering and I couldn’t see myself in front of a breadboard putting wires together all day. So I started to really listen in EN-120, I met with the head of the Systems Engineering Department, and then the head of the Civil Engineering Department. Aha! I thought I had found what I wanted to do- but after studying abroad in Mexico before my junior year, I realized how passionate I was about preserving resources, especially water. SO- guess what, I “re-specialized” my major so that I was following an environmental track within civil engineering.

This summer, I found myself as an environmental engineering intern employed by a large corporate engineering firm to redesign sewers. Despite high expectations, I wasn’t blown away by the job. I didn’t feel fulfilled when I left work every day. I found my “cube” [-icle] strangely restrictive, what I was interested in and what I was doing seemed entirely opposed, my body alienated from my mind. After several conversations with co-workers, I could not find anyone who gave me the “aha!” feeling. I never experienced the inspiration or excitement I normally feel when talking to someone who is passionate about their work. After meeting Janine Benyus, the co-founder of Biomimicry, and Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, through our EWB Speakers Series; and various environmentally-inspired entrepreneurs in St. Louis and New York, my spine tingled! I was inspired and jealous that they had found a calling for themselves. Their lives were driven by purpose and meaning- and here I was skipping around between engineering disciplines.

So why stay here? After this summer experience, I was so disillusioned that nothing seemed unreasonable. Why stay here in engineering when I would rather become a farmer? Why not go to culinary school and open a restaurant?

Engineers Without Borders kept me in engineering. EWB gives me hope that one day I’ll find a job that I leave feeling fulfilled, or a position in a developing country where I can personally feel the impacts of my own designs. I can do something I’m good at- engineering- while still loving my career. I won’t be making lots of money and I might be flirting with job security; I won’t be working downtown nor will I be wearing a suit. You might- and that’s wonderful- EWB finely complements any traditional engineering career. But for me, doing what I love and what makes me happy means following a career path in which my passions are aligned with my abilities. Maybe it’s silly to rely so much on an organization or a creed, “partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life,” but I see no reason to stop.

I traveled to Guatemala after one year of experience with EWB. There are opportunities for all of us to discover our passions and our directions within this organization- I invite you to try it yourself. What gets me out of bed every morning? EWB. I’ve never felt so proud to be an engineer, never so willing to spend my free time working on projects and the organization of the chapter. My future work uniform and city of residence aren’t certain, but my direction is. Give EWB a try and you’ll see what I mean.