The Crimson White: Environmental Edition, April 2022

THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 

VOLUME CXXVIII | ISSUE VIII 

CW / Autumn Williams 

How Bama Dining fights for food sustainability 

CORRIE WILSON 

CONTRIBUTING WRITER 

In the push toward greater food 

sustainability, Bama Dining has 

led many of the food sustainability 

efforts on campus. 

According to the United Nations, 

Sustainability is the idea that 

something (e.g., agriculture, fishing 

or even preparation of food) is done 

in a way that is not wasteful of natural 

resources and can be continued into 

the future without being detrimental 

to our environment or health. 

Often, the idea of food 

sustainability conjures up mental 

images of leafy greens, vegan 

restaurants or miles of farmland in 

the Midwest. While those images are 

part of food sustainability, in reality, 

food sustainability is so much more 

than that. Composting, recycling, 

energy efficiency and nutrition each 

play a critical role in the overall 

production of food sustainability. 

Bama Dining has steadily 

increased sustainability efforts, 

starting with recycling initiatives 

in 2006, where they began recycling 

plastic and metal as well as 

eliminating plastic trays from the 

eateries in the UA Student Center’s 

food court and dining halls. 

In 2009, Bama Dining launched 

its pre-consumer composting 

program. In this program, pre- 

consumer matter such as vegetable 

and fruit peels, or green matter, is 

delivered directly to the University 

of Alabama Arboretum, where it 

is mixed with the leaves, or brown 

matter, to produce rich compost. 

Through the pre-consumer 

composting program, Bama Dining 

has reduced the impact to the local 

landfill, Eagle Bluff Landfill, by over 

4,000 pounds per week, which is the 

number of pounds picked up from 

various dining locations. 

However, the COVID-19 

pandemic impacted how the 

University approached sustainability. 

Because of the pandemic, students 

were required to take their meals 

to go, which necessitated the move 

to disposables. 

Kristina Patridge, the director 

of University dining services, 

and Bruce McVeagh, the district 

manager of the Bama Dining 

administration, said the pandemic 

was a major obstacle in the efforts 

toward food sustainability. The 

initiatives surrounding food 

sustainability on campus were put 

in the back seat, but not forgotten, 

as the administration tried to feed 

thousands of students. 

As time has passed, Bama Dining’s 

efforts toward food sustainability 

have experienced steady progress. 

The University of Alabama 

releases annual recycling statistics 

reports, which break down the types 

and amounts of materials that UA 

Recycling processes. 

In those reports, Bama Dining’s 

recycling profile is divided into 

pounds of compost and pounds of 

grease. In the 2015 to 2016 recycling 

report, 1,555 pounds of compost 

were delivered to the Arboretum, 

while there were 87,476 pounds of 

grease used. 

Fast forward to the 2020 to 2021 

annual recycling report: 17,930 

pounds of compost were delivered to 

the Arboretum and 25,869 pounds 

of grease were used. 

In essence, more fruits and 

vegetables were consumed, and less 

grease was used for cooking. 

“Bama Dining guests have 

requested more fruits and vegetables, 

and Bama Dining has responded 

to those requests,” Patridge said. 

“There were also more venues 

constructed that do not include 

fried foods.” 

The issue of food sustainability 

also includes how sustainably those 

foods are prepared in terms of 

energy system usage. Bama Dining 

has directed efforts toward the study 

of sustainable energy usage in the 

dining options on campus. 

Bama Dining has spearheaded 

the installation of the ultra-efficient 

kitchen hood systems manufactured 

by Melink. These kitchen hoods 

possess the highest energy 

efficiency and filter air and smoke 

to ultimately create a cleaner and 

safer environment that promotes 

healthier cooking practices. 

In addition to this, they’ve 

introduced energy-efficient oven 

systems. On-campus dining places 

such as the Fresh Food Company, 

Panda Express and Chick-fil-A 

have started utilizing these energyefficient 

cooking systems. 

The benefits of these systems are 

twofold: The environment benefits 

due to less gaseous pollutants and 

less energy waste, and the consumer 

benefits with healthier and 

safer food. 

Bama Dining is interested in 

the shift toward more vegetarian 

and vegan options on campus. At 

Lakeside Dining Hall, there are stirfry 

options and grilled vegetable 

options daily, as well as pho and 

other bowls offered at Glutinvs 

Minimvs. At Fresh Food Company, 

there is a dedicated vegetarian 

station with various grain bowls, 

hummus, crudités and a vegetable 

soup option daily. 

McVeagh said that in the past, 

most of the options for on-campus 

dining were limited in terms of 

vegetarian and vegan selections. 

Now, it is becoming increasingly 

more common to see vegetarian 

and vegan meat alternatives such 

as burgers, sausages and more 

as the efforts continue to reduce 

meat consumption. 

SEE PAGE 4A 

CONTENTS 

1B 

Bama 

CULTURE 

Bug Fest 

spotlights the 

importance 

of insects 

3B 

NEWS 

Meet the campus 

organizations 

advocating for the 

environment 

SUMMER AND FALL REGISTRATION 

Now Open! 

Visit sheltonstate.edu to apply and register! 

It is the policy of the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees and Shelton State Community College, a postsecondary institution under its control, that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, 

religion, marital status, disability, gender, age, or any other protected class as defined by federal and state law, be excluded from participation, denied benefits, or subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or employment. 

5B 

OPINIONS 

Environmental justice 

is for everyone, and it 

cannot be ignoredw

2A 

ENVIRONMENT 

April 21, 2022 

EDITORIAL STAFF 

editor-in-chief 

managing editor 

engagement editor 

chief copy editor 

opinions editor 

news editor 

assistant news editor 

culture editor 

assistant culture editor 

sports editor 

assistant sports editor 

chief page editor 

chief graphics editor 

photo editor 

multimedia editor 

Keely Brewer 

editor@cw.ua.edu 

Bhavana Ravala 

managingeditor@cw.ua.edu 

Garrett Kennedy 

engagement@cw.ua.edu 

Jack Maurer 

Ava Fisher 

letters@cw.ua.edu 

Zach Johnson 

newsdesk@cw.ua.edu 

Isabel Hope 

Jeffrey Kelly 

culture@cw.ua.edu 

Annabelle Blomeley 

Ashlee Woods 

sports@cw.ua.edu 

Robert Cortez 

Pearl Langley 

Autumn Williams 

Lexi Hall 

Alex Miller 

ADVERTISING STAFF 

creative services Alyssa Sons 

The Crimson Wh is the community newspaper of 

The University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an 

editorially free newspaper produced by students. 

The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial 

decisions and editorial opinions are those of the 

editorial board and do not represent the official 

opinions of the University. Advertising offices of The 

Crimson White are in room 1014, Student Media 

Building, 414 Campus Drive East. The advertising 

mailing address is Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. 

The Crimson White, Copyright © 2022 

by The Crimson White. The Crimson White is printed 

monthly, August through April by The University of 

Alabama, Student Media, Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 

35487. Call 205-348-7257. 

Tap in with CW! 

(We have an email newsletter now.) 

Subscribe to get our newsletter in your 

inbox on Monday and Thursday mornings. 

ACROSS: 

1. It might be taken au lait 

5. Big name in K-pop 

6. Plastic wrap brand 

8. Ratón hunter, maybe 

9. Vision orbs 

DOWN: 

1. Not trans 

2. “The squeaky wheel gets 

the grease,” for one 

3. Incursion 

4. Make giddy 

7. Firm refusals 

All material contained herein, except advertising or 

where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2022 by 

The Crimson White and protected under the “Work 

Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories 

of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be 

reprinted without the expressed, written permission 

of The Crimson White. 

APRIL & MAY EVENTS 

For crossword answers see page 4B 

Legally 

Blonde the 

Musical 

Marian Gallaway 

Theatre 

21 

Earth Day 

DIY Event 

22 26 

UA Student Center 

Lawn 11 AM 

Al’s Pals 

Tabling 

UA Student 

Center Plaza 

29 

Last Day 

of Classes 

2 

Finals Week 

May 2nd - 6th 

6 

Spring 2022 

Graduation 

Coleman Coliseum 

CW / Wesley Picard 

Instagram: @thecrimsonwhite Facebook: @TheCrimsonWhite Twitter: @TheCrimsonWhite 

THANK YOU BOOKS FOR THE 

BLACK BELT SPONSORS 

Together, we’ve collected 8,000 books for 

children in Alabama’s Black Belt! 

Sponsors Include: The Blount Scholars Program, UA College of 

Communication and Information Sciences, UA Honors College, UA 

Museums, UA Student Government Association, the Tuscaloosa 

Public Library and Vestavia Hills High School in Alabama. 

uaced.ua.edu/books-for-the-black-belt 

Questions? Contact Sally Brown 205-348-8344 or uced@ua.edu

ENVIRONMENT 


3A 

CW File 

OUR VIEW: Sustainability isn’t simple 

THE EDITORIAL BOARD 

All those in the conversation 

surrounding 

environmental 

sustainability are familiar with a 

common phrase: “Everyone can do 

their part!” From taking shorter 

showers to carpooling to work to 

reducing the use of single-use plastics, 

there is no shortage of advice on 

how individuals can, and must, stop 

contributing to climate change. 

This kind of advice, while wellintentioned, 

places the responsibility 

of saving the world on overworked and 

busy individuals that are attempting to 

manage both their finances and their 

time. For college students, this burden 

of environmental responsibility 

represents just one more thing on 

their busy schedules. Between classes 

and extracurriculars, they are tasked 

with preventing ecological disasters. 

Environmental sustainability isn’t 

a simple achievement or a few boxes 

to check off and disregard. Rather, it 

is an evolving attitude that one must 

embody. There is no definitive way 

to be “environmentally sustainable.” 

Instead, college students and citizens 

alike must examine every aspect 

of their lives and surroundings. 

In adopting a comprehensive view 

of sustainability, we may one day 

enact change. 

Individual decisions 

College students make countless 

decisions every day that either 

contribute to or harm the cause 

of environmental sustainability. 

Regardless of our awareness of our 

impact, we are actively shaping the 

earth for the next generation. Through 

simply increasing our knowledge 

about these decisions, we may begin 

to ensure they advance the cause of 

environmental sustainability, one 

move at a time. 

Food 

College students may find it difficult 

to navigate dining halls while on a 

specialized diet. While dining halls 

may boast some vegan- and vegetarianfriendly 

options, these options are 

often rather limited compared to their 

nonvegan counterparts. 

Take, for example, Ithaca college, 

who boasts an A-plus rating for 

vegan dining hall options. Despite 

the recognition, options are severely 

limited, repetitive and lower quality. 

While the most recognized institutions 

fall behind the curve, the rest struggle 

to implement basic menu choices. 

This leaves most vegan students in a 

double bind: they can either search 

for sustainable alternatives or eat 

repetitive, unhealthy vegan options 

that do not satisfy basic dietary needs. 

Then there’s our campus. 

Despite efforts to include vegan 

accommodations, marginalized 

dietary needs often remain outside 

the scope. Student interviews last 

year exposed dining hall options to 

be severely limiting for students with 

religious or moral dietary restrictions. 

In addition to most vegan options being 

processed and sodium-filled, students 

find themselves “hodgepodging a few 

sides together” to make a meal. While 

most students in these situations turn 

to mobile ordering or other means, 

it remains difficult to find accessible 

limited diet options at dining halls. 

Clothing 

In addition to sustainable eating, 

college students are faced with 

another environmental challenge: 

sustainable fashion. 

College students are especially 

prone to engage in fast fashion, or 

rapidly produced clothing to follow 

evolving trends. In the age of social 

media and market trends, fashion 

represents social capital. When this is 

the case, it is understandable that the 

average college student may navigate 

toward Shein for their next date party. 

Doing so is a quick and inexpensive 

way to ensure that students feel 

confident and comfortable on their 

night out. 

However, college students must 

examine their own consumption 

habits if society is to see an end 

to the environmental degradation 

and human rights abuses inflicted 

by fast fashion, an industry that 

accounts for one-tenth of the water 

used by industries that produce and 

clean products. 

This is easier said than done. Truly 

sustainable fashion presents a higher 

cost of clothing due to its value of 

labor, sourcing and transparency. 

Students can instead seek to be more 

sustainable in their clothing choices 

by simply becoming more mindful 

of them. This may look like reducing 

consumption itself: Next time you’re 

buying a dress for that one formal, 

ask yourself if you already have one 

that would suffice. Go thrifting 

with a new friend and turn it into a 

day out. Support local businesses 

around Tuscaloosa. 

Though these choices may appear 

insignificant, we must recognize the 

value of our “dollar”. Corporations will 

continue to pollute our environment 

as long as we let them. It’s time to 

show them that their consumers value 

ethical practices. 

Activism 

Though individual decisions are 

undoubtedly meaningful to the cause 

of environmental sustainability, 

they cannot exist in isolation. They 

must be coupled with systemic and 

lasting change. 

If one goes to a campus Starbucks, 

this kind of change is evident. Due to 

a decision in April 2019, all Starbucks 

are phasing out plastic straws and 

navigating toward paper and wooden 

utensils. This action represents 

just one in the “anti-plastic straw” 

trend that is sweeping the globe. 

However, this trend reflects a flaw in 

placing the burden of environmental 

sustainability choices. National 

Geographic has revealed that plastic 

straws make up just 0.025% of the 

plastic found in oceans every year. 

When consumers are told they’re 

morally reprehensible for using straws 

by the same companies responsible 

for ecological disasters, it is easy to 

become jaded. A 2017 report by CDP 

revealed that just 100 companies are 

responsible for over 70% of carbon 

emissions. How can the average 

college student compete with figures 

such as these? 

The feelings of fear and despair that 

often result from this helplessness in 

the face of ecological destruction are 

known as climate anxiety, and they 

are plaguing young people at alarming 

rates. In the face of climate anxiety, 

college students have a powerful 

tool: activism. 

As young people, our voice carries 

weight. We have the opportunity to 

influence the world our children will 

grow up in, the world of the next 

generation. One needs only to look at 

examples such as Greta Thunberg or 

Vic Barrett or countless other youth 

activists to understand that we have 

the power to change our surroundings. 

With the Clean Water Act under 

threat by the Supreme Court, 

environmental concerns are more 

relevant than ever. It’s time for 

college students to act. Do the 

research. Educate yourselves on 

local environmental concerns. Find 

an environmental bill you support 

and call your representative about it. 

Though these actions may not seem 

monumental now, they surely will in 

the future. 

Here at home 

While environmental sustainability 

may be an elusive goal, it is a goal 

worth pursuing. We don’t have to wait 

to enter the “real world” to advocate 

for a healthier world. We can start 

now, in our own communities. 

To support environmental 

sustainability on campus, college 

students simply need to start 

conversations on the environmental 

impact around them. In doing so, 

students will surely find that every 

aspect of campus could be improved 

toward the cause of environmental 

sustainability. From our dining hall 

practices to the water used to maintain 

the Quad, environmental impact is all 

around us. It’s up to us to pay attention 

to it. 

If you have a concern about 

environmental sustainability 

on campus, address it! Consult 

organizations such as the 

Environmental Council. Arrange 

meetings with administration. While 

you may not see immediate results, 

but you will change this campus 

simply by bringing attention to 

overlooked issues. 

Instead of demonizing someone 

else’s consumption choices or giving 

up in the face of a complex world, view 

environmental sustainability as a life’s 

endeavor. We simply cannot make 

every ethical and mindful decision all 

the time. Together, however, we can 

start a revolution. 

The Crimson White Editorial Board is composed of Editorin-Chief 

Keely Brewer, Managing Editor Bhavana Ravala, 

Engagement Editor Garrett Kennedy, Chief Copy Editor Jack 

Maurer and Opinions Editor Ava Fisher.

4A 

ENVIRONMENT 


CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A 

As Bama Dining continues its 

efforts to reduce meat consumption 

and increase vegetarian and vegan 

options, the administration has 

sought to purchase products locally 

in the name of sustainability. As 

stated on the Bama Dining website, 

all Bama Dining managers are 

required to purchase locally grown 

and produced products whenever 

available. 

Bama Dining receives its locally 

sourced produce from FreshPoint. 

Bread is purchased from the local 

Flowers Bakery in Tuscaloosa, and 

milk is purchased from the local 

Dairy Fresh distributor. 

In addition to the local food 

purchasing, Bama Dining also 

provides fair trade coffee. Fair trade 

coffee must meet strict international 

criteria, provide credit to farmers and 

give technical assistance to farmers. 

“Regulations and the high 

demand for resources make it nearly 

impossible to partner with a local 

farm, but produce does come from 

local producers,” McVeagh said. 

Due to the high volume of students 

at The University of Alabama, a local 

farm would not be able to sustain the 

food needs on campus. As a result, 

locally sourced produce is received 

from FreshPoint, which is North 

America’s largest wholly owned 

produce distributor. 

While it remains to be seen 

whether a local farm partnership is 

in Bama Dining’s future, for now, the 

administration plans to continue its 

efforts to purchase local. 

The principal obstacle that 

Bama Dining faces in its food 

sustainability efforts is the funds 

that are needed to be 

sustainable. 

Patridge and 

McVeagh said 

that due to the size 

of Alabama’s campus, 

it takes a significant 

amount of resources to 

be sustainable. With a 

campus of nearly 40,000 

students, Bama Dining has the 

responsibility of feeding a small 

city, so to speak. Environmentally 

sustainable resources and products 

are generally more expensive than 

their unsustainable counterparts. 

McVeagh and Patridge said 

another obstacle is students’ lack 

of engagement in reducing food 

waste. Food sustainability is just as 

much about proper disposal as it is 

production and consumption. 

They said the first step toward 

furthering the cause of food 

sustainability on campus begins with 

awareness. 

The efforts ideally need to be 

student-led, such as with student 

ambassadors. The students are the 

force behind The University of 

Alabama’s campus, and the fight for 

food sustainability is no exception. 

Being mindful of recycling and 

putting trash in the correct place 

are small things that ultimately can 

make a difference. 

The University of Alabama 

Environmental Council understands 

how difficult it is 

to live 


sustainably on campus, especially 

as a freshman living in the dorms. 

However, students can still actively 

participate in sustainable practices 

despite challenging circumstances. 

“We are actively working to 

improve the sustainability on 

campus, whether it be through 

recycling practices, working with 

Bama Dining to reduce the amount 

of plastic in the dining halls, and, 

hopefully, to start a community 

garden on campus. If you are truly 

passionate for sustainability, it’s the 

place to be,” said Megan Neville, 

the co-director of social media for 

the organization and a freshman 

majoring in hospitality management. 

In addition, the Environmental 

Council provides other ways in which 

students can become 

involved in the efforts 

towards sustainability. 

“Other ways students 

can engage in sustainable 

practices on 

campus is to 

bring their 

own reusable 

utensils to the 

dining halls, 

use reusable 

bags at the 

grocery stores, 

ditch plastic water 

bottles for a reusable 

one, carpool or utilize 

the Crimson Ride buses, 

and consider reducing 

their meat and animal 

product consumption. It may 

seem silly to suggest such small, 

simple things, but once you start 

doing a few of them, your impact 

truly adds up,” Neville said. 

McVeagh brought up the shopping 

cart model that the grocery store 

Aldi utilizes and how it represents, 

in his view, the ideal model of food 

sustainability. In this model, Aldi 

shoppers pay 25 cents to use carts, 

and then, when they return the cart, 

they receive their deposit back. 

Such a model represents how 

consumers should treat the 

environment with respect, and 

this idea is the foundation for food 

sustainability. Without a healthy 

environment, food sustainability 

cannot thrive. 

Economic and environmental health are compatible 

AUGUSTUS BARNETTE 

CONTRIBUTING WRITER 

Charles Scribner, the executive 

director of the Black Warrior 

Riverkeeper, a local chapter of the 

national Waterkeeper movement, said 

politicians should not make it seem as 

if economic health is incompatible with 

environmental health. 

Nearly 67% of adults in the United 

States believe the government is not 

doing enough to control climate change 

according to a 2019 Pew Research 

Center study. 

In a recent press release, the United 

Nations Intergovernmental Panel 

on Climate Change warned that 

inaction regarding the environment 

and climate will pave the way for 

future disaster. 

“To avoid mounting loss of life, 

biodiversity and infrastructure, 

ambitious, accelerated action is 

required to adapt to climate change, at 

the same time as making rapid, deep 

cuts in greenhouse gas emissions,” the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change wrote. 

While the report said the 

infrastructure and tools necessary to 

combat climate change are presently 

available, and the world could halve 

emissions by the year 2030, emissions 

must peak by the year 2025 to keep 

global warming under 1.5 degrees 

Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, a 

threshold for continuing on with a 

comfortable life. 

CW / Shelby West 

"When politicians say or imply 

that folks must choose between the 

environment and the economy, that is a 

false choice,” Scribner said. “According 

to the Outdoor Industry Association, 

outdoor recreation is a multibilliondollar 

industry for Alabama every 

year. Degrading Alabama's beautiful 

waterways and land will diminish public 

participation in recreation, harming our 

environment and economy together." 

In 2020, the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis reported that outdoor 

recreation makes up 1.8% of the United 

States gross domestic product, at a little 

over $370 billion. 

In 2020, the Outdoor Industry 

Association reported that income 

from outdoor recreation in Alabama 

is similar to that of the national level, 

coming in at around 1.9% of the states 

gross domestic product, hovering just 

below $4 billion. 

Ellen Griffith Spears, a New College 

associate professor with a specialty in 

environmental history, said the state 

could be doing more in terms of the 

environment, especially in comparison 

with its history. 

"In the early 1970s, Alabama passed 

one of the tougher environmental 

laws in the southern states. ... It 

added more significant fines for 

violations than many of its neighbors," 

Spears said. 

According to the Encyclopedia of 

Alabama, the laws covered solid waste 

disposal, air and water pollution, safe 

water and surface mining reclamation, 

and hazardous waste legislation. 

"It's possible, and there's a lot more 

leadership that could be shown at the 

state level, both legislatively from 

the executive branch, and from 

the regulatory agency that 

handles it," Spears said. 

According to an 

article by the American 

Bar Association, 

in Uniontown, 

Alabama, residents 

have been 

fighting against 

environmental 

injustice for 

decades. The 

town, which 

is 93% Black 

and has 40% of 

its population 

living under 

the poverty line, 

fought and lost 

a 2007 battle 

against a landfill 

permit allowing 

33 states to bring 

toxic pollution and 

coal ash into the 

area. Since then, the 

Arrowhead Landfill 

continues to alter 

the health and lives of 

the residents. 

According to the article, 

Uniontown is considered a victim 

of environmental injustice and still 

“urgently needs attention at local, state 

and federal levels.” In other parts of 

Alabama, some local officials have been 

taking note of the current environmental 

crises and their effects. 

Selected as a welcome speaker for the 

American Water Resources Association 

2022 Spring Conference, Maddox has 

been nationally recognized due to his 

response to the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado, 

which killed 53 people and injured 

1,200 more. 

Extreme weather events like 

tornadoes are set only to increase in 

both magnitude and occurrence if the 

climate is not put under control. 

When politicians say or 

imply that folks must 

choose between the 

environment and the 

economy that is a 

false choice. 

CHARLES 

SCHRIBNER 

Maddox has committed himself and 

the city of Tuscaloosa to environmental 

stewardship; after the 2011 tornado, the 

city doubled down on recycling. 

Under Maddox’s lead, Tuscaloosa 

has worked to protect lakes Nicol 

and Harris, created an environmental 

coordinator position to make sure 

the city follows the law and improved 

its stormwater management system, 

winning the city an award from 

the Water Environment Federation 

in 2015. 

In 2007, Maddox signed the U.S. 

Conference of Mayors’ Climate 

Protection Agreement, which vows to 

reduce carbon emissions along with 

other climate protective measures. 

While at the time Tuscaloosa was 

making strides in using cleaner energy 

sources for vehicles and more efficient 

lighting, it is unclear if the city has kept 

up these efforts to fight climate change, 

although Tuscaloosa still remains on the 

agreements’ 2019 list of signatories. 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has shown 

skepticism when it comes to the 

bureaucratic nature of government 

aid for the environment. In 2017, 

she disbanded the Alabama Water 

Agencies Working Group, which 

was established in 2012 to create a 

water plan for the state of Alabama 

and was supported by nearly 80% of 

Alabama voters. 

Although dictated by state code, the 

Alabama Department of Environmental 

Management is managed by a small, 

independent board, leading many 

environmentalists inside the state to 

believe there should be more state 

involvement. 

With this oversight by the state, 

environmental stewardship once again 

falls into the hands of concerned 

citizens. This is the type of work 

Waterkeeper organizations across the 

country do, including the local branch, 

Black Warrior Riverkeeper. 

Scribner said this year is the 50th 

Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, 

a federal statute that Black Warrior 

Riverkeeper uses frequently to hold 

polluters accountable in the Black 

Warrior River watershed. 

“When Congress passed the Clean 

Water Act in 1972, they wisely included 

citizen enforcement provisions because 

they realized that local, state or federal 

government agencies may not always be 

as interested or effective as citizen-based 

organizations, such as Waterkeepers, in 

addressing Clean Water Act violations,” 

Scribner said. 

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper 

website has resources available for 

concerned citizens to reach out to 

elected officials and find environmental 

agencies and events. 

“Additionally, elected officials are 

often swayed by receiving multiple 

messages from citizens requesting 

various forms of environmental action,” 

Scribner said. 

Spears said taking environmental 

action and weighing the truth of 

politicians’ promises and claims are 

important steps for citizens interested 

in making change. 

“The environmental movement has 

been active with groups like the League 

of Conservation Voters and making 

sure that people understand where 

various candidates might lie in terms of 

their perspective on the issues. And so 

making sure that we have full access to 

voting is really an environmental issue, 

because we want to make sure that 

popular opinions about conservation do 

get reflected in governance,” Spears said. 

This sort of activism is not blindly 

encouraged; Spears said results have 

been achieved through this sort of 

participation, and in Alabama no less. 

Amber Buck, the co-leader of the 

Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Citizens 

Climate Lobby, said the organization 

strides toward education in 

these fields. 

“They [Citizens Climate Lobby] 

train folks on how to lobby members 

of Congress as citizens and how to use 

various tools to convince members of 

Congress that this is a particular issue 

that constituents are concerned for ... 

and then also trying to raise awareness 

around people in terms of climate 

change issues,” Buck said. 

Spears and Buck both mentioned 

the importance of voting with the 

environment in mind, as marginalized 

and poor communities both generate 

less of a response from environmental 

agencies and will deal with the effects 

of environmental issues more than 

their wealthier counterparts. By 

voting in local and national elections, 

Americans can make change for 

the environment.

ENVIRONMENT 


5A 

SUMMER AND FALL REGISTRATION 

Now Open! 

Visit sheltonstate.edu to apply and register! 

It is the policy of the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees and Shelton State Community College, a postsecondary institution under its control, that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, 

marital status, disability, gender, age, or any other protected class as defined by federal and state law, be excluded from participation, denied benefits, or subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or employment.

6A 

ENVIRONMENT 

April 21, 2022

ENVIRONMENT 


BAMA BUG FEST 

highlights the importance of insects 

1B 

A student volunteer cradles a praying mantis, one of the many bugs available for 

observation at the Bama Bug Fest. CW / Natalie Teat 

The 2022 Bama Bug Fest was held inside of the Alabama Museum of Natural 

History, located next to Gorgas Library on campus. CW / Natalie Teat 

ANNABELLE BLOMELEY 

ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR 

The Alabama Museum of Natural 

History might best be known for its 

60-foot ancient whale skeleton, a 

wooly mammoth skull and the Hodges 

meteorite. But on April 9, the museum 

hosted a festival of dinosauric 

proportions in the celebration of some 

not-so-dinosaur-sized creatures. 

Bama Bug Fest celebrates the insects 

and bugs that shape our environment 

and make big impacts despite their 

size. With thousands of attendees 

in the span of just four hours, Bama 

Bug Fest filled all three floors of the 

Alabama Museum of Natural History. 

Volunteers on the first floor handed 

out maps and flyers while ushering 

attendees up the grand staircase. 

On the second floor, Flow 

Tuscaloosa had a lantern-making 

space with insect cutouts and markers 

for attendees to decorate their own 

lanterns, which will be lit during a 

parade at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk 

on May 21. Across the way, The 

University of Alabama Fashion 

Archive had a display about insects 

in fashion, particularly focusing on 

silkworms and cochineals. 

The vast majority of 

insects have nothing to 

do with us, other than 

[that] the planet that 

we live on would not 

survive if there weren’t 

insects in the way that 

we know it. 

JOHN ABBOTT 

The third floor had insect artists, 

worms, bees and microscopes for 

attendees to get up close and personal. 

Bama Bug Fest had a little something 

for everyone. The University of 

Alabama Department of Theatre 

and Dance projected bug drawings 

onto the wall and the West Alabama 

Beekeepers Association showed off a 

live beehive. A booth on entomophagy 

taught people how to cook food 

with bugs. 

“Everyone has a fascination with 

insects,” said Kendra Abbott, the 

research and outreach coordinator 

for the Alabama Museum of Natural 

History and an ecologist. “It may 

not always be a positive fascination 

or an appreciation. It might be more 

that they’re scared or intrigued, but 

everyone has a fascination with them. 

And more often than not, people 

really want to learn about them.” 

John Abbott, the chief curator and 

director of research and collections 

at the Alabama Museum of Natural 

History, became interested in insects 

after his father, who was also a 

scientist, exposed him to them at a 

young age. 

Kendra and John Abbott, who 

are married, are no strangers to 

celebrating bugs. Before they entered 

their positions at the University, 

they started an “insect siesta” at 

their previous jobs at the University 

of Texas. After moving to Alabama, 

they wanted to bring their love for 

bugs and insects to the Capstone and 

greater Alabama area. 

“At its crux, we just love to share 

our passion for insects, and that’s what 

it boils down to,” John Abbott said. 

“We can’t take credit for the idea of 

an insect festival. There are a number 

of these all around the country, and 

some of them are substantial. The 

North Carolina Museum of Nature 

and Science brings in something like 

40,000 people in one day for their 

insect festival. Purdue has the Purdue 

Bug Bowl, where they bring in more 

people than to a football game. ... 

There’s not one in Alabama, and we 

just see it as an opportunity and a 

niche that we could fill.” 

Bama Bug Fest started in 2019 with 

more than 1,500 people celebrating 

the insects. With the 2020 and 2021 

Bug Fests held online due to the 

COVID-19 pandemic, the Abbotts 

hoped that their in-person return 

for 2022 would yield big results, and 

it did. 

Bama Bug Fest has grown in 

more than just attendance; more UA 

students than ever before have been 

helping with the preparations, from 

manning bug art stations to taking 

care of the bugs during the semester. 

Emily Otter, a sophomore majoring 

in geology, signed up to work with 

UA Museums at Get On Board Day 

and has since worked in the “bug 

room” in the Alabama Museum of 

Natural History. 

While the bugs typically stay in 

their room during the year unless a 

researcher moves them, Bama Bug Fest 

gives them the unique opportunity to 

be celebrities for a day. 

“I think Bug Fest is important just 

overall for the University, so we can get 

people outside of the college involved 

in the science that we’re doing here 

and the research that we’re doing here, 

and just show what students are doing 

and what is happening on campus, 

especially for the museum,” Otter said. 

Cockroaches, particularly 

Madagascar hissing cockroaches, 

ruled the day with two events. On the 

third floor, volunteers dipped them in 

paint and let them walk across a piece 

of paper to create bug art for guests. 

Here, Otter volunteered to help the 

cockroaches paint across the page and 

make their artistic mark. 

In a second-floor lecture hall, the 

cockroaches raced across a miniature 

raceway lugging tiny tractors while 

four children chosen out of the crowd 

tickled them with feathers to get them 

to move. 

Otter hasn’t always been so keen 

to work with bugs though. Before 

volunteering at the museum, she said, 

she was terrified of them, and she 

isn’t alone. 

In Chapman University’s Survey 

on American Fears, it was found that 

nearly 25% of respondents are afraid 

of insects or spiders, which is more 

than the percentages of people scared 

of violent crimes and germs. 

Bama Bug Fest 

hopes to change 

minds just as the 

museum changed Otter’s. By getting 

up close and personal with the insects 

and learning about their diversity, the 

Abbotts want to change the way we 

interact with bugs. 

Kendra Abbott said 75% of the 

animals on earth are bugs, with over 

5 million species around the world. 

Despite the magnitude of insects, only 

around 1 million species have been 

described and studied. 

“The No. 1 thing that I would love 

people to walk away with is that they 

don’t need to kill every bug they see. 

Not every bug is a pest,” Kendra Abbott 

said. “They’re beneficial, and they do 

so many things for us. Take a second 

look at that mantid or cockroach that 

you see and say, ‘You know what? I’m 

okay, I’m good.’” 

Kendra Abbott said the biggest 

misconception about bugs is that 

they're dirty, when they’re actually 

constantly cleaning themselves. 

“The only reason a roach might be 

dirty walking across your counters is 

if you’ve got dirt on your counters,” 

Kendra Abbott said. “They’re only 

dirty if you’re dirty.” 

To help demonstrate the difference 

between good bugs and bad bugs, the 

2022 Bama Bug Fest was sponsored 

by Burnum-Hahn Exterminators, 

a Tuscaloosa-based, family-owned 

business that’s been serving the West 

Alabama community since 1946. 

Clay Hahn, a vice president and the 

third generation at Burnum-Hahn, 

said the company joined Bama Bug 

Fest to get more involved with the 

community and to help the Alabama 

Museum of Natural History educate 

people about insects. 

“We think that everybody should 

learn about insects and become aware 

of the good and the bad about insects,” 

Hahn said. “It’s a time where you can 

celebrate insects that are beautiful to 

look at, like caterpillars that turn into 

butterflies and insects like that, but it’s 

also important to be aware of insects 

like roaches, mosquitoes and fire ants 

that could bring harm to you or any of 

your loved ones.” 

The number one thing 

that I would love 

people to walk away 

with is that they don’t 

need to kill every bug 

they see. Not every bug 

is a pest. 

KENDRA 

ABBOTT 

While some bugs can cause harm, 

such as venomous spiders and viruscarrying 

mosquitoes, the majority of 

bugs stay out of the way. 

“The vast majority of insects have 

nothing to do with us, other than 

[that] the planet that we live on would 

not survive if there weren’t insects 

in the way that we know it. Now if 

all of mankind was to disappear, the 

planet might, in my opinion, be a 

better place. If all of the insects would 

disappear, mankind would disappear,” 

John Abbott said. 

John Abbott said that without bugs, 

the economy would suffer too because 

bugs save humans $57 billion per year. 

From helping leaf litter decompose 

and eating dead things to pollinating 

plants around the world — which 

is done by beetles and butterflies as 

well as bees — the world would be 

drastically different without insects, 

and humans would have a hard time 

finding food and generally surviving. 

It’s a time where you 

can celebrate insects 

that are beautiful to 

look at, like caterpillars 

that turn into butterflies 

and insects like that, 

but it’s also important 

to be aware of insects 

like roahes, mosquitoes 

and fire ants that could 

bring harm to you. 

CLAY HAHN 

“There’s lots of reasons why insects 

are declining: pesticides, climate 

change, light pollution,” Kendra 

Abbott said. “But there is evidence 

to suggest that there is a huge decline 

in the abundance of the biomass of 

insects globally. ... Again, that’s a 

really bad thing.” 

Despite bugs suffering from climate 

change and environmental problems, 

the Abbotts said there are many ways 

to help the bug populations. 

John Abbott said ditching 

monoculture and manicured grass 

lawns and instead allowing the 

natural flora to prosper is a great 

way to help insects in your own yard. 

Many homeowner associations have 

a minimum amount of space that has 

to be made of grass in yards, but by 

planting native plants, people can 

enable the pollinators to work better 

and more effectively. 

“It’s a rethinking of ‘What is pretty 

or attractive?’” John Abbott said. 

“For some people at golf courses, a 

homogenous grass line that they cut 

is pretty, but that is not very good 

for insects. But a meadow of flowers 

growing and a bush rolling lawn can 

be very attractive in so many different 

ways. So it’s just kind of thinking 

about it differently that way.” 

Whether attendees walked away 

from Bama Bug Fest with new 

ways to save the endangered insect 

populations or with a little less fear of 

bugs than they had before, Bama Bug 

Fest is happy to give insects their own 

special day of celebration. 

“There is something there for 

everybody of all ages: the enamored, 

the curious, the fearful, everybody,” 

John Abbott said. 

CW / Pearl Langley

2B 

ENVIRONMENT 


Landscaping and grounds staff impact 

UA’s natural environment 

MADISON DUBOISE & SAVANNAH ICHIKAWA 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Year-round, The University of 

Alabama’s facilities and grounds 

employees work to create and maintain 

the Capstone’s lush landscape. 

From the beds of blooming flowers 

that surround various building 

entrances to the vibrant green grass 

and picturesque trees that cover the 

Quad, the scenery around campus 

draws in tourists and students 

alike. Southern Living highlighted 

it as one of “The South’s Most 

Beautiful Colleges.” 

The University of Alabama was 

named Tree Campus USA for the 

seventh consecutive year. 

The facilities and grounds 

department has been ranked the 

No. 1 grounds department among 

100 universities across the nation 

and even received an award for 

effective and innovative practices 

from the Association of Physical 

Plant Administrators. 

“We have over 12,000 trees, so it’s a 

big deal to take care of our trees and 

be recognized for that year in and 

year out,” said Bryant Anderson, the 

director of the grounds department. 

With over 50 species of trees, the 

University is home to some that have 

been here for over 100 years. Oaks 

and magnolias are most prevalent, 

while the Chinese pistache trees are 

the rarest, gifted by the Queen of 

England in the mid-1800s. 

We put so much work 

in the campus, and it 

doesn’t take but one 

football game for you 

to see where it has 

been beaten up. 

BRYANT 

ANDERSON 

According to the Arbor Day 

Foundation, having a campus 

that is dedicated to cultivating an 

environment with many trees, flowers 

and plants can help absorb carbon 

dioxide in the atmosphere, reduce 

amounts of energy used on campus, 

provide mental health benefits to 

students and staff, and encourage 

The trees on the Quad are part of the collection of over 12,000 trees on the 

campus that earned UA the title of Tree Campus USA for the seventh consecutive 

year.CW / David Gray 

physical activity. 

Josie Gillette is a freshman 

majoring in Spanish and economics 

who previously worked at a state 

park and currently volunteers at local 

parks near Tuscaloosa. She said the 

green space and outdoor areas drew 

her in when she considered attending 

Alabama. As a runner, she loves that 

the University has a large campus. 

“I have heard so much from other 

students about how the constantly 

green grass makes them feel happy 

on a rough day, it definitely rings true 

for me too,” Gillette said. 

In a 2019 study, researchers from the 

American Psychological Association 

found that contact with nature is 

connected to increased happiness 

and well-being and decreased mental 

distress. Additionally, it was shown to 

promote positive social interactions 

and a sense of meaning and purpose 

in life. 

Anderson has been working for the 

University for 11 years. As director of 

the grounds department, he oversees 

over 100 grounds personnel, ranging 

from managers, groundskeepers, 

irrigation technicians, and garbage 

truck and street sweeper operators, 

to tree trimmers and landscapers. 

The department has grown 

some as the campus expands, but 

Anderson said the largest challenge 

his team faces is taking care of such 

a large area of land. There are only 70 

groundskeepers in charge of taking 

care of about 1,500 acres. 

During the spring and summer, the 

campus rapidly grows and changes; 

whether it’s weeds that need to be 

removed or the upkeep of flowers, 

there is always work to be done. 

While it may look less lively 

during the winter as the trees lose 

their leaves and the flowers wilt, the 

campus comes to life as the season 

transitions to spring. 

Alabama has a humid, hot climate 

that creates issues when it comes to 

keeping the grass green, keeping 

flowers alive and keeping the large 

trees sufficiently watered. It can 

be difficult for the groundskeepers 

to give attention to all areas in the 

summer with so much land to cover. 

“The biggest challenge is to keep it 

looking the same week to week and 

month to month,” Anderson said. 

The employees work from 6 a.m. 

to 2:30 p.m. During football season, 

they may work for up to a month 

straight because game days require 

intensive cleanup on Saturdays 

and Sundays. 

“We put so much work in the 

campus, and it doesn't take but one 

football game for you to see where it 

has been beaten up,” Anderson said. 

“It all goes back to that bigger picture. 

It is for the good of the University, 

for the good of Tuscaloosa, just for 

the people to be able to come and 

enjoy themselves.” 

There is a landscape strategic 

plan in place for the department to 

ensure a standard for the style of the 

landscaping and groundwork. 

“We created a standard that is kind 

of like Nick Saban football,” Anderson 

said. “All our leadership expects 

the campus to look this way all the 

time. There is a little bit of added 

pressure on us to make sure we keep 

that standard.” 

One hundred and four 

people are dedicated 

to take care of the 

campus and make it 

safe and beautiful for 

you all. 

BRYANT 

ANDERSON 

Anderson said his job requires trust 

between him and his employees. 

“One hundred and four people are 

dedicated to take care of the campus 

and make it safe and beautiful for you 

all,” Anderson said. “[Students] are the 

reason we’re here. It’s all about making 

the campus look good for students, 

family, faculty and staff.” 

Hannah Shedd, a freshman 

majoring in environmental science, 

said the large outdoor space and 

overall feel of the campus caught her 

attention and was important to her 

college decision. 

“UA stood out to me because it 

didn’t feel urban, and I believe that 

it’s due to the many outdoor spaces on 

campus,” Shedd said. 

Kim Byram, the associate manager 

of the grounds department, has seen 

the campus grow and change in his 11 

years at the University. He is in charge 

of six individuals who are responsible 

for turf installation, planting trees and 

assisting with the flowers, fertilization 

and use of herbicides. 

Byram encourages students to 

appreciate his department’s hard work 

seen by this department as they walk 

to class. 

“Enjoy it while you're here. You get 

caught up doing the things that you 

want to do and you miss the forest 

for the trees per se,” Byram said. “And 

that's pun intended.” 

At a landscaping conference he 

attended, Byram learned how other 

schools better manage their organic 

waste, which he hopes to see soon at 

The University of Alabama. 

When it comes to being 

environmentally friendly, Byram said 

there is always more they can do. 

“I would hope to use less water. We 

can cut back on water usage, but that 

might mean the landscape at periods 

may not look as nice, so there's a catch 

there,” Byram said. 

Shop Boots, 

Jeans, & Hats 

at The Wharf 

in Northport 

220 Mcfarland Blvd N (205)-752-2075

ENVIRONMENT 


‘We deserve better’: 

Campus organizations push for a greener future 

ISABEL HOPE 

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR 

With over 300 members, the UA 

Environmental Council is the largest 

environmental student organization 

on campus. 

The organizations 

Rilyn Todd, a sophomore in the 

New College program, is a member 

of the Environmental Council. Todd 

got involved with the organization at 

the beginning of the fall 2021 semester 

because she was interested in activism. 

Environmental justice is a priority 

for her following her selection as the 

organization’s vice president for the 

upcoming academic year. 

“There are a lot of people who I talk to 

in the organization, like in meetings and 

through other events, that are interested 

in the same kind of thing,” she said. “A lot 

of people, including myself, are frustrated 

that environmentalism, especially in the 

South, is perceived as just recycling and 

using metal straws and stuff like that. We 

really want to get involved in actually 

pushing for legislation.” 

Last semester the Environmental 

Council began petitioning the City 

Council of Tuscaloosa to declare a 

climate emergency or create a plan 

to combat climate change and limit 

carbon emissions. 

Delanie Williams, a junior majoring 

in environmental engineering, is the 

incoming president of the Environmental 

Council. Williams has served as treasurer 

of the organization for a year and has 

“loved every second of it.” She raised over 

$500 for the Black Warrior Riverkeepers 

and wants to increase outreach. 

“I wanted to run for president for 

the 2022-2023 year to help expand 

our membership and club outreach 

efforts,” Williams said. “I think everyone 

nowadays is aware of the climate crisis, 

and they just need the opportunity to 

get involved and organized to make 

a change.” 

Williams wants the organization’s 

efforts to be more “member-led.” She 

highlighted the danger of eco-anxiety, 

the fear around climate catastrophe in the 

present and future. 

“To help combat eco-anxiety, I think 

it is extremely important for members of 

our community to feel they are helping 

to address the climate crisis,” she said. 

“This involves grassroots organizing and 

Campus Development, the University of 

Alabama department that plans, manages 

and delivers infrastructure services across 

the Capstone, is looking to strike a balance 

between style and sustainability. 

University Lands, which reports to 

Campus Development and is part of 

the University’s Division of Finance 

and Operations, provides long-range 

campus planning, entrepreneurial 

development and management of the 

University property. 

The University’s land management 

has been expanding since the school 

was founded in 1831. Most significantly, 

in April 1884, Congress voted to grant 

the University 46,080 acres of public 

lands to increase the 

University’s endowment 

and strengthen the 

institution’s total 

academic program. 

Tim Leopard, the 

senior associate vice 

CW / Anna Butts 

support from our executive team.” 

Thomas Franzem is the outgoing 

president of another environmental 

organization on campus: Conservation 

Biology Society. The organization 

discusses conservation literature, 

organizes litter cleanups and more. 

Franzem said he initially wanted to get 

involved with the organization because 

he likes “getting outside and seeing cool 

plants and animals.” 

“That’s been a thing throughout my 

whole life,” he said. “As I've gotten older 

and more educated, I’ve realized that 

we're actually doing a lot of harmful 

things to nature, which gives so much 

to us. I guess my motivating thing is just 

trying to advocate for the stuff that can’t 

advocate for itself and just try to effect 

change as far as society's relationship to 

nature and to the environment.” 

Franzem said his goal for the two year 

old Conservation Biology Society is to 

have it exist 10 or 20 years from now. 

He said it makes him feel optimistic that 

new people will be taking the reins this 

academic year. 

The University’s efforts 

Todd said the “extent” of environmental 

efforts on campus is the University’s 

recycling center and bins placed in 

classroom buildings. 

“That's about it,” she said. “Recycling is 

better than nothing, but it's not even that 

great in terms of sustainability. So things 

that the University could do first and 

foremost, they need to divest their assets 

from fossil fuels. I think it's irresponsible 

of them to be funding fossil fuel 

companies with their endowments when 

they claim to be educating their students 

for the future. If they're preparing us for 

a future that they're actively destroying, 

it just doesn't fit very well. It's kind 

of hypocritical.” 

Franzem said the University could 

help by treating land in a way that benefits 

the environment and surrounding 

ecosystems. Franzem said he would 

suggest incorporating native landscaping 

into the University’s work and utilizing 

wildflower gardens. 

Franzem argued that the University’s 

use of much of its land for lawns 

is detrimental to the environment, 

particularly for insects, birds, and other 

organisms who would benefit more from 

more natural environments. 

“There's a little patch of wildflower 

gardens past Marr’s Spring, but it's maybe 

15 feet long, and they need to do more to 

really make a difference,” he said. 

3B 

The UA Conservation Biology Society recorded hundreds of observations across the span of 

two days during “bioblitz” on October 9, 2021. Courtesy of UA Conversation Biology Society 

Williams said the Environmental 

Council is currently working with Bama 

Dining to reduce waste and the use of 

single-use plastics, but she believes UA 

leaders could always be doing more. 

“I think UA also needs to investigate 

food waste programs, develop a glass 

recycling program in the dorms and 

encourage native species biodiversity on 

campus,” she said. 

Todd said the Environmental Council’s 

wants the University to localize food 

production. The organization is currently 

trying to implement a community garden 

at the University to help achieve this goal. 

The Student Government Association 

has an Executive Cabinet member 

designated as director of environmental 

affairs. The outgoing director is Heisman 

Olszewski. The incoming director has not 

been announced yet, and will be selected 

by SGA President Madeline Martin. 

Todd said she feels disappointed 

by a lack of effort from the SGA 

on environmentalism. 

“They have no contact with us,” she 

said. “No collaboration whatsoever. The 

extent of their work this year was when 

he [Olszewski] proposed a project to 

make a place where people could hang 

their hammocks. It's not great. We 

deserve better.” 

Olszewski did not respond to multiple 

requests for comment, and SGA press 

secretary Olivia Davis declined multiple 

interview requests. 

The future 

Todd said she would encourage 

students to join the Environmental 

Council if they want to get involved. 

“Organizing and finding like-minded 

people is going to be really good for your 

mental health if you're anxious about 

environmental stuff,” she said. “Second 

of all, it is a great way to get things done. 

If we have more people working on these 

projects that I've already mentioned, 

they're going to get done faster and 

they're going to be way more effective. Put 

pressure on the people in these positions 

that are failing you right now. What is 

important to you, and what should they 

be doing?” 

Franzem pointed out the mission of the 

Conservation Biology Society in relation 

to making positive change on campus. 

“To address all the crises that humanity 

is facing, we need big changes at high 

levels, but you have some power to effect 

positive change,” Franzem said. “I think 

that's an important message that really 

needs to get out there more. We can help 

nature. We can help the environment just 

by doing things in our everyday lives.” 

Williams said students dealing with 

anxiety over climate change can make 

a difference. 

“Climate anxiety is very prevalent 

currently, and I think a lot of people 

feel like they can’t make an impact, but 

I promise you can,” she said. “Small 

changes build up, and one less singleuse 

plastic is better than nothing. 

I also highly encourage joining a 

group to try and make a collective 

difference. It’s empowering and makes 

a bigger impact. Might I suggest the 

Environmental Council?” 

UA seeks balance between style and sustainability 

GRACE SCHEPIS & JENNIFER BAGGETT 

STAFF REPORTER AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER 

president for Campus Development, 

said that investment in the University’s 

appearance and structural layout has 

contributed directly to the growing 

student body. 

“There’s a lot of proof over time that 

the look of a campus has a tremendous 

impact on recruiting and retaining 

students,” Leopard said. “We feel that 

if the University can get a student to 

campus [before enrollment], we have a 

90-plus-percent chance of getting them. 

A lot of that is based on what they see 

on campus — the look, the feel, the 

people, the programs — so we think that 

what Campus Development does is very 

important to that.” 

Leopard said that this attraction is based 

on the way prospective students see people 

interact with the campus when they come 

to tour. 

“When you walk on 

campus 

a n d 

y o u 

see that collegial feel, with a quad and 

green space and trees, and see people on 

scooters and bikes and walking around, 

it makes a dynamic and vibrant place,” 

Leopard said. “It makes you want to 

come here for what you think of as a 

college experience.” 

Along with his team, Leopard has 

added 5,000 beds to campus residence 

halls and overseen the construction of 

Shelby Quad. Currently, the Campus 

Development team is restoring the Bryce 

Hospital campus, which includes a new 

welcome and performing arts center. 

The Building Bama webpage outlines 

the University of Alabama’s ongoing and 

upcoming capital projects. This includes 

access to dates for bidding on campus 

projects, the capital projects portal and any 

impacts to campus activity. 

The portal currently lists 31 active 

campus projects, including the new 

Tutwiler Residence Hall, an Athletics 

Competition Area, the Peter Bryce 

renovation, a performing arts academic 

center and more. 

With projects always underway, 

Leopard strives to minimize the impact 

of construction on campus by working 

hardest when students are away. 

“We work each year over Christmas, 

over spring break and over the summer to 

do a tremendous amount of work just to 

minimize that impact,” Leopard said. 

When it comes to the environmental 

impact of construction on campus, 

Leopard and his team work to balance 

the economic feasibility of a project with 

its sustainability. When buildings are torn 

down, parts are often saved to apply to the 

next project. 

Brick and wood flooring from the 

original Bryce Hospital has been set aside 

to use in the ongoing remodeling. 

“Resiliency and long-lasting things are 

very important for sustainability, and so 

we work really hard to create a beautiful 

campus,” Leopard said. 

While the team looks to reduce its 

contribution to ongoing climate issues, the 

cost of greener options sometimes holds 

it back. 

“Carbon and greenhouse gases are 

tremendously important, but it all has to 

make financial sense,” Leopard said. “If 

there were a better mousetrap out there 

that was more efficient and effective, I 

promise you we'll be using it. I mean, why 

wouldn't we?” 

There’s a lot of proof 

over time that the look 

of a campus has a 

tremendous impact on 

recruiting and retaining 

students. 

TIM LEOPARD 

Currently underway, Leopard said, 

is a $28 million project dedicated to 

enhancing the energy efficiency and 

comfort of several campus buildings. The 

Campus Energy Delivery Optimization 

and Efficiency Project is an initiative to 

enhance the effectiveness and efficiency 

of the system that provides reliable heating 

and cooling to many buildings on campus. 

The financial benefit and return were 

considered, along with the performance of 

the system throughout its life cycle. 

The Campus Development team also 

recruits UA students to join them in their 

efforts at the Capstone. These positions 

range from engineer to analyst. 

“It is tremendously humbling to have 

been doing something that matters for so 

many people,” Leopard said. “You have 

the opportunity to support people doing 

incredible things.”

4B 

ENVIRONMENT 


The intersection of economics, environment and equity 

JOSEPH HOFFMAN & CARSON LOTT 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

The basic economics of the 

environment, such as resource 

management and conservation 

policy, have far-reaching impacts. 

Polluting a waterway with 

carcinogenic chemicals will lead 

to increased health care costs 

for nearby residents. Declining 

property values can lead to a lack 

of external investment in a city. 

Destroying ecosystems in Indigenous 

communities can further harm 

already disenfranchised populations. 

U.S. gross domestic product 

increased from $1.051 trillion in the 

first fiscal quarter of 1970 to $24 

trillion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 

2021 — the highest GDP in history. 

While the wealth of nations is 

generally increasing, the wealth gap 

between the economic elite and the 

working class is widening. According 

to a Pew Research study, as of 2016, 

upper-income families had 7.4 times 

as much wealth as middle-income 

families and 75 times as much wealth 

as lower-income families. 

According to the Swiss Re Institute, 

this gap is only going to become more 

pronounced with climate change, 

which threatens to “wipe up to 18% 

of GDP off the worldwide economy 

by 2050 if global temperatures rise 

by 3.2°C.” 

The United Nations’ High 

Commissioner for Refugees found 

that since 2010, weather emergencies 

and environment-related disasters 

have “forced more than 21.5 million 

people per year to move, on average” 

and concluded that weather-related 

crises have “triggered more than 

twice as much displacement as 

conflict and violence in the last 

decade.” 

Ellen Griffith Spears is a professor 

in the New College and the 

Department of American Studies 

who specializes in environmental 

history and ethics. Her research has 

focused heavily on environmental 

justice, including the book “Baptized 

in PCBs,” which examines a fight for 

climate justice in Anniston, Alabama, 

a town about two hours away 

from Tuscaloosa. 

Students have been 

involved in terrific 

ways in community 

gardens and supporting 

community-based 

agriculture. 

ELLEN GRIFFITH 

SPEARS 

“[Anniston] is one of two places 

where the Monsanto chemical 

company manufactured PCBs,” 

Spears said. “They knew from the 

1930s, and the world knew beginning 

in 1966, that they were quite 

hazardous to human health, but the 

people who lived there did not find 

out about that until the 1990s.” 

Aside from the numerous health 

impacts of PCBs, or polychlorinated 

biphenyls, which include impacts 

on the immune and reproductive 

systems, the long-term economic 

impact of contamination can be just 

as severe. 

Spears said the Environmental 

Protection Agency estimates more 

than 45 miles of waterways south of 

Anniston have been contaminated 

by PCBs, impacting thousands of 

residents and habitats surrounding 

the area. 

In Anniston, the waterways 

contaminated hogs, chickens and 

other animals since it was used as 

livestock drinking water. PCBs' 

main form of contamination is 

through consumption. 

“Owning their own homes is, 

for most people, the main way of 

accumulating value and passing it on. 

So [contamination] greatly reduces 

home value and in some cases makes 

it impossible to sell,” Spears said. “But 

there are much larger questions, such 

as the tax burden of maintaining the 

water system. Environmental justice 

is deeply connected, and is not only 

placed in communities of color 

but then damages their long-term 

economic prospects.” 

The Environmental Protection 

Agency defines environmental 

justice as “the fair treatment and 

meaningful involvement of all 

people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income, with 

respect to the development, 

implementation, and 

enforcement of environmental 

laws, regulations, and 

policies.” 

Though her research hasn’t 

focused specifically on the 

University, Spears said she would 

like to see the University address 

its relationship to environmental 

justice. Spears recommended 

a sustainability survey to take 

stock of what is being done across 

different departments. 

“One is what buildings and 

maintenance is doing on the recycling 

front. Two is what kinds of student 

activities exist so that people could 

know where to plug in. The other is 

the breadth of research, an overview,” 

Spears said. 

A common argument levied 

against climate policies is their 

immediate economic impact. Critics 

argue that the multitrillion-dollar 

price tag of plans like the Green New 

Deal would destroy the economy 

and cost millions of people jobs. The 

Green New Deal aims to shift the 

United States’ economic resources 

into building mass sustainable 

infrastructure to combat climate 

change, including social safety nets 

like guaranteed housing, universal 

healthcare and tuition-free public 

education. However, research from 

Scientific American shows that the 

negative effect of inaction would be 

far greater in the long run. 

“The kind of investment we can 

make now is extraordinarily costsaving 

in the future,” Spears said. 

“Interestingly enough, it’s not just 

the environmental movement now 

that’s talking about it, but certain 

corporate entities have realized that 

switch in a very short time frame.” 

The focus then becomes policy. 

Spears said that sometimes, it needs 

to start from the basics. 

“I think it's really good that The 

University of Alabama is focusing a 

lot of attention on water,” Spears said. 

“Food is another big area. Students 

have been involved in terrific ways in 

community gardens and supporting 

community-based agriculture.” 

Michael Price is the Dwight 

Harrigan Endowed Faculty Fellow 

in Natural Resource Economics in 

the Culverhouse College of Business. 

As a trained behavioral economist, 

Price specializes in researching ways 

that conservation efforts can be 

effectively marketed and promoted 

to consumers. 

Price said treating sustainability 

efforts as a competition 

would have economic and 

environmental benefits. 

“I think competitions are nice on 

a lot of dimensions because they give 

potential benefits and you’re not 

necessarily relying just upon people’s 

intrinsic motivations ... so you can 

engage a broader set of people,” 

Price said. 

Sustainability competitions could 

include comparing residence halls’ 

energy use against one another, 

with the most energy-efficient 

residence hall winning a prize. The 

University used to operate an energy 

dashboard called the Crimson 

Energy Connection that “uses smart 

meters to track electric, natural gas, 

chilled water and hot water data in 

real time.” 

From Sept. 30 to Oct. 13, 2019, 

Crimson Energy Connection hosted 

the “Battle of the Halls,” in which 

residence halls were pitted against 

one another to see who could save the 

most energy within the allotted time 

frame. The winning residence hall 

received a “special prize provided by 

the Residence Hall Association.” 

In total, 890 million British 

thermal units and $12,142.06 were 

saved from the competition. Crimson 

Energy Connection’s website reports 

that the University spends over $20 

million annually on energy resources. 

Price said the pandemic also 

played a role in energy efficiency and 

environmental change. 

“In Germany, people adopted 

more strategies and behaviors in the 

home that would save energy during 

the pandemic and reported that 

they engage in these behaviors more 

frequently during the pandemic 

than they had beforehand,” Price 

said. “There have been articles 

that have come out in Science and 

Nature showing that the skies over 

Beijing are clear and that there are 

reductions in air pollution. Now, 

part of that was an artifact of less 

industrial production, but if some of 

it is coming through the consumers, 

or even the businesses ... people 

became more cognizant.” 

If you can engage 

a large number of 

students in small 

changes, they add up, 

and over time, you [...] 

you develop habits… 

and you learn that 

change isn’t as painful 

as you think. 

MICHAEL 

PRICE 

Sustainability is about individual 

incentives, but it’s also about 

the sustainability practices of 

corporations, businesses and public 

entities like universities. From an 

economic perspective, it’s imperative 

to consider the interests of a 

conglomerate: money. 

“What are they trying to optimize?” 

Price asked. “For a university, it’s 

attracting better students, it’s longrun 

engagement, it’s faculty. ... Is 

it something that will change the 

demand for seats at the university? 

Is it something that alums or outside 

groups would come in, and will it be 

a new source of financing for them?” 

Price suggested integrating 

environmentalism and sustainability 

into the undergraduate 

research experience. 

Environmentalism encapsulates 

all fields of study, from economics 

and business to technology, 

engineering and design. Not only 

could research-driven sustainability 

practices improve the local and 

statewide environment; they 

could also raise the demand for a 

spot at the University. With more 

demand comes more opportunity to 

raise funds. 


“If you can engage a large number 

of students in small changes, they 

add up, and over time, you hope that 

you develop habits … and you learn 

that change isn’t as painful as you 

think,” Price said. 

Price said history has proven 

humans to be creatures of habit. 

Creating new and meaningful habits 

must begin on an individual level, 

because change comes in aggregate. 

Sophomores Rilyn Todd, a 

sustainability and environmental 

engineering major, and Jacob 

Hegelson, a marine sciences and 

biology major, are vice presidentelect 

and secretary-elect, respectively, 

of the UA Environmental Council, a 

campus environmental advocacy and 

awareness organization. 

Todd and Hegelson have bold 

visions for what a sustainable campus 

could look like. 

“There’s a long way to go, but [a 

sustainable campus] would look like 

net zero emissions — not meaning 

net zero as in the promise of net zero, 

where we rely on future technologies, 

but net zero as in we don’t produce 

carbon,” Todd said. 

To accomplish this, Todd listed 

several steps the University could 

take, ranging from cleaner public 

transport, localized food systems, 

permaculture gardens, all the way to 

divesting University assets from fossil 

fuels and reinvesting in renewable 

energy initiatives. 

Todd and Hegelson believe that 

current economic practices will 

ultimately fail in the face of the 

climate crisis but could be revitalized 

through innovative approaches to 

sustainability and equity. 

“I honestly think switching 

to sustainable conditions would 

ultimately, in the much longer term, 

increase the stability of economics,” 

Hegelson said. 

Todd and Hegelson have said that, 

for the longest time, sustainability 

has been interpreted as a compromise 

between wealth and Earth, but it 

doesn’t have to be this way. 

“It goes back to the idea, or the 

fact, that our economic system 

doesn’t make sense for the real world, 

and it doesn’t apply to the planet that 

we live on, because it assumes that 

natural resources are infinite, and 

that’s not true,” Hegelson said. “It 

also makes a lot of assumptions about 

human nature that are also not true, 

so we just can’t continue with this 

extractive capitalist system in which 

we just take whatever we want.”

ENVIRONMENT 


REGISTER 

NOW! 

Environmental 

SUMMER 

COURSES 

Get ahead or catch up. 

Save money and still 

have fun in the sun. 

All online, 

all summer! 

Summer Tuition at 

Spring Hill College 

is $399 vs $420 

at University of 

Alabama per 

credit hour. 

SHC.EDU/SUMMER 

OPINION: 

Everyone deserves 

environmental justice 

HANNAH SHEDD 

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST 

injustice refers to 

environmental practices disproportionately 

affecting minorities, people of color and 

low-income communities. This often looks 

like pollutants being diverted to minority 

communities and inequity in access to 

sustainable options. 

This can have devastating impacts. As 

with most social justice issues, minority 

and low-income communities are most 

impacted. From air and water pollution 

to unequal access to quality outdoor 

recreational spaces, environmental injustice 

is pervasive, and it cannot be ignored. 

The environmental justice 

movement 

The environmental justice movement 

had a tragic beginning. This movement 

took off in 1982, in the impoverished 

areas of Warren County, North Carolina. 

The state government brazenly dumped 

6,000 truckloads of soil containing toxic 

chemicals for the purpose of creating a 

waste landfill. 

Residents of Warren County detested 

the introduction of chemicals into their 

community and united against the landfill. 

The protests included acts of defiance such 

as marches and lying in the pathways of 

trucks to impede their movement. These 

actions resulted in over 500 arrests, the first 

time in United States history that arrests 

were made over the sitting of a landfill. 

Unfortunately, the government of 

Warren County prevailed. Toxic waste 

overtook these innocent residents’ 

community. However, the battle was 

not completely lost: It drew national 

media attention, which jump-started the 

environmental justice movement. 

Low-income and 

minority communities 

It can be difficult for individuals to grasp 

the damage that is inflicted by landfills, 

incinerators and other environmental 

health risks impacting low-income areas. 

The average person does not calculate every 

outcome of their carbon footprint when 

they toss their waste in the garbage can, but 

odds are it’s contributing to the health issues 

of impoverished residents. 

How does garbage contribute to diabetes, 

lung cancer, strokes, heart diseases and 

other detrimental diseases in minority and 

low-income areas? To answer this question, 

we must look at the journey of waste 

in America. 

Let’s say you just finished a nice, cold 

bottle of soda. You toss the empty bottle 

in the nearest trash can and continue with 

your day. Now, a garbage truck will pick up 

all of the waste in that garbage can and send 

the bottle on its journey. After a network of 

transfer trucks, the soda bottle eventually 

arrives at one of three places: a recycling 

center, a landfill or an incinerator. 

Hopefully it would end up at a recycling 

center since it’s a recyclable; however, 

more often than not, it will end up in an 

incinerator or a landfill. These landfills and 

incinerators are most likely housed in lowincome, 

minority communities. 

Landfills and incinerators contribute 

to a catastrophic amount of air and water 

pollution. Through targeting minority, lowincome 

communities with landfills, the 

government is contaminating the drinking 

water of these communities. 

Not only are these communities' water 

supplies threatened, but their air quality 

is also negatively impacted through 

the proximity of landfills. Landfills 

exude dangerous toxins into the air of 

communities close to landfills. These toxins 

have been linked to a variety of health 

conditions, including birth defects. Beyond 

h e a l t h 

concerns, 


these residents’ quality of life is drastically 

impacted. Through living near a landfill, 

residents face noxious odors that make it 

difficult and unpleasant to breathe. 

Through the burning of waste, pollutants 

like mercury, lead, arsenic and carbon 

monoxide are released into the surrounding 

air. These communities are now at risk of 

a variety of health conditions, including 

cancers and respiratory diseases. The ash 

created through burning waste is also toxic 

to the environment and further exacerbates 

health conditions in targeted communities. 

Environmental injustice in the 

Black Belt 

Often, when considering social justice 

issues, we think of these issues as distant 

threats. However, the environmental justice 

crisis is affecting areas in close proximity to 

The University of Alabama. 

It is not shocking to discover that 

Alabama’s Black Belt is heavily targeted 

regarding environmental injustices. 

Originally named for the dark, fertile 

soil of the region, the Black Belt has been 

historically marginalized and still struggles 

with high poverty rates. 

To truly understand the environmental 

struggles that Alabama’s Black Belt is 

facing, one must examine an especially 

environmentally targeted town: 

Uniontown, Alabama. In late 2008, millions 

of tons of coal ash were transported from a 

predominantly white area in Tennessee 

to a landfill in Uniontown. Uniontown’s 

population is 84% Black, with 49% of 

residents living below the poverty line. 

Throughout a two-year period, this 

coal ash was dumped as close as 100 feet 

from some residents’ front porches. Some 

chemicals that this coal ash released into 

the air of the community include arsenic, 

lead and other radioactive elements. 

In turn, residents started experiencing 

respiratory problems, severe headaches, 

nausea and dizziness, among other health 

issues. Additionally, residents were forced 

to endure pungent odors and extreme 

dust, which contaminated all aspects of 

their lives. 

Residents of Uniontown banded 

together and filed a civil rights complaint to 

Alabama’s Department of Environmental 

Management. However, the Environmental 

Protection Agency denied the complaint on 

the basis of “insufficient evidence.” 

The denial of this complaint has only 

exacerbated the situation in Uniontown. As 

of 2018, the landfill is owned by developers 

based in New York and New Jersey. This 

change of ownership has caused this landfill 

to receive around a million tons of out-ofstate 

waste. The recent effects of this landfill 

have been detrimental to the community, 

causing residents to either give up their 

homes and relocate or face potential health 

risks and extreme odors. 

Outdoors for all 

5B 

Historically, environmental justice has 

pertained mainly to waste management. 

However, a new issue has arisen regarding 

environmental injustice: the lack of quality 

outdoor recreational spaces in minority and 

impoverished areas. 

A bill titled the “Outdoors for All Act” 

has recently been introduced in the Senate. 

This bill would create funding for the 

Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, 

which supports projects involving outdoor 

recreation opportunities in low-income 

areas and works toward closing the gap in 

environmental injustices. 

Environmental injustice issues are 

unacceptable and are getting exceedingly 

worse everyday, but there are ways that we 

can combat this issue. 

First and foremost, recycling can 

c u t down on the amount of 

waste sent to landfills 

and incinerators. 

Through cutting down 

on this waste, we can 

lessen the chance 

of impoverished 

communities facing 

extreme health risks. 

Recycling not only 

benefits the environment but 

also benefits vulnerable communities. 

Keep that in mind the next time you toss 

a plastic bottle into a trash can instead of a 

recycling bin. 

We must raise awareness and amplify the 

voices of these vulnerable communities. 

However, there is only so much we 

can do without the government’s help in 

settling these issues. While we must wait on 

the government to make positive changes 

regarding these issues, we do not have to 

wait silently.

6B 

ENVIRONMENT 

April 21, 2022

The Crimson White: Environmental Edition, April 2022

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?