Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2009)
4 the clackamas print Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 Sustainability coordinator seeks long term awareness By Mark Sunderland The Clackamas Print Tim Maher-. is a .sustain ability outreach Coordina tor for Clackamas Community College, and he works strictly at the Oregon City campus. He is working on creating an inventory for the Oregon City campus on greenhouse gas emissions, and he also works with local green building societies in the local area and deconstruction consortiums. I sought out an interview with this man and upon meeting Maher, I found what I was look ing for. Maher is a seemingly quiet man with his sweater and glasses, a stylish beard and all in all a typi cal looking college student. Lest appearances be deceiving, I break the ice of the interview with a query into what were his reasons way to do environment account- for joining the AmeriCorps. “It’s probably a combination • ing.’ He went on to talk about his of a lot of things. The job market position and his background prior is pretty terrible right now, as to CCC. many people know, and I was “This position itself is very unemployed for a long time. It is attractive to me. I really wanted also a really great opportunity,” it when I saw it because my Maher said before giving further insight into the program he works tide is Sustainability Outreach Coordinator,” Maher revealed. for in AmeriCorps and his job at “My background is in astrophys ics and climate science in par “The program that I’m in is ticular, and so I spent a lot of time basically 80 percent of die time I am here, and 20 percent of studying, worrying about what is climate change from a scien die time, I am out doing other tific perspective, why is it being AmeriCorps things. Other work shop based, training based and caused and what are the effects going to be about it That is my a lot of community service,” said Maher. “The 80 percent of background as more physics, like the time I’m here, I’m mainly actual hardcore science, so now I’ve learned what the problem is focusing on doing a greenhouse and now I really want to focus on gas emissions inventory for the trying to fix it So, the main goal school; to get a good base line, to for me, I’m a very simple person, see where we are and put num bers on everything. It’s almost a and the problem is greenhouse gas emissions. So, that is basi cally what I am focusing on for the rest of my life is cutting down those emissions.”’ It is his hope and the hope of those he works with, such as Martha (Marty) Mitchell, an environmental consultant that within a couple years, students or groups of students or even classes will take the inventory and con tinue the course. “We are hoping that students will take this ball and run with it next year. This update, in order for this to work, this inventory — the whole idea of it is to have measurable outcomes. So, this is something We can measure; we can actually say we are emit ting this much in commuting, energy use, paper usage, food waste, all these areas. We are emitting all these things. It’s like a big pie graph and then we can focus our efforts, you know, on the biggest ones - kind of to get the biggest bang for the buck,” * said Maher, clarifying on what exactly he. hopes tins inventory will become. The next obvious ques tion is what does Maher do at Clackamas, and while he gave an overview of it, I sought a more defined answer. “So, the difference between Marty and me, we are in separate programs,” said Maher. “Not just here on campus, she is housed in Campus Services, and I am here in customized Training and Development, but in the actual AmeriCorps world as well. But, MAHER ccc. basically in her AmeriCorps pro gram, she is here 40 hours a week at-Clackamas Community College. The program I’m in, I’m here only 80 percent of my time, so on average 32 hours a week and the 20 percent I’m doing other stuff. The 80 percent of the time I’m here, my goals are to improve climate literacy and have all people be able to under stand greenhouse gases and cli mate change and be able to speak that same language so that later years when humans are going to be in 200 years, hopefully, these are things we will have had to do. We’re going to have to be sustainable and in order to be sustainable, these are essential steps that we’re going have to take. We are going to have to start from kindergarten and up will have to learn about things like greenhouse gases and c limate change.” After the quick explanation of how he and Mitchell are in separate programs within the AmeriCorps fold, Maher goes into explaining how his position doesn’t just entail that he is work ing on a greenhouse gas invento ry but also to heighten awareness of climate change, greenhouses gases and'how such aspects of science affect the future of the planet He continued to explain how he seeks to make literacy of climate change and greenhouse gases as common knowledge as computers. “So, we grew up with that our generation did, and so now peo ple in their thirties that grew up with this are changing the whole world. Computers are changing the whole world now arid the whole world runs by Internet The whole world runs by computer and that has just happened in my lifetime, our lifetime,” Maher said. He believes that if the peo ple become just as literate about greenhouse gases and climate change as they are of computers nowadays, there is no way of cal culating what could happen. “So, think about what could happen if ip 30 years from now if we started, right now, imple menting climate literacy, climate change, greenhouse gases and all that kind of stuff into the educa tional curriculum from kindergar ten al 1 the way up starting now. I mean, what would happen in 30 years?” posed Maher. resolutions that will m likely not improve yd life but are pretty easy accomplish Gain 20 pounds Drop out of school Keep smoking regard any ban Get a credit card Watch more TV Eat more fast food | Spend more time on FI Have an i 1 legit ¡mate chi Spend more time dra and less time doing I Stop making payma CCC’s “payment plan’’] Disregard the “safety] policy Spend less time with fa] Make the same mista] last year Spend more time get™ in the morning Don’t update your haiia Keep listening to nd lyrics about getting dni Stay ignorant about] and international affairs! Create a WoW accoa spend all your free tima Stay negative; things won’t get better I Smile less Drink more coffee I Cut out veggies iron] diet Only shop at corp] owned companies Create more trash Watch more reality TV Don’t move on from M Don’t register for wiJ until it starts Make sure everyone I when you’re pissed off] Begin modeling your! Lady Gaga songs Party more! Wash clothes more of» Completely stop callii pie; that’s what texting] Craft fair vendors come to campus Community Center LEFT: Carl Beaulieu displays his air brushed works of art durring the craft fair in the Commupity Center Dec. 1. RIGHT: Tre Seibert shows tai suncatchers during the craft fair, which continues Wednesday Dec. 2.
