Welcome to The Green Light.

Hi, my name is: Caiti!

 Get to know me in 10 seconds:

I’m from: the shore of New Jersey

My favorite kid’s movie: The Little Mermaid, easily

I’m happiest when: I’m hiking somewhere amazing

The coolest thing I ever did was: climb Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, 14,259 feet higher than where I was born. Not easy.

Me on the summit of Longs Peak.

I’m blogging because: I’m taking an online journalism class

I’m happy to be blogging because: there are some amazing people involved in the green initiative at Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA, and in the Lehigh Valley. I’ll do my best to give them the voice they deserve.

Give me 30 more!

There’s a rumor out there. Moravian students, like many others, think “going green” is tedious, arduous, smelly, messy, annoying, a sacrifice. If you’re one of them, you’re missing out!

Well then what is all this green stuff? What’s sustainability?

First, forget your grandma’s definition of sustainability: the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.

It’s this simple. Sustainability is about being smart. It’s a concept that seeks solutions that are beneficial to

1)    our environment- Local farms, for instance, produce food that need not be

trucked and processed (which would waste energy).

2) our communities- When you buy from that farmer, your money goes to support his or her family, which will in turn support in your community.

3) our economies- By producing food in an environmentally responsible way the farmer helps preserve resources, like land and clean water, that are economic essentials. By paying for his or her goods, you’re building a strong local economy that is less susceptible to the fickleness of the nation’s economy.

What does this mean for us?

Through more efficient resource use, Moravian College could save money. (Think solar panels to cut down energy bills or new plumbing and heating to conserve energy.)

 If we buy locally, we can help sustain families in the Lehigh Valley.

If we just think twice, maybe Moravian students will make choices that make us happier, healthier, more fulfilled: Frisbee over Facebook, veggies over burgers, the forefront over the sidelines.

Students would go for green if more people would go with them. It’s not stupid to walk the extra few feet to the recycling bin or the extra mile to south campus. People would go for green if they knew just how big of a deal our environmental issues are.

More people—especially young people!— should know they have the power to make a better community for themselves. I’d like to help. Consider this the green light.

Why do I care?

I’m lucky, lucky to have spent time in some incredible places in my pursuit of a career as a National Park Ranger. Maybe I’m even selfish. I’ve swam in the turquoise lakes of Glacier National Park, ambled through Colorado’s quaking aspen, and grew up exploring the Atlantic Coast. I don’t want to the magic of these places to slip away, and certainly not through my fingers.

I want to have fun, enjoy life, and do it in a way that leaves more fun and enjoyment for the people after me.

Are you in?