Going Green: An Introduction to CUA’s Environmental Club
Image courtesy of the CUA Environmental Club
By: Taylor Capobianco
Catholic University of America’s Environmental Club has been around for several years but has recently undergone a rebranding.
The club was formerly known as “The Green Club,” but due to confusion with the political Green Party, the current presidents have undertaken the rebranding process.
Holly Thompson is a junior environmental studies major from Clayton, NJ and serves as co-president alongside Taylor Capobianco, a junior politics and theology major from San Antonio, Texas. Thompson’s passion for educating others about the importance of sustainability drives her in her role as president. Similarly, Capobianco loves meeting people with the same interests in the environment and thrives off the cohesive energy in club meetings.
Caitlyn Azarian works diligently as the club’s secretary, sending out emails to members to update them on future events and make connections with other clubs. Maddie Fallon is in charge of the club’s Instagram. She advertises events and projects as well as posts trivia on Thursdays. Lastly, Anthony Apostolides is the club’s events coordinator. He helps reserve rooms and speakers for our events as well as edits weekly Youtube videos.
The Environmental Club is determined to cover as many environmental issues as possible. September has been designated as the ocean’s month, and the majority of material, discussions, and events are based around the world’s oceans and issues that plague them.
The next event is on September 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. EST and is called “Exploring the Ocean.” The event will be hosted on Zoom and the link will be emailed to all subscribing club members as well as posted on the club’s Instagram. This event will feature speakers Meaghan Cuddy, an Ocean Education Specialist from the Smithsonian, and Roderic Mast, CEO of the Oceanic Society and co-founder of the Blue Habitats program. They will be providing education on our oceans and what we can do to help better their current state. To access this online event, the club’s executive board will email the Zoom link as well as include the link on our Instagram bio. The club’s YouTube will also be featuring a video that Friday about illegal fishing.
The Environmental Club works to stay active by having weekly events and projects. Mondays are celebrated as “Meatless Mondays,” when the club posts an informative video on meat alternatives. The club does this to raise awareness about the fact that the land that it takes to supply the world’s demand for meat is 80 percent of what the agricultural industry takes up, and that the subsequent carbon emissions are a leading part of climate change. For example, switching to tofu can help bring a stop to Earth’s rising temperatures.
Then every Thursday there is trivia on whatever theme we have that week, as well as a related informative Youtube video posted every Friday. For example, on September 18 the club will post a video about ocean acidification to raise awareness of the fact that carbon dioxide emissions also interfere with the ocean’s PH levels and can destroy the PH balance of marine life’s habitat. Not-so-fun fact: when you throw plastic bags and other plastic materials in the ocean, it kills as many as one million sea creatures annually.
If you would like to apply to be a part of the club’s executive board, the current open spots include a treasurer to manage the club’s budget and a freshman representative to be a direct voice for freshmen! If you are interested in these positions or have any questions, below is the executive board’s contact information as well as links to the club’s social media.
Email: [email protected]
The Nest: https://nest.cua.edu/organization/cuenvironment
Instagram: @cu_environmentalclub
Our Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClscE1Z3Z_uIoqab710bVOw
