The panel of professors discussing the environment addressed many issues that have been widely reported upon for years. While it seems the world is making progress towards addressing these issues, improvement still is not fast enough. Unfortunately, if we do not act on climate change quickly it may be too late.

Often people are more likely to act on issues that directly impact them or when they believe that their action will be impactful. For many people neither of these conditions are met and thus little action is taken. The professors talked about designing economic policies to ensure that people and companies consider the environment in their production decisions. This process involves taxing actions which harm the environment. If these policies are to have a serious chance of impacting climate change they need to be multi-national and implemented with a sense of urgency.

If only one country in a region implements these policies many businesses will move to nearby nations to avoid costs. Also, since it takes time for pollutants to dissipate from the atmosphere changes should be implemented rapidly in order to have the best chance of success.

Despite the challenges, it was encouraging to hear about people who are making a difference. For example, the activists who help stop fracking in New York made a sizable difference through collective action. Also, I was excited to hear that Cornell is using innovative methods to be more environmentally friendly such as using water from the lake for air conditioning.

I also hope that other small changes will collectively make a major difference. One idea I have is turning off the hallway lights in the dorms at night. They could be activated my motion sensors just like the lights in the bathroom.