Transportation and WWU Sustainability
"The daily movement of people back and forth to campus in automobiles burning fossil fuels is one of the largest impacts a typical educational institution imposes on the life support systems of the planet. In addition, the travel patterns that students learn while in college are likely to influence their future travel choices."
- Will Toor, Spenser W. Havlik, Transportation & Sustainable Campus Communities, 2004, Introduction, Page 1
Sustainability
“Sustainability” describes the challenge of meeting current human needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It involves recognizing limits, living within the constraints of the natural world, and understanding the connections between the environment, the economy, social well-being, and human health.
Transportation Impacts
Reasons for pursuing a sustainable transportation system are to integrate local responsibilities with global problems. These include rising temperatures and climate destabilization; increased urban density and suburban sprawl; a growing population; the rising costs of energy production and instability of foreign energy sources; a worsening human health condition due to water and air pollution (a major cause of rising asthma and respiratory illness) and lack of physical activity (resulting in increased diabetes and other diseases.)
Solutions
Transportation needs and impacts include commuter travel and campus operations. It will take a diverse mix of program and facilities solutions to reduce the impacts of current transportation choices and provide fair, healthy, economically sound and environmentally clean mobility and access for all members of the WWU community.
More Information
The following resources provide information on causes and solutions to issues of sustainablity, including transportation.
http://www.kuow.org/newspecials/climate.asp