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| Greetings from the Board |
| The Green Initiatives Fund is official! |
| Hamilton Gets a B- on Sustainability Report Card |
| Written by Peter Holzaepfel '05 |
| Environmental Employment Digest |
| Find jobs or Post jobs HERE! |
| GGH writes to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack '72 |
| GGH member Amara McCarthy '04 writes to Sec. Vilsack to congratulate him on his appointment within the Obama administration and to welcome him to GGH |
GGH writes to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack '72
By The GGH Executive BoardFebruary 13, 2009
Secretary Tom Vilsack
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
The alumni-based group, Graduates for a Greener Hamilton, congratulates you and celebrates your appointment to President Obama’s administration as the Secretary of Agriculture. As the head of the Department of Agriculture, you will have the opportunity to lead progressive policy making across many critical organizations and agencies. We look to the future with renewed hope and energy and are proud to see a distinguished Hamilton alumnus appointed to a critical public service role.
Two years ago, a conscientious group of Hamilton College alumni formed Graduates for a Greener Hamilton (GGH). This organization formed in response to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Fourth Assessment Report” and the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s “College Sustainability Report Card.” As alumni, we recognized our responsibility to promote not only environmentally conscious education, facilities, and culture at our alma mater, but also to encourage the administration to make a steadfast commitment to environmental sustainability as they look to the future of the college.
Today, it is with same sense of responsibility that we write to you. As Wes Jackson and Wendell Berry described in their recent op-ed in the New York Times (“A 50 Year Farm Bill,” January 4, 2009), our nation’s ways of agriculture over the past fifty years have disrupted the health of our land, air, and waters, our food systems, our local economies, our communities, and our people. Industrial agricultural practices have not only harmed our soils, increased our reliance on harmful chemicals, and perpetuated our use of fossil fuels, but they have also lead to a breakdown of local economies and communities, a vulnerable food system, and a culture of disconnect from the very thing that is vital to our health and nourishment.
The vast majority of the country recognizes the need for a change. By calling for the creation of five million new green jobs, supporting the use of clean, sustainable energy alternatives, and proposing a cap on farm subsidies (to the benefit of small farmers), President Obama has signaled that he is willing commit the necessary resources and make some of the tough decisions needed to repair our broken relationship to the land. A progressive shift in Federal farm policy and a commitment to innovative leadership within the Department of Agriculture will be paramount in confronting the economic, environmental, and cultural failures of past practices and policies. While GGH works to cultivate a sense of stewardship and environmental sustainability within the Hamilton community, we are encouraged that the same sense of responsibility will become central to our nation’s agriculture policy under your leadership.
Secretary Vilsack, we invite you to visit GGH’s website to learn more about our mission (www.gghamilton.org). We are proud to report that we have received tremendous support from recent graduates and current students, and we are continuously working to increase our network by reaching out alumni across all years. We would greatly appreciate any support, feedback and project ideas you can provide, and hope that you will consider becoming a member of GGH very soon!
We appreciate your time, Secretary Vilsack.
Sincerely,
Amara McCarthy ’04
17 Antwerp Street
Philadelphia, NY 13673
greenerhamilton@gmail.com
Amara McCarthy graduated from Hamilton in 2004 with concentrations in Government and Art History. Amara's Government thesis focused on the growth of Community Supported Agriculture in the United States and its connection to our sense of place. She believes that the ways in which we produce and purchase our foods are directly connected to the health of our environment and communities. Following graduation, she interned at Community Farm Alliance in Louisville, Kentucky. Community Farm Alliance is a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting family-scale agriculture and fostering relationships between rural farmers and urban consumers to promote healthy local economies throughout Kentucky. Amara also spent time working at Farm and Wilderness in Plymouth, Vermont, where she facilitated hands-on ecological, agricultural, and sustainability lessons and lead wilderness trips. She currently teaches First Grade.