Will & Darwin write: Our intention in publishing here it is to generate a greater level of critical reflection and discussion concerning the dominant role of the politics of “greening” and communitarian “collaboration-with-the-powers-that-be” approaches that characterize campus-based environmental organizations as well as an increasing number of those in society at large. We can think of few more timely priorities for those who would use university campuses as organizing bases [than] to challenge the system of authoritarian power that is in the process of destroying the ecological basis for the existence of life on earth. “We must name that system,” as a student radical named Paul Potter stated in a different context nearly 35 years ago. In short, we offer this essay as a starting point toward naming the role of modern research universities in perpetuating ecological holocausts large and small.

In October 2007, the magazine of the country’s longest-running conservationist organization, the Sierra Club, published its inaugural listing of the country’s “greenest campuses.” The rankings were assigned based on each campus’ building designs, energy policies, bike facilities, and food purchasing contracts.... [Yet to] call it a “zero waste” institution would be akin to labeling McDonalds a vegetarian restaurant now that it’s added salads to its menu. The UC co-manages the largest nuclear waste dump in New Mexico.

The UC: America's Most Ecocidal "Green" University: Part I | Part II

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