For Sustainability Week 2009, I had the honor to represent the students as a speaker. I followed the President Steger, Mayor Rordam, and Sustainable Blacksburg Director Pat Bixler as the last speaker.  The following are my words from the kickoff event.

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children," says a Native American proverb.

Besides the earth, is there anything else we actually borrow? We live in a throwaway society and I can't see my child wanting my rubber duck from Walmart, which will cost be more to store, than to buy another one again, in ten years. In fact, the packaging alone for the duck is part of the 1,242 pounds that the average American disposes of each year, which is up tenfold in the last 100 years. If we were to keep something like the rubber duck, it would be for sentimental value, because those emotional associations are worth more than any monetary value.

The emotional associations are worth more than the monetary value? How can the $1.99 duck have more sentimental value than the planet where I live?

I spend most days staring down at my iPhone typing an e-mail, losing all visibility of where I am and where I am going. I feel my rubber-soled shoes hit the pavement for the hundredth time of the day, losing all feeling of connectedness with the earth below me. I am reaching for my ham and cheese sandwich in my backpack, the one I think came from Kroger, but really contains meat and cheese that originated thousands of miles away. My point: We've lost all connection to what we do and how we do it. We are on this Earth for such a short period of time and we aren't living in the present with the goal of protecting the future.

Do you desire to positively change the world and leave a legacy? Most of us do, but why aren't we doing it right now? Maybe it's because this concept of "changing the world" is perceived as so grandiose that it must be impossible.

Let us break down this abstract concept with the infinite amount of time it would take to do it, into a concrete and finite piece of time. If we break down that phrase from an insurmountable task into tiny little pieces, like the time it takes to change the world, it becomes much more realistic. The way I see it, every action, every second of the day, is an opportunity to change the world.

And during this Sustainability Week, you have opportunities, at just about every hour, to not only learn, but to actively participate in the process. The Open Forum: Campus Sustainability Progress Report is Thursday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. in the Commonwealth Ballroom. I urge each of you to find your voice and help us make this school the best it can be.

This is an exciting time at Virginia Tech because each one of you plays an essential role in that process. College isn't just about sitting in a classroom, but rather tackling real world issues. Yesterday, I was on the Mall in Washington, D.C., staring at the Lumenhaus, Tech's Solar House entry in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon contest. It is one of the many examples where Tech students are solving real world problems. This week is about raising awareness, but it's up to each of you to be aware and conscious in every decision you make here at Tech, so we can solve our problems as well. So take the little actions: Turn off your lights, choose the more eco-friendly product, and you will be part of the change.

Many of us will leave Tech and Blacksburg someday. While we will leave behind the orange and maroon leaves of an autumn tree, the all too familiar Blacksburg rain, and the clearest view to the summer stars, we will not leave a negative impact. Each one of you is here today, because you understand that this moment in time is your moment to be one of the many maroon and orange leaves on a tree, a single rain drop from a spring shower, or the North Star among constellations. When we all contribute our individual actions they add up to a massive, collective effort.

We have all heard the phrase, "Think globally, act locally." Local leaders like Mayor Ron Rordam and the 1,000 other mayors across the country who have signed the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, have come to see that our individual and collective actions at the community level are both powerful and positive. Tech is also a community like the town of Blacksburg where we can do more to promote sustainability. President Charles Steger signed into action a personalized sustainability plan, known as the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment, to lead our school and Hokie community for a better future.

Each one of us has an impact like a leaf, a rain drop and a star, and just like those elements of nature, our consequence becomes visible when we look at the big picture: the whole tree, a torrential down pour, or the cluster of stars. This team is among you today, with our occupations, educational background and values aside, each one of us has the exact same opportunity to leave an impact. But why aim for "no impact" when we can all leave a positive one?

I have never been so honored to be part of such a special team of students, administrators and staff, faculty members, elected officials, nonprofit leaders and citizens, because together, this team can raise our ecological intelligence and invent the right future.

Shane McCarty is Vice President of the SGA.

Source: Collegiate Times