Global Warming and Climate change are terms everyone throws around in normal conversation or arguments. Either it’s a hoax or not the most important thing on people’s minds. For the Environmental Affairs Council (EAC) of Millikin university, these issues fall on the forefront.

The EAC is a campus-sponsored organization that targets heavy environmental issues in the local community as well as providing education for the environmental issues faced in today’s society. With goals like this the club often partners with the local community for restoration days and marches.

They have even made attempts to tackle the threat of invasive species in the community. In fact, they recently held one of these events.

In early September, the EAC partnered to help Lincoln Homestead Trails in the form of a restoration day. Students and townspeople alike were recruited by the Council for this event. The day tasked the EAC with beautification of the park, maintenance of the local pavilion and bathrooms, and eradication of the invasive species of Japanese honeysuckle that has taken over local plant life in Decatur.

The students were able to successfully accomplish all these tasks except completely getting rid of the honeysuckle. There was such a large amount of honeysuckle present that it was not feasible for the students to ever properly clear it.

This is one of the key reasons that more students should be involved in the environment.

Student involvement in the environment is more important now than it ever was before. Greenhouse emission, water pollution, soil pollution, and the overuse of fossil fuels have begun to plague society and the environment, and it is all thanks to humans.

Students are the future generation and as such can take steps to help prevent the issues from escalating past the point of irreversible damage.

“Environmental issues are not just local issues, but they branch out to the world and if we don’t take care of our own environment we are going to run into some serious issues,” EAC advisor Roslyn O’Conner said.This statement from Advisor O’Conner holds truth because if students do not get involved in local issues, places like the Lincoln Homestead Trails will no longer exist.

The park is underfunded and cannot afford any luxuries, barely managing to stay open. It relies on volunteers in order to fix any of its problems. As the only state park in Decatur, the community would feel its loss. Native plant life would be eradicated, and animals would lose their homes, diminishing their population as well.

But there are active steps that students can take to become more involved in the welfare of the environment here on campus.

There are lots of services offered around the campus for to make this easier. One such service is the recycling bins located around campus. Other services include taking advantage of green spaces on and off campus where students can rent a plot of land and grow fresh vegetables instead of buying from the factories who have high greenhouse emission. Protesting these types of factories can also be a huge step in the right direction. One such factory that can be found is the ADM factory which makes large use of soy. The fumes from soy drift onto campus somedays and is something that students should not have to deal with when walking to class, meetings or sports.

The only way to get something like that changed is to petition and stand against the company.