Current News

Students bring a global perspective to environmental issues

October 24, 2008

Whether studying eco-tourism in Costa Rica, "demon starfish" in Japan or sustainable architecture in Germany, six Connecticut College students share one common goal: to protect the environment on an international level.

"Global warming is an international issue, and no one country can solve the problem," said Caroline Trowbridge '09.

Trowbridge is one of six scholars enrolled in the college's Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts (CISLA) who are focusing their studies on international environmentalism. CISLA is an academically challenging program that allows students to internationalize their major with intensive language study and a funded internship abroad. To earn a certificate in the program, students must complete a senior project that explores issues related to a major field, the international arena and the foreign language and culture studied.

Seeking a new perspective on environmental issues, Trowbridge studied abroad in Tuebingen, Germany, to learn about the German response to climate change and global warming. Her senior project focuses on Tuebingen's campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent in the next 10 years. She is especially interested in aspects of the campaign that might be applied in the U.S., especially on the local level.

Sarah Allen '09, a Hispanic studies and international relations double major, spent the summer interning for La Fundacion Neotropica, the oldest environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) in Costa Rica. The organization aims to improve sustainability at the grassroots level by educating school children, farmers and business owners in local communities. Allen worked at a satellite office in Osa Peninsula lodgings as an English-Spanish translator, and presented lectures about water contamination and conservation to local school children. Her CISLA project focuses on "ecotourism" as it relates to environmentally friendly resorts, and whether or not the resorts are beneficial to the environment or are simply marketing tools.

Ingrid Brudvig '09 interned with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy. Her studies have focused on the soaring prices of staple foods and their affect on humanitarian assistance, as well as the effects of climate change on farming. After graduation, Brudvig hopes to work with an NGO providing humanitarian assistance, crisis response and economic justice.

As Trowbridge, Allen and Brudvig work to complete their CISLA projects, juniors enrolled in the CISLA program are preparing for their summer internships and planning for their integrated projects. Currently abroad, Ashton Rohmer '10 is studying sustainable development in Costa Rica. She plans to focus her project on the role of NGOs with regard to endangered species and species conservation in Bolivia.

Meanwhile, Peter Friedrichs '10 is studying the relationship between architects, environmentalists and policy makers in promoting sustainable architecture and urban planning in cities. He is studying abroad in Freiburg, Germany, a renowned center for sustainable architecture.

Tyler Raymond '10, a Japanese language and literature and biological science double major, plans to research an evasive sea star on the coral reefs in Okinawa, Japan, while abroad next semester. This so-called "demon starfish" eats corals and is a major problem for many reefs. Climate change, human interactions and development have all been blamed for the exploding population of this type of sea star.

Raymond said it is important to recognize the global impact of environmental issues. "Environmental issues affect everyone, regardless of what country you're from."

- By Claire Gould '10

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu