Ecolympics Results and the Future of Sustainability at Milton

By SARAH PALMER '20

After a taxing month of May filled with high expectations and low levels of motivation, the interscholastic eco-olympics come to a close. This event aims to motivate students to act more sustainably at school by measuring the amounts of electricity and printing paper they use. This year, the effort was no longer an event between dorms, as was the original concept, but an event between independent schools. Ariane DesRosiers (II) ran the communication between ISL schools and fueled projects such as the Independent School Sustainability Committee (ISSC) conference, and Gaia, Milton’s Environmental Magazine.

Unfortunately, according to DeRosiers, on several occasions schools failed to get back to her and subsequently did not send her data for May’s resource usage. While the schools still have a few days to respond, Milton’s is the only data currently included in the eco-olympics statistics, and the community is left to tend with its own dismal data. Although there is no data, other schools reflect similar efforts as Milton’s, and forming an unfortunate signal for the planet’s future existence.

This year, during the single month of May, Milton managed to print 107,047 sheets of paper, consume 13 trees, and we produce 135,905 kg of CO2 . The amount of energy used is equivalent to leaving a light bulb on for 85,120 hours. To put that figure into perspective, there are only 744 hours in the month of May.  

An even scarier prospect is that the data includes only printers used by faculty and students in the upper school and therefore does not highlight Milton’s full impact; all lower and middle school printers, dorm printers, and printers in staff departments like facilities, development, registrar, business office, and campus safety were not included. If you imagine all the course selection and special absence forms printed this month, another thousand or so pages could have been added. In addition, the number of accidental prints that occur on a given day is unacceptable.

Furthermore, after interviewing several fellow Millet residents, it became clear that most printing is done in the dorms. Ishana Rodriguez (IV) stated that she “only ever uses school printers for the occasional essay with last minute edits,” but prints most homework and major assignments in the dorm. Rufus Taylor (III), a boarder in Norris, stated that he “[prints] about 50% in the dorm,” believing that “most people do.” The data is not only concerning but also not all encompassing, especially considering dorm printers do not print double sided.

In order to mitigate the effects of climate change on our daily lives, the Sustainability Board, in conjunction with environmental clubs like Lorax, is dedicating itself to making Milton more sustainable one initiative at a time. The board will continue to hand out water bottles to incoming freshman and new sophomores and juniors to reduce the purchasing of plastic bottles. In addition, the Sustainability Board is trying to commit the school to reduce fossil fuel usage and to be more transparent about general energy usage. Furthermore, the boarding community, particularly incoming freshman, can expect an intro to sustainable living in dorms at the beginning of next year.

With the end of the school year comes a renewed push to make Milton greener. However, without commitment from students and a reform of teaching standards, the effort may become futile. If teachers required double-sided or digital essays, printing would significantly decrease. Also, if students eliminated unnecessary documents in their queue and utilized the opportunities Earth Week and the free water bottles provide for a significant and easy lifestyle change, Milton’s culture regarding climate change would completely shift. Together, the students can make sustainability Milton’s legacy.