Nathaniel Puente 
Edinburg- Earth. Our home. We love it so much we gave it its own day, and each year UTRGV hosts Earth Fest to promote sustainability.
“We’re here to celebrate Earth Day and to tell students about sustainability,” said Karen Villarreal, the event’s coordinator. “And where they can make an impact and where they are already making an impact.”
But what about the rest of the year? Our culture of excessive trash and fuel consumption has taken its toll on the planet. Humans and other organisms are seeing the effects through climate change, food scarcity, and other environmental issues.
Associate Professor of History/Environmental Studies program coordinator Dr. Amy Hay expresses her concerns over climate change and notes that saving the planet needs to be a collective effort.
“We’ve already reached the tipping point for the Earth’s temperature and whether or not we can reverse it,” she commented. “It won’t affect me, but it will affect my children or grandchildren.”
Are these environmental issues apart of the Earth’s natural cycles or are humans to blame?
“Most scientists would agree,” Dr. Hay asserted, “that human activity has played a significant part in that.” She continued, “There are things that we did that intensified those cycles to the point now we’re approaching where there’s not going to be a cycle it’s going to be broken.”
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