Hi Mira! Where are you from, and what led you to major in environmental etudies?
I’m from Lake Tahoe, California. I’m studying economics and environmental studies. I grew up in an outdoor place, and because of this I’ve inherently been interested and connected to the outdoors throughout my life. When I got to college, I didn’t think I wanted to major in environmental studies at all, but then I took a class called Dynamic Earth, and realized that I actually really did want to pursue the maor. I’ve changed directions completely, which I’m very happy about. I’m much more interested in this major combination than only majoring in economics.
What are some of your favorite classes?
My favorite class was Renewable Energy and Negative Emissions Technologies with Professor Rosemary Ostfeld. I enjoyed it primarily because I’m really interested in clean energy, the tech startup industry, and carbon sequestration. I like following the new ideas that come from those fields.
I am also really enjoying a class that I’m taking this semester, on women writing about nature. We’ve been reading a lot of female identifying people writing about the natural world. We started in the 19th century and moved to the present. Our professor, Janice Nimura, is here as a Bailey College of the Environment visiting scholar, and is writing a book on Rachel Carson. I’ve had the chance to read a lot of Rachel Carson, and women similar to her.
Tell me about your Carbon Tax Proposal!
I developed the idea with Ishani Dave in the Renewable Energy course with Professor Ostfeld. We ended up working on the final project together, where we started thinking about how Wesleyan could implement a carbon tax. We didn’t know much about internal carbon pricing at that point, so we were just really loosely considering what a general proposal would look like. We also considered how the school has already moved in that direction through our sustainability plan. Afterwards, we realized that we wanted to continue to develop our idea. We both had to do a capstone for the environmental studies linked major, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to keep working on it. This semester, we’ve been interviewing other schools who have a carbon pricing mechanism in place, whether that’s an actual tax or a proxy price on carbon, to see what strategies they have implemented.
We’ve talked to Cornell, Swarthmore, University of British Columbia, and Yale. We have created case studies about them and determined what we liked about certain schools and what we thought could work here. Now we’re just finishing up writing our proposal and recommendations for Wesleyan. We hope that students in the environmental studies program and the administration might continue this project after we graduate.
Did the other schools you spoke with see positive changes after implementing a carbon tax?
Yes! We primarily spoke to members of the administration, those managing the program. Sometimes that was a director of sustainability, or a professor of economics, but it was managed differently at each school. All of the schools we’ve talked to held the opinion that implementing a carbon tax was necessary. The general consensus was that we need to do everything we can to protect the environment and our future. They felt it was practical, and they were happy they did it.
There are only a couple schools that have implemented an actual tax, but as far as using a proxy price, it’s a policy making tool that’s helpful when making decisions. Everyone had positive things to say about their carbon policies. Hopefully Wesleyan can learn from them!
How would the carbon tax work on Wesleyan’s campus?
What we are thinking would be a proxy price. It would be a policy tool used for development projects. At a certain point it could turn into an actual tax, which in that case, would be at the departmental level and it would come out of the department’s budgets. However, from what we’ve heard, the departments don’t have a lot of money to spend on a carbon tax. It may have to work differently on Wesleyan’s campus. That is why we were thinking of starting with a proxy price.
What that would look like, is if Wesleyan wants to develop a new building, we would have a proxy price before beginning the project. It would be a price on carbon, we would conduct a financial analysis, without the cost of carbon and with the social cost of carbon being used and then assess the price differences. Typically what would happen is a sustainable energy source, even if it’s more expensive, without the social cost it is a lot cheaper. It gives the university a reason to use clean energy, and be more thoughtful about energy use.
What other projects and clubs have you been involved in during your time at Wesleyan?
I’ve been involved in data analysis here. The data analysis classes here have been very helpful because I’m really interested in research. These classes set me up to help Professor Helen Poulos in her research a few summers ago. I did some data cleaning and analysis for one of her projects, which was a great learning experience!
Honestly, I think the biggest thing I’ve been involved with is dance. Shout out to FXT!
What did your summer internship entail?
I had a consulting internship last summer, and I was able to work on some environmental projects. I used some of the same kind of data research skills. For the internship, I went around my hometown and informed the local businesses about this single-use foodware ordinance. It was a large sustainability initiative and I went door to door to make sure it was being implemented. I feel like my time at Wesleyan has prepared me to feel confident and comfortable to be a spokesperson for a sustainability initiative, and interact with businesses!
What are your post-grad plans?
I’m going to get my master’s degree in Sustainable Energy at Reykjavík University in Iceland, which is a two-year program. I’m moving there in late July. I studied abroad in Iceland. I did a field based program on climate change there, which was so amazing. I learned a lot about renewable energy, which influenced what I’m going to study. My research will focus on sustainable energy and carbon sequestration. I’m really interested in new tech that’s being developed. I want to learn about climate change mitigation and there are a lot of exciting initiatives in Iceland. I think that being in that environment will be very inspiring, and give me opportunities to get involved in research that I am interested in!