Ozark Profile : Center director looks to lead in sustainability movement
Posted on Monday, October 8, 2007
The economy has the power to take interest in climate change beyond fad.
“ It’s all a move to habit ultimately, ” said Jon Johnson, director of the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas.
The economy has the power to instill changes that otherwise wouldn’t happen, Johnson said. To that end, he said, the center’s first charge is to develop a business plan that can be used to help companies institute best practices for the environment.
While mankind’s impact on the climate is much more complex than the output of carbon, Johnson said, that is an easy way to talk about the issue. All the factors that go into global warming can be confusing even for scientists, he said, but it is easy to understand that coal-fired power plants put off a lot of carbon dioxide.
Just as there are many layers involved in global warming, there are many levels of how to look at the economy in terms of sustainability, Johnson said. The obvious is that reducing energy consumption means saving money, he said, which is something everybody who drives can understand.
Even just looking at energy consumption, Johnson said, things can get more intricate than simply pumping gas. Looking at the dairy industry, for example, there are many levels of impacts, from the methane produced by cows to the energy it takes to refrigerate the product from its point of origin, he said.
In Europe, Johnson said, ultra-pasteurization is used and milk doesn’t have to be refrigerated until it’s opened by the consumer, which is done without sacrificing its quality. In addition to looking at the dairy industry, he said, attention will also be given to agriculture.
Johnson said there could be great benefit from returning midsize growers to the playing field. While he said they wouldn’t try to do away with the Farmers ’ Market, there are many benefits that could come from midsize growers supplying big stores like Wal-Mart.
If produce is grown closer to where it is sold, Johnson said, less fuel has to be burned to get it to market. Also, he said, it’s just fresher.
Johnson said he’s been following global warming for years and has watched interest wax and wane. But now the risks of doing nothing are even greater, he said, which is why it is important to make the movement sustainable.
Probably the main goal of the center is to help make the sustainability movement outlast the fad stage, Johnson said. Wal-Mart seems to have truly made that transition, he said.
The company’s $ 1. 5 million donation is what launched the center, but Johnson said that move wasn’t about public relations. Initially, the company’s interest in the environment was purely a public relations strategy, he said, which is something Wal-Mart chief Lee Scott has admitted.
Now, though, it seems that the company really takes it seriously, Johnson said, which can go a long way, seeing how Wal-Mart is credited with keeping inflation down in the country.
Johnson hopes that business can be a means to fostering concern for the environment, but for him it worked the other way. In fact, had it not been for his love of the planet he may never have found his way to the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the UA.
Johnson had been working at Pack Rat Outdoor Center while he was finishing up his bachelor’s degree in zoology at the UA. He liked where he was and what he was doing, so he stayed on to get a master’s in business administration. From there he went on to Indiana to earn his doctorate.
After earning his Ph. D., Johnson made it back to the university, all the while maintaining his interest in the environment “ after-hours, ” he said. With his new position, Johnson is getting more time in the limelight — and a more hectic schedule.
Johnson joked with Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody at the Conversation on Climate Action on Thursday that he “ wanted his old life back. ” He said that he loves the opportunity he has been given with the center. While Johnson will be working on projects to help businesses use more sustainable practices, he will also continue working with Mike Johnson, the UA associate vice chancellor for facilities, on implementing practices at the university.
The center will also continue to provide opportunities for education, such as the conversation, and will be posting information on its Web site, sustainability. uark. edu.
More information and tips on what residents can do to cut their energy consumption can be found at www. arkansasenergy. org.
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