Climate Action Interview with Tom Journell

Carleton College’s Climate Action Plan was introduced in 2011. It is an extensive set of data that covers the large projects of sustainability, low-to-no cost projects, and methods of education and advocacy. This climate action plan, while still in use, has become outdated and inaccurate to the current problems and solutions happening on campus. In an interview on a spring Thursday afternoon, Carleton faculty member Tom Journell gave three themes as to what he knows about how the plan affects him and his community, the climate action plan, and how it affects his work.

• Tom’s Personal Story
• Climate Action Plan Accessibility
• Team Travel

Tom’s Personal Story

Tom Journell is in his first year of coaching the Carleton College football team. Here at Carleton we have a staunch philosophy regarding climate action and sustainability. This was naturally one of the first things Tom noticed when he started working here. While interviewing him about his thoughts on the Carleton College Climate Action Plan, Tom stated, 

“I’m brand new here, so I know very little about it. I know it exists, I know what we’re doing here, and it means a lot to us, about our carbon footprint. And it’s a philosophy that Carleton College has. I think it’s going to save a little bit of money, but that’s not really the reason why we are doing it.”

While Tom might not be very familiar with the climate action plan, he is very cognizant of the issue of climate change. He, his family, and the surrounding community take the climate into consideration on a daily basis and try to live sustainable lives. Tom rides to work on his bike most days, but during the winter he walks. Even during the frigid, subzero days of the polar vortex, he walked to campus. Despite Tom’s commitment to environmentalism, the lack of accessibility to information about the climate action plan creates a problem.

Coach Tom Journell.

Image Source: Carleton College, “Coaching Staff,” 2019.

Climate Action Plan Accessibility

The focus of Carleton’s current climate action plan is broad and extensive. When asked about the focus of the plan Tom said, 

“I looked through it; this was not gonna help at all. Some 60 pages… I read the Executive Summary in there, it is so technical.” 

A large problem that Tom seemed to have with the plan itself was the fact that it was so inaccessible to an uninformed person. Even the Executive Summary was filled with technical jargon and confusing data. The creators of the climate action plan seem to know what they are talking about, but it is not easily accessible to the rest of us, despite Carleton’s student body and faculty wanting to take interest in it. 

“Our awareness is very high, but what are we actually doing and is it right or not? I don’t know.”

While the plan is being updated, it is important to keep in mind that the majority of people do not know a lot of information regarding the technical aspects of climate action. Keeping the plan accessible provides information to everyone and helps advocate for the change it’s creating.

“The college gets it, but as we leave here, what can we do in our own little piece of the world to try to influence others?” 

Team Travel

While Tom’s home life makes it easy for him to bike and leave no carbon footprint, the confines of his job makes it a bit more complicated. Part of how the football league works is by traveling to other schools to compete. Two 50-passenger buses carry over 80 people to different locations throughout the season. Luckily for our league, most of our games are within 45 minutes of here. 

On the matter of transportation, the Carleton Climate Action Plan states that long distance travel provides development opportunities and educational experiences. In addition to that, Tom thinks that transportation is “pretty straightforward… I don’t know if there’s alternatives to how we can do it.” The benefits and manageability of the football team’s transportation suggest that, despite negative effects of traveling, it is an adequate part of the climate action plan and an important part of Carleton culture.

There is also the matter of food while traveling and commuting. The football team’s parent club prepares food for the players. This food is provided as post-game meals, usually pizza or another a la carte menu item. They use gatorade at halftime; they do their best to recycle their plastic containers.

What Next?

Tom, despite having personal investment in environmentalism and sustainability, is not familiar with the specifics of the Carleton Climate Action Plan. This is due to the plan’s inaccessibility and formal method of writing. As a faculty member of Carleton, he directs his football team do their best to not be excessively wasteful. They travel a lot, but this is a necessary and welcomed party of the climate action plan. Tom Journell would like to become more familiar with the climate action plan, but also wishes it was more accessible to uninformed people.