In May 2000, several universities across the country signed into effect the Talloires Declaration, which was supposed to be a catalyst for increased environmental action at each school. Now, two and a half years later, environmental and advocacy groups on campus argue that Macalester has not made a valid effort to fulfill the stipulations of the declaration.

"The Talloires Declaration has not been implemented successfully at all," said MPIRG co-chair Dan Moring ‘03. "Also, compared to other signatory schools, there has not been sufficient administrative, like appointing an environmental director, or substantive action, like purchasing green power, tree free paper or other MPIRG campaigns that have been frustrated."

The declaration first addressed how to bring the issue down to a small-school scale and discussed the environmental concerns held by the heads of major universities. The next section combined ten actions to improve the current status of the environment. According to an article in the Dec. 8, 2000 issue of The Mac Weekly, the actions included "raising awareness among the public, the government and students in primary, secondary and post-secondary schools; encouraging research and involvement by the government andother institutions; working with national and international organizations; and establishing a Secretariat and steering committee to promote the effort."

According to Environmental Action (EA) co-chair Andrew Riely ‘05, the administration needs "more pressure from alumni, trustees and students" in order to successfully implement the changes recommended in the Talloires do

Campus Environmental Issues Committee (CEIC) co-chair and Environmental Studies Program Director Al Romero revived CEIC with co-chair and Physical Plant director Mark Dickenson before the Talloires Declaration was signed into effect. The group developed an implementation plan for the declaration and presented it to faculty and committees two years ago.

Romero still sees a need for making the changes. "Implementation will be excellent for the college because it will translate into saving thousands of dollars because of the college's financial situation," he said.

The administration still has not appointed an environmental director, which has drawn heavy criticism from campus environmental and advocacy groups that would benefit from having one on campus.

"There are so many times when it would help so much to have an environmental director," said EA co-chair Jesse Goldman '05. "We need somebody who has the clout to enforce things."

Moring also advocated the need for an administrative position to guide environmentalism, connecting the lack of success in making the campus greener to the lack of an environmental director. "Essentially, there have been numerous efforts by MPIRG and other environmental and advocacy groups on campus to make Macalester greener, almost all of which have died due to lack of interest by key decision-makers in the administration, which in turn might be due to the absence of the requisite environmental director," he said.

Without that support, groups like EA and MPIRG are working on a smaller scale to implement changes to make the campus more environmentally conscious. "We're doing a lot of stuff to raise awareness," Goldman said. "That's the main focus of the group."

"At the same time, the Physical Plant has undertaken a number of efficiency improvements and retrofits in the past three years, to its credit," Moring said. Romero will meet with President Michael McPherson and Provost Dan Hornbach on Monday to discuss further the effects of the Talloires Declaration on campus.