“The chapel is the college’s grounding in Christianity and the library signifies learning and challenging the mind,” said Robert Musil, the former CEO of Physicians for Responsibility and author of “Hope for a Heated Planet: How Americans are Fighting Global Warming and Building a Better Future.”
The Frank and Laura Lewis Library, dedicated Friday, is a LEED-certified envioronmentally sustainable building and the college has taken other steps to improve sustainability across campus.
Musil confessed himself a fan of libraries and books. He said the college library here was the first he’d ever been in that actually was named for librarians.
“My family used to spend Friday nights at the library. How I turned out at all normal is incredible,” he joked.
But Musil was serious when telling visitors how to practice their own sustainability and learn about climate issues.
“If you want to do more than assume the planet is already cooked, you must understand the science of climate change,” he said. “Too many books (on climate change) paint a gloomy picture. With my book, I wanted to give you hope.”
Change has to start small, he said, comparing the climate change fight to the story of Noah building the ark in the Bible.
“It was scary, but God didn’t reach down and rescue Noah,” he said. “He had to do the work himself.”
He also used the example of Lori David, wife of “Seinfeld” producer Larry David, who started reading more on climate change and global issues after having her first child and has since written her own book on the subject.
“You get the sense that small things do matter,” he said.
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