This Tuesday, in a class named Energy and Environmental Issues, I had the privilege of listening to a guest lecture by Professor Eric Zencey on a new economic paradigm—ecological economics. The talk was certainly interesting and made me wonder about the limits of traditional economic theory.

On Jan. 24, Washington University released a new pledge in an effort to help students go green (formally called a “pledge for sustainability.”) Designed to encourage students and staff to consider their environmentally harmful decisions and make changes accordingly, the pledge calls for participants to reduce their carbon footprints. We commend this pledge, as we would any effort to promote responsible sustainability and reduce waste.

Prestigious colleges and universities like Washington University have the potential, capacity and responsibility to lead the nation when it comes to making the right choices.

I am deeply disturbed by the recent appointments of two coal executives to our University’s Board of Trustees. Arch Coal and Peabody Energy Company both have disastrous records when it comes to public health, labor standards and environmental quality. These charges take full shape in both companies’ adherence to mountaintop removal coal mining. This practice, [...]