Research Guides
Research GuidesAs part of our research, we wanted to explore what Drew students have said and done in the past in regards to climate change. To do this, we worked with the Drew Library and the Drew Methodist Archives to find records of student op-eds, events, and calls to action. We've linked articles from The Acorn, Drew's student newspaper, highlighting some of our favorite articles. Feel free to explore the archives on your own to find out more!
The Drew Acorn - The online edition of Drew's student newspaper.
The Acorn Archives - The online collection of Drew's Acorn archives.
Drew University Special Collections - Collections of archived works from Drew's library, covering a wide variety of topics.
In the year of 1989, the Drew Environmental Action League (D.E.A.L) partnered with the Union of Concerned Scientists (U.C.S) and sponsored a week of global warming awareness from November 6th-12th. Doctoral candidates, including the likes of Kenneth Caldeira and members from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), offered talks and presentations to Drew students. They conclude that the greenhouse effect is the most critical environmental issue that’s confronting us today. Basic causes of the greenhouse effect lie in the inefficient use of fossil fuels, deforestation in tropical regions, and the emission of gasses that’s destroying the atmosphere. In order to alleviate these issues, education is the first step in correcting present energy use problems.
As mentioned previously, NYU doctoral student Kenneth Caldeira spoke at Drew University during the Global Warming Awareness Week. He explained how rising carbon dioxide levels—now five times higher than they were 20,000 years ago—are driving global warming. Caldeira highlighted feedback effects like increased water vapor and melting ice that amplify the warming, as well as the destruction of the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). He also discussed the loss of rainforests and wetlands and the threat to ecosystems unable to adapt to shifting climate zones. Caldeira emphasized the global imbalance in emissions, noting that while Americans emit five tons of carbon per person annually, developing nations are often discouraged from increasing energy use. Despite uncertainty in predictions, he warned that delaying action could lead to irreversible environmental damage.
In the year of 1991, there was an issue with the contamination of the Great Swamp near Drew University. Not just Drew University, but Madison and other small towns of central Jersey rely on this single source of freshwater for survival, a 55 square-foot watershed. The swamp acts as a giant filter, purifying inflows before the water flows into the aquifer, fills the Passaic River, or empties into brooks that provide the drinking source for 600,000 people downstream. The natural purification process, however, can only handle so many pollutants. Underground gasoline storage tanks slowly leaking petroleum products further contribute to the problem. Several gas stations recently petitioned to build car-washes as well. Furthermore, the water one flushes becomes the water one drinks. Approximately two million gallons of treated sewage are pumped daily from the Woodland Avenue and Chatham Sewage Treatment plants into the Great Swamp. Today, it’s considered a wildlife refuge and it’s being protected by the New jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
Drew University celebrated Earth Day with a successful day-long event in Brothers College courtyard, organized by the Drew Environmental Action League (DEAL). The celebration featured live music, free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and informational tables from environmental groups like The Rain Forest Alliance and The Raptor Trust. Around 300–400 people attended, many from the Madison community. Speakers included Al Prisynka from Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection, who discussed the evolution of environmental issues since the first Earth Day in 1970. He emphasized that while older issues like visible pollution have improved due to technology, newer, more complex pollutants are now a concern. Prisynka encouraged individual involvement in environmental legislation as a more impactful long-term solution than awareness events alone. The event also highlighted Drew’s arboretum and saw participation from various university and community members, showing strong local engagement. This further suggests that education is critical in spreading awareness for climate change, and our group is inspired to follow suit in educating Drew students and even the community of Madison
This is a funnier article that our group found, where a student argues that global warming is full of nonsense, and the only way to solve it is to change the way we live. He proudly voices his views on the issue, however, the opinions he has are hilarious.
Caused by: fossil fuels, deforestation, transportation, food production, electricity, overconsumption, and many more causes
Effects on Climate Change: higher temperatures, frequent natural disasters(such as wildfires and storms), and change in ocean temparture and acidity
Read more about how CO2 and other greenhouse gases are affecting the climate here! https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/carbon-dioxide-emissions
Caused by: generating power(specifically burning coal, gas, or oil), transportation, waste, the agricultural industry, and many other industries
Effects on Climate Change: severe diseases, exposure to air pollution, death, and many more serious risks
Read more about the causes of pollution and its effects on climate change here!
https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know
Effects on Climate Change: more emissions of greenhouse gases, ocean pollution, harm to animals, especially sea organisms, restricting of the carbon-nitrogen process in soil, and much more
Read more about microplastics here! https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-024-07003-w
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/04/impact-microplastics-environment-health/
Questions? Need Help? Email reference@drew.edu
Drew University Library, https://drew.edu/academic/student-resources/library/