Comments bapalmer has made

NOLS responds

Hi Folks--

I'm the admission and marketing director for NOLS. I'm hopeful that you all will read for a few seconds while I try to address some of the concerns raised in this thread.

Grist is the only venue in which we have run the advertisement in question. All of us in our office are avid readers of Grist and we enjoy the "tongue in cheek" humor that Grist employs in bringing us very serious news about our environment. This ad was designed not as a "glacier fire sale", but instead as a way of highlighting our courses in what we thought was a "Grist-like" style. Obviously our attempt at humor has been misunderstood (or was too feeble to stand the scrutiny of this audience). I apologize and we will replace this ad with something more routine on Monday.

We at NOLS view global warming as the most important environmental issue of our time. All of us at our non-profit school feel that the best way to create change is through education. Our goal is to turn out strong, positive leaders with an environmental ethic and our curriculum focuses on three areas: outdoor skills, practical leadership and environmental ethics. Our format for teaching is on extended expeditions (30 days to 6 months in length) in remote wilderness areas.

Our outcomes are well documented and the stories of our graduates who are making a difference in the environmental arena are compelling. The founder of Grist, Chip Giller, is a proud NOLS graduate as is the president of the National Parks Conservation Association, numerous directors for the Nature Conservancy, leaders of the Wilderness Society and many other more grassroots environmental activists.

We recognize and acknowledge that NOLS courses have an environmental footprint. This is from the NOLS website (www.nols.edu), "Let's face it.
NOLS students travel the globe to far-flung locations. We use outdoor gear and clothing made from synthetics derived from petroleum. We hike and paddle in pristine wilderness. NOLS is making a mark and not just with the incredible education our students receive."

We recognize the impact, and yet we persist. We believe that our world needs reasoned ethical leaders. People who have seen how simply they can live in the backcountry, "unplugged" from their email, blogs and websites. Away from the cars, and other conveniences that we take for granted.

And yes, our students travel. We feel that while some gains can be made by "acting locally", this is a global problem. It is not one that will be solved by turning inward. We believe that to truly appreciate our planet people need to experience some of it. To understand the reach of our environmental issues we need to meet, talk and learn from people from other nations, regions and tribes. This is what happens on a NOLS course.

As referenced above we know our courses have an environmental impact and we are working hard to mitigate that. This is more from the NOLS website: "Since 1965 NOLS has constantly refined its environmental practices to minimize the footprint we leave, whether it's educating students in the backcountry or conducting business around the world. We research, reduce, reuse, recycle and repent.

Organic gardens, solar, wind power, even the vegetable oil powered "Creating a Climate for Change" bus--NOLS is investing in sustainability, but climate change is happening, carbon dioxide from fossil fuels is the culprit, and we can't change all of our practices fast enough."

As a result we are in the early stages of an external environmental audit to better understand all of our impacts and to develop strategies to lessen our footprint. We are offsetting our electric, heating and on the ground fuel use through a partnership with NativeEnergy.

Again, my apologies to anyone who was offended by the tone our message in the NOLS advertisement on Grist. It was our intent to use humor to get people interested in our courses, not to rile them up.

Just this week I attended a gathering of 15 of Wyoming's environmental leaders and 15 of the state's spiritual leaders.  It was the start of a dialog to find common ground between the environmental and faith communities. This meeting was interesting and informative. We found many shared values and intend to work on some initiatives together. This is how our world's environmental issues are going to be solved. Finger pointing and divisiveness are what got us where we are; cooperation and understanding are what will move us forward.

Thanks!

Bruce Palmer
NOLS director of admission and marketing
On Travel to exotic lands ... posted 2 years, 7 months ago 82 Responses