Green.org sat down with William Sosinsky, Founder and Director of Energime University, to learn about how he has spent his life educating people about sustainability.
William, thank you for being here. Tell us a little bit about you and your background:
I got involved with environmentalism when I was a young man of 13 years of age. By the time I was 17 I began to focus on the interconnections of how our global approach to economic development was the direct cause of all the issues we were sure to face with climate, resource preservation, eco-system management, and ultimately those challenges that would be determine human evolution. Recognizing the complexity of what we faced, I started to educate myself on all the aspects that contributed to human development and societal expansion such that I could understand how each element played a part in contributing to a sustainable and regenerative society. It was from this effort that I began my work on the experiential gaming platform “Sustainable Planet” which has since been the focus of my work with Energime University.
What is a fun fact about you?
To a large extent my education has been self-directed since I was 15 years of age. I entered Binghamton University after completing high school is 3 years and then left college after my father died in my 2nd year. I then left to travel the world and follow my own path to complete my education. Over those years I attended many different schools in the US and Europe taking a variety of classes that helped form the foundation of my knowledge.
Why do you think climate change and sustainability is such an important topic today?
Human evolution and the entire evolutionary path of our current global bio-diversity will be determined by our decisive actions, or failure to act decisively over the next decade. Time is of the essence. This is our last best chance to avoid a complete global collapse of the eco-systems and resources we depend on for our sustenance and to preserve many of the irreplaceable natural treasures that are now being threatened by our unfocused, uncoordinated, and insufficient efforts.
What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?
Energime University is focused on education, training, and project development. We had hoped we would be at the forefront of preparing our population for the challenges we would face as climate change intensified and access to critical resources became more of a growing issue. Unfortunately, human beings are essentially reactionary by nature and it now looks as though will be trying to address those issues after they reach critical stages. It seems humanity is resigned to going off the cliff hard before we understand you can’t change our current path without changing human mindset. Somehow education always is the last thing that is considered even though it is the essential element in creating the critical mass of understanding required for an effective global response.
What can the average person do to make a difference?
Stop talking about the problems and get involved with how your community approaches energy production, food, waste and water management. Support businesses and legislation that manage resources and reduce the negative impacts that our existence has on our fragile environment. For that to happen PROPER education is necessary. These challenges are complex and require a different approach than conventional educational methods. Unfortunately, the great majority of Colleges and Universities are focused on degree programs, not delivering this critical knowledge which needs to be universally understood by coming generations.