Despite setbacks, Green Initiative moving forward

Maintaining speed, feeling the breeze, avoiding traffic and, most importantly, exercising before work are all ways in which Dr. Doug Oetter shows that he is very passionate about reducing his carbon footprint. Oetter, who teaches in GCSU’s History and Geography Department, enjoys riding his bike to work every day.

The Sustainability Council chair, as well as many students and faculty, have been encouraging the campus to “go green.” This past year, it was proposed that GCSU charge each student a “Green Fee” of $4 per semester in order for the campus to expand its environmental projects.

One of these projects would be building a side walk from The Village at West Campus all the way to Main Campus. This would run along Fishing Creek and encourage bicycling, walking and reducing carbon emissions.

The fee would also support solar panels for buildings to convert sunlight into electricity that would reduce electricity costs. GCSU President Dorothy Leland approved the fee proposal, however, the state Board of Regents rejected it as funds were reduced this year.

The fee would have raised about $50,000 according to Oetter. But, despite not getting the fee’s approval, the importance of recycling, using public transportation and monitoring power usage will continue to be stressed.

The council is promoting inexpensive ways for the student body to participate in the Green Initiative. Riding bikes is Oetter’s solution to the limited parking spaces on campus, as opposed to building new parking lots.

Being “green” is a popular slogan that is constantly reminding the public how important it is to preserve the environment. The Sustainability Council at GCSU is a staff, faculty and student-based committee that aims to work together to find ways to conserve energy.

The council meets on a monthly basis to discuss how to increase sustainability on campus through the aspects of design, education, energy, materials, transportation, water and funding. These seven goals are the foundation of the Green Initiative that was founded three years ago upon the request of Leland, who wanted to promote energy conservation on campus.

The Environmental Science Club proposed that students should contribute by raising revenues to help purchase energy-efficient light bulbs, washing machines and trees to plant throughout campus.

Student Government Association President Zach Mullins attended the August meeting to ensure that the council and SGA are working together to make campus more environmentally friendly.

“Recycling is top priority,” Mullins said.

One of the solutions discussed is to have several recycling bins on the first floor in every building on campus to give students plenty of opportunity to recycle.

Lauren Buchheit, a sophomore and a business major, is one of the four students on the Sustainability Council.

Buchheit is currently working on this recycling project for the campus.

“Unfortunately, we do not have the funds to purchase 70 new recycling bins as well as the fee that is charged to deposit all of the recycled items,” Buchheit said.

The fee would have helped to support the recycling effort, but now the council hopes to receive some grants to assist the promotion of a more environmentally-friendly campus.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 4 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry