Where’s the initiative to be green?

BY BENJAMIN A. SCOTT
Cardinal Staff

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and all those who are intimately connected with Saint Mary’s University, there is something that all of us need to accept: we have not done enough to preserve the natural environment we live in.

Eulogizing aside, it should be recognized that confession does nothing when recompense is ignored. Here at SMU, a green initiative is starting to take form. A relatively new group of dedicated individuals is taking on the task of keeping Saint Mary’s and all its members responsible for fostering a green mindset.

The SMU Green Team recently completed an environmental management audit as part of the ISO 14001 certification process along with a host of other local schools, which was directed by a faculty member from Purdue University, to set standards on energy consumption. In accordance to the program, Saint Mary’s
will undergo the attainment of three ambitious goals by 2011:

1) Reduce electric consumptionby 10%
2) Reduce fossil fuel by 5%
3) Reduce solid waste production by 25%

A variety of in-class and out-of-class educational activities on sustainability and the green initiative will occur over this school year. Some of these activities are already underway, like the newly-developed class on environmental studies currently taught by Dr. Joseph Tadie, chair of the Philosophy Department.

In the end, however, each one of us must account for our own responsibility on ecological awareness. This will mean a painful shift in lifestyle, but if the outcome of such a shift is making this planet healthier than the appalling state that it is in today, then the question becomes why you wouldn’t?

Here are three simple ways of involving yourself with the green initiative: 1) Recycle your trash 2) Do not litter 3) Join the Eco Reps, a campus club directed by Davey Warner, outdoor leadership coordinator, dedicated to the green initiative.