Over the past decade people have become aware of the fact that the health of the environment is a major problem. Because the environment is not in a good state, there have been many movements to change the way we live. The Green Movement has gained a lot of steam recently, this has led to increased awareness and also alternative environmentally friendly ways of doing normal things. Most people agree that steps need to be taken to improve the health of the planet, because of this the government and many big businesses have started green programs to try and reduce their negative impact on the environment. There are also many individuals who have changed their habits to live a greener life, mostly through the products they buy. There has also been a movement among colleges and universities to be green. UCLA has dorms with solar-heated water. College of the Atlantic in Maine has been carbon neutral since 2007 and gets over 90 percent of the campus’s lighting from compact fluorescents. Arizona State University has more solar panels than any other school in the United States and they also established a School of Sustainability in 2007. Middlebury College has a biomass gasification plant that reduces carbon emissions by 40 percent, and they aim to be carbon neutral by 2016. Oberlin College has the EcoOlympics, which is a four week competition of environmentally themed contests between the dorms. There are over 110 colleges and universities that have built environmentally friendly or efficient buildings. Because students are so proactive about this issue it has motivated many schools to dramatically change their operations on campus to be more environmentally friendly. There are some drawbacks to going green; it can be extremely expensive especially when constructing an environmentally efficient building. What do you think about this issue? Is going green worth the trouble? Should Merrimack try to become more environmentally friendly? If so, what should they do to accomplish this?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Go Green
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I think that "going green" is an important and worthwhile initiative to help make the environment more healthy. That being said, it can be a quite expensive and involving process. Not every school, workplace, or other buildings can afford to take measures such as those mentioned with solar panels and biomas plants. But I think that each place should do what they can to prevent environmental damage and they should make it a priority. Even starting by going "trayless" in the cafeterias like Merrimack has done and avoiding using harmful styrofoam products can help immensely. At places with large volumes of people like colleges, the smallest things make a big difference because of the amount of products used each day. I think that going green is worth the efforts because we do not get a replacement environment to live in. Waste and pollution deteriorates the earth and we need to preserve it and respect it as much as possible for future generations. I think if places start small and keep working towards "green" practices that they can afford, that will make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Going green is definetly important. We should all try to make an effort even if that means recycling 3 bottles a day. I know that some people dont do it because they think its a waste of time or that recycling 3 bottles is not enough so they just dont do it. But the reality is that it really makes a change if every person do it. I myself, dont recycle often but whenever I see a recycling bin and i have something i can recycle i finish my drink and recycle what i have. Even if i do it once in a while I believe that's helpful. I do believe that Merrimack has a good system in going green. You ususally don't see much trash all over the grass or sidewalks. It looks pretty clean and in some of the buildings they have recycling bins.
ReplyDeleteI feel that going green is an extremely important goal that our college, as well as colleges and universities across the nation, should strive to accomplish. As stated in the blog, many schools are turned off from becoming "eco-friendly' because of the great cost of equipment and resources necessary for this kind change. The great amount of money spent at the time, however, would pay off greatly in the end. The amount of money and the amount of time spent initially would pay off in the savings of both money and energy in the end. If we don't start now, our world is going to slowly degrade the environment. Our efforts now will help us later, as more and more resources are used up and our world becomes more energy dependent.
ReplyDeleteJust as Jess Gurka said, going green pays off in the end. Think about this: buying a fuel efficient car saves you money on gas. My mom recently bought a used Toyota Prius. Although it was expensive, my mom pays fifteen dollars to fill up her tank and that gets her through about 2 weeks. Another scenario: if you have solar panels on your roof, they store more energy than you need or use. That excess energy goes back to the grid and is used by neighbors for electricity. If you have the solar panels, you get paid back for the energy that you store but don't use. Going green is well woth the money. We only have one planet so let's not waste it away.
ReplyDeleteGoing Green is an extremely important movement in our society. Colleges are doing a great job of trying to produce less waste and keeping up good habits. However, Merrimack could definitely be doing more for this cause. The recycling bins in the dorms are only for bottles, so every other recyclable material has to be thrown out. We should try to have more recycling bins out as well as more options for recycling. I think it would be difficult for Merrimack to create new environmentally friendly buildings because of the high cost, but every little thing we do helps a great deal. Places like colleges should continue cutting back on waste and offering recycling in order to keep on the right track to a healthier environment.
ReplyDeleteI think going green is a good thing. If we all recycle we could save so much in our world. We wouldn't waste tons of trash, we would live in a cleaner environment, and think how much we wouldn't have to waste money on producing. It would help our failing economy in the long run because they won't have to get new material. I think it is a good idea to recycle at college because there are so many students that use a lot of things. I also agree with what Lindsey said that Merrimack should have recycling bins for cardboard and paper in the dorms.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, it would be nice to have a greener merrimack. Its worth the while, we are practically trying to help are planet get better. Yes it costs alot but in the long run it will help us live a healthier life on earth.
ReplyDeleteWho knows what we can be saving ourselves from in the near future, and how many natural disasters we can prevent in the future. I believe it will be great to provide that in our school but it should be a personal choice for everybody. Going green is a lifestyle choice that many our choosing to abide by.
Going green is important to maintaining our planet. It may sound like a pointless act of contribution because it's just nature and there is nothing we can do about it. But when you're having days in New England in December, where it's 65 degrees, now that's just crazy.
ReplyDeleteEvery little act for "going green" is important. But not everyone is going to be willing to participate and/or care. Everyone above mentioned bigger facilities making a strong effort to recycle and I completely agree because more people in schools and offices are using paper, cardboard, and whatever else excessively. Think about the Merrimack College library, how many bundles of paper do they use daily?! It's insane to even think about how many students print at the library. We can be saving ourselves from early termination of the planet or human life. It's strange to think that every effort of recycling goes towards saving the whole entire planet.
I do beleive that "going green" is something that would be very benificial to the college. We do have some recycling facilities on campus but many more should be installed.
ReplyDeleteIn Maine, when plastic bottles are recycled, recyclers, if you will, gain a 5 cent profit on each bottle. It encourages many to participate in the going green effort. If we had more of a system like this in all states it would put more money in citizens pockets and it would help save the earth.