I found this article "How green is your campus?" to be a great read and on target. Considering that the Green Coalition at Florida A&M University is trying to get the Student Green Energy Fund passed, understanding what other schools have done to promote going green is a very important tool.
According to the article, Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. gave its 1,300 incoming freshmen and parents their first lesson during their orientation. School officials served them food that was locally and sustainably produced and had them eat with cutlery that was made from sugar cane. I personally have never seen cutlery that was made from sugar cane, but I am now definitely interested in what that may be.
To further encourage students and parents, school officials gave out compact fluorescent light bulbs and reusable water bottles, which were in reusable grocery bags.
Emory University has created a model that is easy and simple for other schools like FAMU to follow. Encouraging freshmen who are probably the most easily influenced at that stage is where school officals should start. "From the first time the students interact with Emory, we try to make it clear that sustainability is part of our DNA, that this is our expectation from them," says Ciannat Howett, director of the university's office of sustainability initiatives. (Mascarelli, 2009, Nature 461)
During the two-day orientation period, Emory composted about two tons of waste. As part of its first near-zero-waste freshman orientation.
Emory is only one of the many colleges and universities that are following the trend of going green. With this in my mind, I hope that learning from what other schools like Emory have done as a class, we can use these different and easy tactics to promote going green at FAMU.
Mascarelli, A. (2009, September). How green is your campus? Nature, 461 (7261), 154-5. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Research Library. (doi: 1860920651)
To read this full article please visit the following link: http://proquest.umi.com.famuproxy.fcla.edu/pqdweb?index=4&did=1860920651&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1320940322&clientId=20177
