ECU goes green

ECU is going green for Mother Nature.

ECU began the campaign to go green toward the end of 2007 with the purchase of hybrid buses for the Student Transit Authority.

"We spend $40,000 a month in diesel fuel for all the buses," said Jim DeMay, student route supervisor with the STA. "Having a hybrid bus costs a lot…but the bus runs half on gas and half on battery, which saves us by cutting down on fuel and emissions."

Although spending about $500,000 for one bus to the "go green" cause helps ECU reduce its impact on the environment, some suggest large investments aren't necessarily the best approach.

"The biggest impact can be made not by big expensive projects but by the consistent, little things that each of us chooses to do to save and protect energy and other resources," said Tom Pohlman, environmental manager with ECU's Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

Every student and faculty member at ECU has his or her own individual carbon footprint, a measure of how one's activities affect the environment. Collectively, ECU has more than 28,000 carbon footprints that make a large impact on the environment.

College students make decisions everyday that make an impact on the environment. With the convenience of motorized vehicles, bottled water and access to convenient packaging, many college students don't realize the effect they have on their surroundings.

From how often people drive, to what kind of food is consumed, even down to how people brush their teeth affects the carbon footprint of the university.

"Our overall environmental footprint can be reduced through simple recycling at your apartment, house or residence hall," said Bill Koch, associate vice chancellor of environmental health at the university. "Simple things like taking shorter showers and not running water while brushing your teeth can also help reduce the carbon footprint by cutting back on water and energy."

Students have taken steps to help reduce their impact on the campus environment.

"I have noticed many students using the new purple recycling cans on campus as well as the recycling bins in all the buildings," said Kevin Maloney, co-president of the student environmental group, ECO-Pirates.

The group has organized many events to help support ECU and its goals to "go green," including an ink cartridge recycling program, as well as river clean-up days.

The "go green" emphasis on little changes in daily activities can translate into a global impact.

"What you do to the environment, the environment will do to you. If people want a healthy environment in the future, they need to change now and take care of it today," said Maloney.

As for ECU and what its goals are for staying green, Pohlman of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety is hopeful.

"We continue to look for viable ways to reduce our footprint and protect our environment in the future," he said.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.