Events promote 'green' practices

By Erica Zucco

Published Nov. 6, 2007

Several MU organizations have teamed up to decrease global warming, increase recycling and make students aware of what they can do to help the environment this week.

Sustain Mizzou, MU's chapter of the Association Internationale des Estudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales and the Mark Twain Green Team worked together to create two interactive informational sessions for "The Green Week Project." On Monday night, students shared presentations on alternative fuels, progressive transportation, evidence of global warming, "green" buildings and what foreign nations are doing to become "greener."

Senior Brian Pellot, founder of the Mark Twain Green Team, explained that becoming more "green" means conserving energy and trying actively to help the environment.

"We created an acronym for the word 'green' that describes our challenges for students," Pellot said. "We felt that it was a good way to organize our tips for being environmentally friendly."

Each letter in the acronym corresponds to a different action and a different day of the week, encouraging students to follow the day's "challenges" throughout the course of Green Week. Many students in Mark Twain residence hall hung flyers with the challenges on their doors to spread the word and remind themselves of the tasks involved.

Monday's letter, "G," focused on global warming, and asked students to either carpool, bike or walk to class and work. Global warming was a key focus in Monday's presentations, where students shared evidence of global warming, its adverse effects on the environment and how individuals are trying to reduce it.

The corresponding challenge for the letter "R," Tuesday's letter, was recycling. Students were encouraged to find recycling bins near their dorm rooms and recycle all plastic, glass and paper. Recycling is one of the Mark Twain Green Team's key initiatives.

Wednesday, with the letter "E," challenged students to consider environmental issues and suggested they buy an oxygen-producing plant and pick up at least five items of litter.

Thursday, which also had the letter "E," highlighted energy conservation. Students were asked to wash clothes on cold, replace old light bulbs with more energy efficient bulbs and avoid using disposable materials.

For Friday, the letter "N" stood for "now — and from now on." Students are encouraged to start moving for change right away and to be more environmentally friendly from then on.

Schools across the nation are making efforts to create "greener" campuses. Green Team member Emily Singleton, who worked on a presentation concerning these "green" campuses, joined the Mark Twain Green Team because she said she felt MU can also join the fight to be more environmentally friendly.

"It takes a lot of students," Singleton said. "But if everyone bands together and people become aware and are ready to act on their own, we can become just as energy efficient and environmentally friendly."

The Mark Twain Green Team is one organization that aims to do just that.

On Thursday night, the team will share its second round of presentations in Cornell Room 115. This time, the presentations will be geared toward sharing ways that MU students can save energy at MU and throughout Columbia.