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Students ‘go green’ one step at a time
BY KATIE BERG
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/29
The slogan “Go Green!” was plastered all over UMD as Earth Day came and went. Leif Erikson park played host to bands, booths and Duluthians a couple Saturdays ago, supporting the going green idea. But are students supporters doing the “little things” that count? “I’m an avid recycler; I try to keep lights off and use energy-saving bulbs,” said sophomore Andrea Hinds. “I wish I could do more.”
Sophomore Travis Gilbertson explained how he was part of a campus security team, picking up trash around different sections of campus. “Little things really do help,” said Gilbertson. “Like there’d be all these cigarette butts in the grass, I’d almost need to get a shovel. What kills me are cigarette butts that are on the ground six feet away from a garbage can … even when it comes to recycling, and the bin is right next to you. Why not?”
Despite the efforts put forth by the school with numerous labeled bins for recycling, it doesn’t always happen. “I think a lot of people think, ‘why should I [recycle] when no one else is?’” said freshman Amanda Conklin. “They see that other people aren’t doing it, so they don’t.” Despite the efforts by campus organizations, some students have the mindset that going green isn’t something they need to do.
“I think it’s a good idea to recycle, but I don’t do it or go out of my way,” said senior Samantha Gray. When asking students around campus, there seemed to be a consensus that a surprisingly wide range of students viewed recycling as a good idea that may have a positive effect, but they don’t have the time, money or effort to actually do it.
Sophomore Jonathan Tobias has slightly stronger views on the subject. “I recycle, but in general, global warming is crap,” said Tobias. “I would say the evidence is being sorely misinterpreted. Global warming is a theory that has not been proven, just the popular theory. There’s plenty [of evidence] that supports what I say, and how the numbers are exaggerated.
Weathermen can usually not tell us what happens tomorrow, why should we listen too much to the [global
warming] experts?” The debate seems to rest more in how an individual affects the overall global picture.
“I think it’s laziness, not [doing] that extra little bit,” said Hinds.
Whether it’s about the bigger issue of global warming or just doing their own extra little bit to take the extra time to sort recycling or get energy-saving bulbs, students have to make a choice on how much they want to do the little things to “Go Green,” as the posters say.
