I am sure that you all have noticed those prominent green fliers all over campus with "G3" on them. This to some represents an era of growth as a community to become more sustainable. Washington College seems to be taking steps to becoming a more environmentally friendly school.
This effort is all eradicated with a few ugly truths. The first can be found in the fiery inferno that is known as Miller Library. The library has the heat going full-blast while students inside are suffering. The heat is just wasted energy as students and staff in the library attempt to cool down by opening doors and windows. So much energy is just disappearing when the heat could be turned off completely or even just turned down 10 degrees. Another area where this is an issue is dorm rooms. The radiators are blasting heat yet the air conditioners are being run extra hard to counteract the high temperature. This could be yet another easily solved problem.
Also, the grass on the green tends to be mowed approximately two or three times a week. Letting the grass grow one extra inch will vastly reduce emissions from lawnmowers and prevent runoff when it rains, which will be a big help for those of us who have to cross the street and avoid the river that forms on 213.
Keeping with the theme of runoff, today in the pouring rain I witnessed a man spraying herbicide on the walkway. I hope that any grown man, or maybe his supervisor, would know enough to deduce that the rain would carry the herbicide away before it even had a chance to touch the weeds. These things are also hurting the college's funding.
I am in no way trying to bash the efforts of the George Goes Green campaign. The people who have legitimately put time into projects to make the community aware of the environment have done a wonderful job. I just was under the impression that Washington College was supposed to support the effort. So maybe Washington College can really make George Go Green and try to fix some of these detrimental issues. And guys, it wouldn't hurt if people stopped putting styrofoam in the composting bin.
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