Today marked the first day of Campus Sustainability Week.
 

Even though this writer is particularly "un-green" - red, if you will - something about that sounds wrong. Kindof like "Hispanic Heritage Month," etc. Shouldn't you be aware and celebratory of your heritage - and the environment - every day?
 

Lately, the University has taken a few steps toward becoming more environmentally friendly, which seems to be all the rage these days. Cloth shopping bags in Bear Mart, real cups, plates and silverware in eateries (as opposed to solely plastic), and, if ‘word on the street’ is correct, next semester - bye bye bottled water on campus!
 

The DUC was built to conform to LEED Gold certification status. Though it's a proud fact noted by tour guides to vaguely interested youngsters across campus, how many of us actually know what that means?
 

LEED certification comes in four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Buildings get points for certain things, such as: site selection, public transportation access, bicycle storage and changing rooms (might explain the showers on the second floor), stormwater management, water efficient landscaping (let’s forget about the TopCare workers we’ve all seen watering the grass – in the rain), use of local materials, and even ‘potential for disassembly.’ Oh, and LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
 

Some students are thrilled about the changes, however late, slow, or small they may be. Some couldn’t care less, and others are irritated and resentful, and possibly rightly so – it should be a student’s choice whether s/he buys bottled water, recycles, etc. If someone does not want to change their lifestyle and habits, no matter how ‘good’ the cause – it is not the University’s right, responsibility, or privilege to make them do so. Then again, if anyone wants bottled water that badly, they can go to a grocery store.
 

In the mean time, stock up on Dasani!