Ruth Gerber said Earth Day might be an important annual reminder about environmentalism, but the date does not affect her everyday earth-saving behavior.
“I’m not going to do anything differently,” Gerber, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “I try to help the environment whatever day it is.”
Various eco-friendly Boston University organizations kicked off an entire Earth Week yesterday afternoon, dividing time between Marsh Plaza and the School of Education lobby with information booths, music and fliers to help students make greener decisions.
“We’re trying to promote awareness about environmental issues that are important right now,” said Environmental Student Organization member Jaimie Orlosk, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman. “We are just getting the word around and celebrating the earth today.”
Student recycling coordinators and the ESO are hosting the week of festivities, which included free coffee and pastry samples to entice passersby to learn about green movements yesterday.
“I just came out of class and saw what was going on in Marsh Plaza, so I took a seat,” CAS senior Jayson Kramer said. “It feels good to be around people who appreciate the earth, and it is a great atmosphere with the music.”
Booths promoted awareness for various causes, including WalkBoston, which encourages walking to destinations instead of public transport or cars. The group displayed T-shirts and walking maps at its information booth.
“All we are trying to do is show people that walking is fun, healthy and good for the environment,” WalkBoston volunteer Rachel Heafield, a School of Public Health graduate student, said. “Walking is easy in Boston and everything is close. Little things like walking to closer places instead of driving helps a lot.”
Clean Power Now was another nonprofit organization talking to students about renewable energy products. Clean Power Now advocates for renewable wind power on Cape Cod.
“We are asking people to sign our call to action that calls for a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants, a big contributor to global warming,” Clean Power Now volunteer Jen Filiault, a University of Vermont alumna, said.
Members of the group sedGreen did their part by handing out flowers attached to environmentally informative fliers yesterday in the SED lobby.
“If more people participate, then there’s less on each person’s plate, and we can get more done,” Theresa Redmond, an SED graduate student and sedGreen member said.
The group’s stated objective is to get people to “pause for the earth,” sedGreen founder and SED professor Douglas Zook said.
Ayora Govignon-Berry, an sedGreen member, said he thinks this “pause” is only part of the process.
“It’s a grassroots organization,” Govignon-Berry, an SED graduate student, said. “We want people to become an active member of the committee and get involved through working on the different campaigns and initiatives.”
He said he hoped passersby would become inspired to refrain from drinking bottled water, shut off lights when they are not needed and participate in other eco-friendly practices.
Though the awareness campaign was directed mostly at students, anybody who entered the SED lobby was offered an invitation to “begin making green deeds a part of [their] day.”
“I really do support the cause,” SED professor Dan Davis said upon receiving his flower. “I’m an admirer of Doug Zook — what he’s doing is really important. I’m anxious about the environment, and I have to admit I don’t do as much as I could, but I’m learning.”
“Guilt is an important part of this,” he said. “We’re a consumer society, and we need to learn that our resources are limited.”
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