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Group promotes environmental sustainability in Oxford

Ben Garbarek

While green may be associated with spring weather, St. Patrick's Day, or Green Beer Day at Miami University, a group of students is trying to get the community to "go green" in another way.

Green Oxford (GO) is a group of students and community members promoting the nationwide Go Green Initiative, a measure promoting sustainability and other environmentally friendly policies.

"We're trying to fight global climate change and start at a local level," said senior Bryan Glosik, a student involved with the initiative. "A university is a great place to inform others (about environmental causes)."

According to the Go Green Initiative's official Web site, the organization provides "a simple, comprehensive program designed to create a culture of environmental responsibility on school campuses across the nation."

The initiative is intended to make subtle, but significant changes on campus. According to Charlie Weber, Miami senior and president of GO, items such as solar panels and waterless urinals would help make buildings more energy-efficient. Under this initiative, future buildings constructed would be designed with more efficient heating and lighting to limit energy use.

Along with the Go Green Initiative, GO is also looking to enact the President's Climate Commitment. This separate initiative tries to create long-term climate neutrality. It lays out a thorough plan on ways universities can make themselves more environmentally sensitive.

By making Miami climate neutral, Weber said the campus would significantly limit the amount of carbon emissions from coal power. He noted that besides seeking alternative forms of energy, a simple way of combating these harmful emissions is planting more trees.

According to Weber, 150 university presidents have already signed the commitment, with five in Ohio - including Antioch, Oberlin, and Ohio University, according to the commitment's Web site. Also among the signatures are the University of Washington and Macalester College, President David Hodge's former school and alma mater.

However despite these connections, Hodge has declined to sign the proposed initiative himself.

"The university shouldn't commit to anything it can't promise," Hodge said. "I will sign it to actually get it done, not to look good."

Hodge cited several concerns he has about the initiative, but made it clear that he is in favor of environmental issues such as these. Hodge said that portions of the initiative might not be possible, such as making Miami carbon neutral by 2015.

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"These issues are terribly important," Hodge said, "but I'm conservative about signing things for symbolism."

According to Weber, GO currently has 60 registered members. Weber also added that Associated Student Government (ASG) President Elect Jens Sutmöller and ASG senators are on board with this program.

If Miami decides to go forward with this, it may already have a leg up on other universities already committed, according to Weber.

Weber said that Miami already offers public transportation through the Miami Metro, recycling, and other environmentally conscious programs.

The biggest changes students would notice under the Go Green Initiative would be in the physical facilities, predominantly the heating and lighting of Miami's buildings. The red brick exterior would remain intact, but the addition of solar panels could be used to ease energy consumption and costs, while making the buildings more sustainable, according to Weber.

GO officially became a campus organization in the fall of 2006 but first surfaced under a different name in the department of architecture. Weber started Students for Sustainable Design last year but has since changed the name and opened it to the community at large.

Hodge did not set a timetable for when the initiative may be signed at Miami, but said that it would not be until the next academic year at the earliest. He was not part of the group that signed the proposed plan at the University of Washington after he departed for Miami and had not heard of it until it was proposed here.

For now, GO is trying to establish itself in Oxford and continuing to work toward these environmental changes.

Weber said that GO would be a part of the upcoming Earthfest at Uptown Park on Earth Day, April 22. GO will be sponsoring a showing of Al Gore's award-winning documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth at 7 p.m. that evening at Shriver Center.

"We're trying to cause a shift in mindset on consumption in Oxford," Weber said.

Weber said that changing the mindset of the community starts with increasing awareness at the individual level. He said that even small choices individuals make concerning the environment could have a larger impact on the environment as a whole than many may realize.