UGA vs. Environment: Can there be two winners?

by Rose Cannon

It surrounded us the day we were born, and it will continue to surround us even when we have passed away. It influences our daily activities, our health, and even the clothes we wear. Without it, we cannot survive, but unfortunately, this reality does not prevent us from destroying it. This thing is our environment. We all love to enjoy it, to revel in its beauty, yet we also do our own small (or large) part to slowly destroy it.

It is easy to forget our duty to protect the environment. To be sure, we are constantly surrounded by advertisements telling us to BUY! BUY! BUY! We are a nation of consumers of excess and of waste. This year at The University of Georgia the faculty and staff will generate close to 700 tons of waste a month. With approximately 33,000 enrolled students and a faculty of 9,000 that estimate amounts to about 33 pounds of trash per month per person. The University of Oregon produces less than 200 tons of trash each month, resulting in approximately 18 pounds of trash per person per month. Even at the University of Vermont the population produces only 21 pounds of trash per person per month. Why the difference? Do the students and faculty at these other universities simply use fewer products? Do they buy less than we do here at the University of Georgia? The answer is no. Their students and faculty, like our own, consume products at a rate comparable to all other American citizens. The greatest difference is that their students are provided with adequate recycling facilities. With numerous bins and recycling chutes on campus, it is more convenient for their students to recycle.

After researching the differences between our University and others around the country, I began to investigate what our campus is doing (or not doing) to promote environmental friendly procedures and awareness. I discovered that our university has had an established recycling program for several years. Sam Whitmore, who was appointed as director of support services for the Physical Plant division in December of 2003, heads the program. Currently, the physical plant employees empty no less than 740 dumpsters a week. According to Kenny Cowart, the recycling foreman, the University has done a much better job of recycling products than when the program first started.

Unfortunately, efforts to recycle have been made mainly through the official sector of the University, including offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms. One of Whitmore's greatest concerns is the lack of student effort to recycle. The recycling program has done its best to support the residential communities by offering to empty the dumpsters or containers as needed.

One must remember that our recycling employees here at UGA are responsible only for removing all trash and recycling. Due to recent budget cuts they are unable to hire someone to promote recycling through educational or promotional means. They simply do not have the time, manpower, or money to get out and tell people to recycle. As a result, the University community is uninformed about the recycling program, promoting a negative view of efforts made by physical plant employees. The employees of the recycling program are working harder than ever just to remove the outrageous amounts of trash the University produces. When referring to himself and his staff, Whitmore says, "Basically, overall, we are doing a real good job handling this thing."

As students, we often forget that our environment is greatly impacted by factors other than our trash production. Many students and faculty might have noticed the black clouds of smoke billowing out of our buses as they take off down the road. This type of pollution is, in many ways, more detrimental to our future than garbage. While riding the campus buses reduces the number of individual commuters, it does not eliminate air pollution. Air pollution can cause long term damage to our lungs and cause us to cough or even have asthma attacks. In addition to health problems, air pollution caused by petroleum fuels can also increase levels of carbon monoxide and greenhouse gases which will further the warming of the atmosphere.

The consequences of petroleum fuel use should be sufficient to convince every person that our transit bus system should make the switch from petroleum diesel to a cleaner and safer alternative biodiesel. Biodiesel is a mixture of 80% vegetable oil and 20% methanol that can be used in almost every diesel engine without any engine modifications or changes in performance. Dr. Randolph Diesel first designed the diesel engine to run off pure peanut oil, not petroleum based fuels. It is because of this fact that today's diesel engines can run on pure, natural oils without harmful effects on the life or performance of the engine.

Unfortunately, the cost of biodiesel fuel is currently higher than that of regular petroleum diesel. Many transit systems that still wish to do their part to help reduce harmful emissions use the less costly fuel, B20. When using B20 fuel, an engine burns 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel. This mixture is not nearly as clean as pure biodiesel, but it can still have significant positive effects on the amount of air pollution. Using B20 can reduce the emissions of unburned hydrocarbons by 20% and carbon monoxide by 12% when compared to petroleum diesel.

The University of Georgia's transit system boasts on its website that it uses 43 buses and transports the second highest number of riders in the state. One would think that such a large and admired transit system would be one of the first to implement an alternative fuel for its buses. This is not the case.

One of the main thrusts of the UGA environmental awareness club during the 2004-2005 year is to try to persuade the transit system to switch the buses from using petroleum diesel to biodiesel or B20. This action would significantly improve the air quality around campus and many people in the Athens area would benefit from the switch. The main obstacles for implementing biodiesel use are the higher costs and lack of availability. The nearest biodiesel supplier is in Aiken, SC, and the average cost of biodiesel is around 25 to 30 cents more per gallon than petroleum diesel. While these are both understandable setbacks to jumpstarting a biodiesel program here at UGA, they can be overcome with enough support by both the students and the administration. It has been suggested that the extra cost of buying biodiesel for the buses could be covered by a small increase in students' fees. Considering the benefits one could reap from this switch, it would be a worthwhile arrangement.

Many of the students here at The University of Georgia have seen first hand the effects our campus has had on Tanyard Branch stream that runs through the middle of campus and under Sanford Stadium. This small stream can be seen year round with fast food cups and bags collecting on its banks or in the water. It is not unusual to catch a peek at several full grown men urinating in Tanyard Branch while tailgating during football season. These unfortunate events have had tremendously negative effects on the water quality. Our campus stream is so polluted that ecology students who tested it for water quality and wildlife and were shocked by the results. Several undergraduate ecology classes found the stream to be devoid of any substantial wildlife or living creatures.

A restoration group called S.E.E.D.S., Students and Educators for Ecological Design and Sustainability, has been working on Tanyard Branch for quite some time. They have tried not only to prompt the University to take action, but have also taken action themselves with projects to improve it one section at a time. In their vision statement, they list several goals for the stream. As their first goal, they present the manner in which UGA cares for Tanyard Branch: "The absence of Tanyard Branch on campus maps and plans is indicative of campus attitudes towards this stream." It should be obvious that the University is not doing all it can to protect this stream if they do not even acknowledge it on the campus maps. Several goals of S.E.E.D.S. include promoting awareness, securing funding for the stream's restoration, and promoting eco-friendly runoff practices for future construction efforts. Hopefully, with enough education about the stream's conditions, the goals of this environmentally aware group can be met.

Many students at the University do wish to make a difference by conserving and recycling resources. We are one of the first generations brought up in a world that promotes at least some sort of environmental awareness. It is our responsibility to do our part to recycle and to protect our environment.

Do what you can to recycle items you would normally throw away. Join an environmental or restoration group on campus. Lobby within your dorm to begin a recycling program or improve the one you already have in place. It is up to us to begin to change this campus for the better. With over 33,000 students at the university this year we can really make a difference in our community.

contacts:

Sam Whitmore, Recycling Coordinator; 542-7582; whitmore@uga.edu

Students and Educators for Ecological Design and Sustainability (SEEDS); www.uga.edu/seeds

Students for Environmental Awareness (SEA); www.uga.edu/sea

UGA Biowagon Program; www.biowagon.com; gobiowagon@yahoo.com