December 3rd, 2017
Sustainability
Green Practices
Matter
The average college student produces 640 pounds of solid
waste each year, according to an article on Boston College’s website.
It is no question that recycling and other green practices
help the environment, seeing that it conserves natural resources, protects our
oceans, and reduces the amount of fuels burned. The question is what this
generation thinks and knows about sustaining our environment.
Lissy Goralnik, an assistant professor of environmental
studies and community engagement in the Department of Community Sustainability
at Michigan State University, teaches a section of Introduction to
Sustainability at MSU and said, “a lot of my students said they didn’t realize
how many recycling bins are on campus and felt campus is making it straightforward, but
other students on campus are not doing those things.”
According to MSU’s Recycling website, the campus provides
residence hall recycling stations, hallway recycling stations, office space
recycling, a recycling drop-off center, and the ability to donate unwanted
materials to the MSU Surplus Store.
Holly Grech, a junior at MSU, said she recycled sometimes in the
dorms and was aware of the recycling bins on campus, but her current apartment
complex does not have recycling bins.
THIS IS A GOOD
PLACE FOR A TELLING QUOTE FROM GRECH
Vinny Mattison, a fourth-year student at MSU, said he recycled more
in the dorms because they provided separate bins to use.
THIS IS A GOOD
PLACE FOR A TELLING QUOTE FROM MATTISON
Mattison also said he is not aware of recycling bins at his
current apartment.
According to South Coast Energy
Challenge’s website, “by throwing everything away and not reusing or recycling
them will cause the landfill to fill up. They start to smell horrible and end
up being toxic from all the harmful chemicals coming from styrofoam, batteries,
microwaves, cleaning supplies, and other household products. Just by recycling
cardboard, paper, and plastic there will be a lot less junk in the landfills.”
Grech said she thinks it is harmful to the environment not to
recycle because you have to remake materials and use more energy to make those
new materials.
THIS IS A GOOD
PLACE FOR A TELLING QUOTE FROM GRECH
Mattison said he is not specifically aware of the impacts not
recycling has on the environment, but knows pop can holders can get into oceans
and harm animals.
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FOR A TELLING QUOTE FROM MATTISON
“The problems associated with not
recycling are that it is not good for the landscapes or the animals. We are
putting hazardous things that don’t break down into landscapes that don’t
absorb it. This impacts all our systems; water, earth, and air are all one
system,” Goralnik said.
“Recycling is great, but it’s not the answer,” Goralnik went on to
say. “Before recycling we should be consuming less so we have less to recycle.”
Mattison said recycling does not
take a lot of time, but it takes more effort opposed to just throwing something
away.
THIS IS A GOOD
PLACE FOR A TELLING QUOTE FROM MATTISON
Goralnik said recycling is labor intensive because it requires
water, fuel, and resources to do so and we do not have enough economic
incentives to make it worthwhile for people in our community.
“Every time you recycle plastic it
becomes a less desirable product,” Goralnik said. GOOD TELLING QUOTE HERE
Though Grech said she thinks it is harmful to the environment not to
recycle, she does not think enough people do it.
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PLACE FOR A TELLING QUOTE FROM GRECH
According the article on Boston College’s website, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 75 percent of American waste is
recyclable, but we only recycle about 30 percent of it.
MSU is not only taking steps to make recycling easier on campus,
but they are making campus more sustainable by reducing energy consumption and
transitioning to more renewable resources, according to MSU’s Infrastructure
Planning and Facilities website.
WHAT DO MSU IPF
LEADERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT?
The energy at MSU comes from the T.B. Simon Power Plant which
burns a variety of fuels to get energy including coal, natural gas, and
biofuel, according to MSU’s IPF website.
“T.B. Simon Power Plant began burning biofuel in
2008. Biofuels include green wood, agricultural residues (annual grasses,
animal bedding, corn stover) and cornstarch,” according to MSU’s IPF website.
INSTEAD OF
RELYING ON THE WEB SITE, WHY NOT INTERVIEW IPF LEADERS FOR THIS INFORMATION?
Another way MSU is promoting sustainability is by using geothermal
energy, which takes thermal energy from the ground, and solar energy, which
converts light energy into electricity, according to MSU’s IPF website.
MSU also helps students planning events on campus to “green” their
event by providing recycling services, according to MSU’s IPF website.
According to Mattison and Grech, MSU makes it easy for students to
recycle. “They’re everywhere,” Mattison said when addressing the amount of
recycling bins on campus.
Word count: 719
Sources
·
Student at MSU: Holly
Grech
o
Major: Elementary
Education
o
Year: Junior
·
Student at MSU: Vinny Mattison
o
Phone: 1-810-333-0237
·
Lissy Goralnik, MFA PhD
o
Michigan State University
o
Department of Community Sustainability
o
Natural Resources 311B
o
480 Wilson Rd #151
East Lansing, MI 48824
East Lansing, MI 48824
o
(517) 353-3562
·
Documentary Sources
o
http://recycle.msu.edu/index.php/information/
ASSIGNMENT GRADE: (redacted)
INSTRUCTOR’S
COMMENTS: GREAT JOB WITH STORY STRUCTURE AND ATTRIBUTION, BUT FOR A STORY WE
NEED OT BE SURE TO TALK TO PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THE ISSUE, NEUTRAL EXPERTS AND
THE PEOPLE IN CHARGEOF THE ISSUE. WE ARE MISSING THE LAST GROUP, WHO WOULD HAVE
BEEN IPF OFFICIALS. CITING ITS WEB SITE IS BETTER THAN NOTHING FOR SURE, BUT WE
REALLY NEEDED TO TALK TO THEM AND NOT JUST STRIP INFO FROM THE WEB. PLUS, BE
SURE TO PAIR SUBPOINTS WITH RELATED QUOTES TO ADD HUMAN VOICES TO YOUR TEXT.
STILL, VERY NICE WORK HERE!
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