Amanda Garcia
Photographer
WT organizations and students joined to celebrate National Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22 and will continue Earth Day activities throughout the rest of the week.
“Earth Day is a nationally recognized day during which all members of our society are invited to reflect upon issues which transcend politics or controversy,” Stephanie Bowden, senior history major and project manager for Earth Day of the Environmental Science Society, said.
University campuses have long established the standards for change and evolution within our society, WT has joined that effort by offering a forum for discourse over the environment.”
Earth Day was established as a nationally recognized day of awareness for the care of the environment on April 22, 1970 by former US Senator of Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson. On that day, approximately 20 million Americans rallied for widespread conservation of the environment.
In 1990, it became an international movement with 200 million people from 141 countries uniting for the cause. Over the past several decades, thousands of environmental groups and millions of people across the globe have joined the 39 year old movement, along with WT’s Environmental Science Society and many other campus organizations.
The Environmental Science Society was officially instituted as a campus organization ten years ago and is advised by Dr. William Rogers, professor of environmental science.
Last year for Earth Day, the Society invoked a campus-wide campaign. All over the University, flyers were displayed on water fountains stating, “What if you had to pay to use this?” and on electrical outlets saying, “What if there was nothing to fuel this?”
In order to communicate the state in which the world’s water supply is in, they held a simulated water sale where ordinary bottles of water cost $20. Also, Society members set up exhibits across campus that reflected the possible future if preservation of the environment is ignored.
“The goal of Earth Day is to raise awareness and to offer alternatives to some actions which will result positively upon our environment,” Bowden said.
The natural resources upon which we rely are precious and limited. In order to ensure a successful future, it is important to establish some fundamental changes to our lifestyles now. The students who participated in Earth Day are helping to establish a precedent for future generations; one which calls for the conservation and reverence of our most elemental resource.”
This year, this society along with Tri Beta, SIFE, the Alternative Energy Institute, Class 4 Winds and the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District are joining forces to make students keenly recognize the damaging effects of pollution and the need for conservation and preservation in our environment.
On, Wednesday, April 22, the involved campus organizations set up informational booths on the pedestrian mall dedicated to individual environmental issues.
The organizations passed out free material and also had purchasable items available that clarified the state of which the world is in due to pollution.
SIFE held a bake sale at their booth and another organization passed out compact florescent light bulbs to students that checked out their display. A unique give-away were the Society’s reusable shopping bags.
A competition was set up through University email several weeks in advance of Earth Day where students were challenged to submit designs that should be printed on the bags.
After voting on the design, the Society declared the winner through email, printed the customized design on the shopping bags and distributed them to students who came by the pedestrian mall.
“The idea for this cooperative effort came from my desire to maximize the number of students we could reach,” Bowden said.
I also feel that it is imperative for organizations and departments throughout our campus and community to bridge efforts and establish a standard for civic relationships. In this manner, we evolve from single entities separate from one another to a cohesive myriad of cooperative and yet still distinctive groups.”
Earth Day 2009 will continue throughout the rest of the week. The Cornette Library has set up displays with informative periodicals and books concerning environmental issues.
Also, Campus Cleanup was rescheduled for Thursday, April 23 in order to correspond with the week’s theme of conserving the environment.
And on Thursday, April 23 and Friday, April 24, several photographs that capture the heart of Earth Day will be displayed in the JBK that were loaned out by the students of Lori Westermann’s photography course.
“Earth Day 2009’s objective is to promote awareness of issues within our community and to offer students various ways to decrease their impact upon the environment,” Bowden said.
By inviting other organizations to join, I hope that we can affect more students and citizens by offering them an array of perspectives regarding pollution, conservation and preservation.”
For more information concerning activities, contact the Environmental Science Society at (806) 679-9220.