Weekly Chat with Cara Owens, Sustainability Coordinator
Peter Bennett
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Life!
Anytime I think about sustainability or recycling, the first thought that comes to mind is that song by Captain Compost-Heap on Nickelodeon's Rocko's Modern Life. You know, the one that goes, "R-E-C-Y-C-L-E, recycle. C-O-N-S-E-R-V-E, conserve. Don't you P-O-L-L-U-T-E the river, sky, or sea, or else you're gonna get, what you deserve."
With the library starting to double-sided printing and GQ switching to reusable plastic baskets, it's clear that Muhlenberg is becoming more environmentally conscious. So, it seemed only natural to ask Cara Owens, Muhlenberg's own sustainability coordinator, what individuals can do here on campus in addition to learning what her job is in keeping Muhlenberg environmentally friendly.
What is your job as a sustainability coordinator?
I work with pretty much all types of groups on campus, the staff, students and faculty, to keep track of all of our environmental efforts. That includes water and energy conservation, a lot of which comes from working with Plant Opts. I've also worked with students to get things double-sided printing in computer labs. So it's a pretty broad job and we're working on getting a website up soon, which will provide more information.
Is this a new position here at Muhlenberg? And is it exclusive to Muhlenberg or a growing trend among colleges.
It was a new position, which I've been at since September. It was requested by the Greening Committee, which President Helm appointed soon after he came. This position is definitely a growing trend, both with colleges and corporations. A lot of businesses are hiring sustainability coordinators now, and Muhlenberg was fairly early in the trend.
You mentioned the library starting double-sided printing and students all seeing GQ now implementing reusable, plastic baskets. Are there any other environmental-friendly changes students should be on the lookout for?
There's been a lot going on lately. The big push that I've heard from students this semester is reducing bottled water consumption. It takes about three gallons to produce one gallons of water, plus issues of transportation and plastic by-products. And actually, EnAct had a taste test a couple weeks ago featuring bottled water versus filtered tap water. Most students couldn't tell the difference. So, we're looking into encouraging students to refill their own water bottles. Sodexho said they sold 130,000 bottles of water last year (8/06-8/07), not including catered affairs. That's a lot of waste since not all of it is getting recycled.
With the library starting to double-sided printing and GQ switching to reusable plastic baskets, it's clear that Muhlenberg is becoming more environmentally conscious. So, it seemed only natural to ask Cara Owens, Muhlenberg's own sustainability coordinator, what individuals can do here on campus in addition to learning what her job is in keeping Muhlenberg environmentally friendly.
What is your job as a sustainability coordinator?
I work with pretty much all types of groups on campus, the staff, students and faculty, to keep track of all of our environmental efforts. That includes water and energy conservation, a lot of which comes from working with Plant Opts. I've also worked with students to get things double-sided printing in computer labs. So it's a pretty broad job and we're working on getting a website up soon, which will provide more information.
Is this a new position here at Muhlenberg? And is it exclusive to Muhlenberg or a growing trend among colleges.
It was a new position, which I've been at since September. It was requested by the Greening Committee, which President Helm appointed soon after he came. This position is definitely a growing trend, both with colleges and corporations. A lot of businesses are hiring sustainability coordinators now, and Muhlenberg was fairly early in the trend.
You mentioned the library starting double-sided printing and students all seeing GQ now implementing reusable, plastic baskets. Are there any other environmental-friendly changes students should be on the lookout for?
There's been a lot going on lately. The big push that I've heard from students this semester is reducing bottled water consumption. It takes about three gallons to produce one gallons of water, plus issues of transportation and plastic by-products. And actually, EnAct had a taste test a couple weeks ago featuring bottled water versus filtered tap water. Most students couldn't tell the difference. So, we're looking into encouraging students to refill their own water bottles. Sodexho said they sold 130,000 bottles of water last year (8/06-8/07), not including catered affairs. That's a lot of waste since not all of it is getting recycled.