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Editor:
In this day and age, conservation is a major issue. We all know that water is a high commodity, especially in this desert-city of Tucson. So wouldn't you assume that the UA would be one of the leading community members to conserve it? Hmmmmm...Not so. Instead, carelessly left a bathtub in Maricopa Hall running for almost 100 hours. At the rate of 1 gallon every 2.27 minutes, 2643 gallons of hot water was wasted. Although it did not add anymore than $4.66 to the university's water bill, the monetary cost is not the issue. The issue is the university's efforts to continually waste precious resources.
This small instance of waste is not the only one. We have all noticed how the sprinkler systems still faithfully run every night (and even in the middle of the day) after drowning rainstorms. The university could save money in the long run if they would just spend a few extra dollars to install water saving devices on the systems. Or even irrigating with reclaimed water - it costs less, and reuses quality water that would otherwise be wasted.
Another resource that is needlessly wasted is paper. It would cost nothing to stop using the dark colored paper that is not recyclable, and to reuse more paper around the offices and classrooms. If more bins were placed around buildings in places convenient for students, then more students would be able to recycle their paper.
There are tons of ways to conserve resources around the campus and to better educate students on environmental issues. Even if the UA budget cannot handle to budget more money toward conservation or environmental issues, it could at least save some money by conserving what they use. They could then use the money they saved on other conservation programs. The city of Los Angeles just ran an incredibly successful program of installing low-flush toilets; not only did they save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars, but their water usage decreased by phenomenal amounts. The UA could benefit from a similar program by installing these in both old and new buildings.
Another low cost idea that would benefit all of us is the "Free Store" that was once a working program but was cut by the administration. This "store" made used things (generally office supplies) available for students to use. It not only helped the students by offering "free" stuff, but it saved perfectly good items from being thrown away and filling our landfills.
There are tons of ways that the UA could help the students and faculty help the environment. It only takes a little initiative to show that they care. It doesn't take a lot of brains (or money) to reuse more, waste less, and help us save this precious home of ours.
Get with the times!!
Ann Marie Pertuit
chemical engineering sophomore
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