Greenery is in short supply for this year’s Earth Day in on campus.
In honor of Earth Day, the Associated Students Inc. is hosting Water You Doing Wednesday on campus to focus on the water issues of the California drought. At the event, Facilities Management will be showcasing some potential drought resistant plants that could be planted around campus.
“We are currently converting 90,000 square feet of lawn to sustainable landscapes and we will be having sample plants to preview,” Energy and Sustainability Manager at CSULB Paul Wingco said.
Wingco said that the campus has made efforts to focus on water issues by adding more hydration stations. He said that there are almost 70 as of this semester, whereas there were only about seven in 2009.
Water You Doing Wednesday is one of four Earth Week events on campus, celebrating sustainability in commemoration of Earth Day.
“All of them are geared toward helping us here at CSULB meet our goal of a zero carbon footprint but also what people could do at home and in their communities so it reaches all areas of life,” Susan Ransom, the supervisor for support services and member of the Green Team, said.
Ransom said that Water You Doing Wednesday features a challenge for students to find and use the various hydration stations around campus. She said that a lot of people are misinformed about the harmful effects of throwaway water bottles and encouraged students to use reusable bottles.
“[Throwaway bottles] end up in landfills and takes thousands of years for those to break down,” Ransom said. “I cringe when I see someone coming out of Costco with cases and cases of those water bottle because they are not sustainable. About 80 percent of those don’t get recycled.”
According to carbonfootprint.com, recycling uses less energy and produces less pollution than making things from scratch and reduces carbon footprint. Since these plastic bottles are not being recycled properly, it is affecting the count on the planet’s carbon footprint.
Melissa Romero, the University Student Union Sustainability assistant, said that USU Sustainability members will be hosting a water taste-test challenge where students can try to see if they could tell the difference between tap water and two different brands of bottled waters.
All events take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.