The Times

Issue date: 3/8/10 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: SACHA RYDER

We have all heard about recycling before. We hear about different organizations making efforts to reduce the contamination of the world, but what are we doing to help? Are we really doing something for our planet, the only planet we can live in?

If we recycle we contribute to use less amounts of non-renewable resources such as oil, coal, and natural gas; additionally, recycling also helps to reduce the use of natural resources such as water and trees.

According to the University of Colorado, the benefits of recycling are not noticeable in the short term, nevertheless…

• "Recycling a four-foot stack of newspapers saves the equivalent of one 40-foot fir tree. Every glass bottle recycled saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for 4 hours.

• "Making cans from recycled aluminum saves 95% of the energy required to produce cans from virgin material.

• "Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the entire commercial airline fleet every three months.

• "In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage. This means that each adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs. of trash for his or her children.

San Jacinto College is concerned about the environment and how humans are destroying it; hence it is joining forces with the District Green Team in an attempt to make our environment a better place to live. Their goals are:

• "Build a college community committed to green living practices and sustainability education

• "Recommend ways to conserve energy and reduce college energy costs

• "Recommend ways to use environmentally and fiscally responsible green building design

"We are in the process of building a green building on all three campuses. New buildings are being designed to achieve silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designed) certification," said Dr. Karen Duston chairman of the Natural Science Department.

"We think about cleaning up the environment as an action, as something that has to be done by others. We think of protecting the environment as something that has to be done by others." said Dr. Duston.

We cannot ignore all efforts being made in our community and continue doing nothing for our world, waiting until someone else does it for us. We need to take action and do our part. There are bins strategically located around campus where all recyclable items such as papers, cans, and bottles can be placed. Look for the blue bin around the campus and be "green". Batteries are also being recycled; you can take them to the department of Natural Science at the South Campus.

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