Curb Your Car and Hike the Hill
To raise awareness of efforts needed to improve Cache Valley air quality, Aggies are urged to curb their cars and hike en masse up Old Main Hill Oct. 25 in observance of National Campus Sustainability Day at Utah State University.
The day’s activities also include a lunch-time sustainability Webcast and a free evening showing of Al Gore’s acclaimed film on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth.
“We’ve chosen to focus on air quality this year since particle pollution during winter temperature inversions is a critical concern here in our valley,” says Jay T. Price, graduate student in the College of Natural Resources’ Department of Environment and Society and education coordinator for the USU Recycling Center.
Wednesday, Oct. 25, students, faculty, staff and community are invited to meet at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Smith’s supermarket at 100 E. 400 North in Logan and hike east along 400 North to Old Main Hill on the USU campus. Doughnuts will be served to participants. Signs with positive, environmentally friendly messages will be provided for walkers who wish to carry them.
“Winter will be here before we know it, and we think the march is a great way to get everyone involved in thinking about possible solutions to address our air quality concerns,” says Lori Selby, executive director of administration for USU’s Business and Finance office.
Utah State is taking multiple steps to reduce emissions and encourage good stewardship, says Selby. The university recently purchased five new compressed natural gas Aggie Shuttles to replace aging diesel and earlier-generation CNG vehicles.
“Use of compressed natural gas vehicles makes a big difference in terms of air quality,” says Alden Erickson, Aggie Shuttle supervisor.
Plus, he says, the new buses offer higher rider capacity, which means more Aggies can ride and access their desired destinations with greater convenience.
In 2001, the university razed the old coal-burning power plant, upon which the new Living/Learning Center and parking terrace stands, and replaced it with a high-efficiency natural gas plant. The change reduced emissions eight fold.
President Stan Albrecht recently issued a campus-wide letter to faculty and staff urging the campus community to turn off lights, computers and office equipment when not in use. He also listed a number of conservation ideas to save energy and money on campus.
“Much has been done to ensure USU is an energy-friendly institution,” he wrote. “We need to ensure that we’re doing all that we can to be an environmentally friendly neighbor in the state of Utah.”
During USU’s observance of Campus Sustainablity Day, everyone is invited to a sustainability Webcast from 10:30-12:30 p.m. in the Merrill-Cazier Library, room 154. That evening, An Inconvenient Truth will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Eccles Science Learning Center auditorium, along with a short film about Cache Valley’s air quality issues. Admission is free and open to all.
Related Links:
- ASUSU View: Cache Air Quality Everyone’s Problem
- Natural Gas Buses Arrive
- USU Recycling Center
- Alternative Transportation at USU
- Aggie Blue Bikes
- USU Aggie Shuttle
- Toward Fewer Bad Air Days
Contacts: Jay T. Price, 435-797-770-6229; Lori Selby, 435-797-1146
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto, 435-797-1429
In observance of National Campus Sustainability Day Oct. 25, Aggies are invited to join a morning march up Old Main Hill to raise awareness of air quality concerns.
USU recently purchased five new spacious, compressed natural gas Aggie Shuttles to reduce emissions and encourage increased ridership.
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