(The Beacon)
By Steven Cathcart, Guest Commentary -- cathcart13@up.edu
One of the things I like about our university is how we've taken steps to reduce our carbon footprint. However, the important part is making sure we're taking a step forward. Though purchased with the best intentions, the televisions for posting advertisements to save paper are actually creating a larger impact. The reason: WE STILL HAVE THE PAPER FLIERS!
Okay, so I might have gotten overzealous with my caps lock, but come on. The reason we have these televisions is to get rid of the paper fliers, and they have been posted with the same frequency as before the screens.
Now in addition to using paper to make fliers, we're also paying for electricity to power the completely redundant screens 24/7. Often the screens don't even display fliers. At the time of this writing, the screen inKenna has been displaying a message that it needs to update Java for several days. The worst part about this is that while it's not doing the job it's supposed to, the screen is still turned on, wasting even more power. Now I don't know the whole story behind the TVs. Maybe someone found out they aren't effective at advertising campus events or for whatever reason the paper fliers are better. That's fine. All I ask is that the administration chooses either to keep the screens and stop the fliers or turn the screens off.
Good intentions aren't enough to save our planet. We have to follow through.
-Steven Cathcart cathcart13@up.edu
(chemspider.com -- The Beacon)
