Editor,
I empathize with Julie Kidder, who expressed concern in her letter published in the Daily Lobo on Wednesday about recyclables being thrown away in the SUB. It's sad that so many in the UNM community haven't realized how important it is to start working toward a sustainable future. It's especially sad that so many people continue to throw away aluminum cans because, of all the things we recycle, recycling aluminum cans probably saves the most energy.
But Kidder should know there are many efforts underway at UNM to make our University more sustainable and our students more aware of sustainability issues.
UNM has a Sustainability Task Force that is charged with reducing UNM's environmental footprint. The increased number of recycling bins around campus is a result of the task force's efforts.
There is a sustainability curriculum and program at UNM open to all students. Many readers may have heard Bruce Milne, director of UNM's Sustainability Studies, talk about local food sheds on KUNM's call-in show this past Thursday.
Even the UNM School of Architecture and Planning is doing its part to make UNM sustainable. Its studio class has been redesigning Cornell Mall to make that stretch of UNM more sustainable.
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There is also a student organization called UNM Sustain. We have taken it upon ourselves to educate UNM's communities to become more aware of how important sustainability is to the future of the human race.
We also support grassroots projects such as the Sierra Club's bulb exchange project. This Saturday, UNM Sustain, the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice and the University Heights Association will distribute compact florescent light bulbs in the neighborhood to the south of UNM. Anyone wanting to volunteer for that project can meet at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Anyone wanting to get involved with UNM Sustain can attend our next meeting this Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in the GPSA office in the basement of the SUB.
Danny Hernandez
UNM student
