Go Green movement
By Paul Maranan
Environmental Science Club members dig in to collect trash as part of ongoing efforts in the community to go green.
On Oct. 26, 2013 Environmental Science Club members and Bureau of Land Management employees donned their work gloves to beautify a desert plot on the corner of Flamingo and El Capitan.
“This was the Keep Las Vegas Beautiful Make a Difference Day event,” said Mark Chiger, member of the BLM. “There were seven volunteers and three BLM desert cleanup personnel, and the volunteers filled a 20-yard dumpster full of trash.”
The Environmental Science Club, which gives students opportunities to grow and gain experiences through volunteerism while helping others heighten environmental consciousness, has been working closely with public land conservation agencies to supply volunteers for clean-up events.
“Our focus for this semester is to educate the community, CSN students and faculty about sustainability, going green and renewable energy,” said Lea Brewer, vice president of the College of Southern Nevada club.
To further its cause, Environmental Science Club members are discussing proposals with other student organizations at CSN and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to host green lectures about recycling on campuses. Additionally, members asked local elementary school teachers to create lesson plans that promote environmental consciousness.
“I think it’s important to start at the younger years of life,” Brewer said. “The going green efforts were great for getting people to notice environmental science, but more people need to educate their children about greener habits and volunteer work.”
The club holds social events and volunteer efforts throughout the year. An upcoming event will be a fundraiser in December to support the recently defunded Desert Tortoise Conservation center.
On October 24, club members attended an NV Energy Inc. presentation at the Charleston campus that detailed the utility’s environmental progress in 2012. NV Energy’s Executive of Renewable Energy Bobby Hollis II spoke about the solar incentive program SolarGenerations.
Under its SolarGenerations program, NV Energy awarded CSN a $500,000 rebate in 2010, as noted on a College press release dated Oct. 1, 2010, for the construction of solar panel systems at the Charleston campus. Those panels save the college over $25,000 annually on energy costs.
An additional $250,000 rebate from NV Energy was used to install solar panels at the Cheyenne campus, according to Katheryn Brekken, CSN communication and government affairs director.
A lot of progress has been made though the Environmental Science Club President Filiberto Retiguin acknowledged that more can always be done.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 