'Green' grade disappoints

By Staff Editorial     11/4/10 7:00pm

Rice University was given a B+ as an ecologically "green" rating in the College Sustainability Report Card (see story, page 4). This rating represents an improvement over last year's B rating; however, it does not quite meet Rice's expectations of being a member of the more elite ecologically conservative universities. The report cited Rice as lowest-rated in the areas of endowment transparency and ?administration. Upon reflecting on some of the university's more conversationally questionable practices, this C grade for the administration is not surprising. Many campus-wide issues require attention, such as the campus sprinkler system. The sprinkling schedule, at least around parts of the campus, seem to be malfunctioning, resulting in plants being watered at peak temperature points during the day. Watering while the sun is out is an absolute waste, since a majority of the water being dispensed is simply evaporated by the beating sun. Furthermore, the sprinklers seem to lack any sort of sensors that prevent over-watering or watering during rain. The implementation of this sort of sensor system would not be a huge financial burden and would alleviate a great deal of water waste, saving the university money in the long run, while also helping the environment. Smaller problems around campus also persist, such as the constantly frigid temperature of the Duncan College Commons and the perpetual running lights that are impossible to shut off in the common rooms of many of the newly constructed suites.

Furthermore, the administration has put forth little effort in enhancing awareness about ecological conservation issues and educating students about on-campus initiatives to stay "green." In fact, O-Week lacks any sort of scheduled event which promotes conservation and educates about Rice's resources to maintain a green campus. Providing this focus from students' first days on campus would no doubt improve ecological awareness and brainstorming for new ?eco-friendly ideas.

There is no doubt that Rice is committed to being a green institution, and its dedication to incorporate ecologically friendly attributes to its new infrastructure is laudable. However, there seems to be a lack of dire attention by the administration, which fails to enact some of the more easily implementable, effective policies and procedures around campus that could make a significant difference. Moving into the future, the Thresher would like to see the administration enact changes in correspondence with students' eco-concerns and make greater efforts to promote university-wide awareness.

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