Aggressive Approach of the Sustainability Council at the University - Term Paper Example

The Sustainability Council at the of Hawaii Manoa should take a more aggressive approach to going green on campus Introduction The Hawaii Manoa University Sustainability Council, previously known as the Manoa Sustainability Corps, is the campus organization composed of faculty, students, and staff members who focus on sustainability matters. The main function of the Sustainability Council is to provide counsel and advice to the University’s Chancellor concerning sustainability matters on the Hawaii Manoa Campus (Leung and Carole 15). Although the council puts much effort in ensuring that, the University has a conducive and friendly environment, there need for the Sustainability Council to adopt a more aggressive approach to going green on campus. The current approach used by the Sustainability Council of the Campus does not meet all the standards of a sustainable campus environment. I therefore propose that, the Council must come up with a more aggressive approach, which will ensure that the Campus environment is highly conducive and friendly to everybody (Leung and Carole 17). This is because ensuring friendly and conducive environment, with no pollution will attract a large number of students hence reducing the risk of losing students due to fear of conducting diseases because of poor campus environment. Incorporating sustainable aspects in the campus supports American Campus Communities’ mission of ensuring premier student environment. Through adopting a new sustainable approach, the Sustainable Council of the campus will promote comfortable, healthy, and marketable and friendly students living environment (Leung and Carole 22). Ensuring a good environment in the campus will also minimize the risk of exposing students to diseases, which may be there due to poor environment. To begin with, the Sustainability Council at the University of Hawaii Manoa should adopt a new approach, which will ensure that there is a sustainable food-service product. The council should ensure that the types of food products used within the campus environment do not influence environmental pollution (Pyle and Robert 43). Ensuring sustainable food-service products will advance environmental sustainability and stewardship on campus, which symbolize sustainable approaches, which will lead to a reduction of life-cycle costs, maintain or restore the natural system’s functioning, and enhance students and staff well-being. As part of this wider effort, and to concentrate on trash reduction, marine life protection, public health, and environmental sustainability, the campus sustainability council must transition to ensuring the adoption less pollutant food service products in the campus environment (Pyle and Robert 47). Through adoption of this new policy, the sustainability council will be able to contract vendors carrying out business with the campus and handling food services. This will ensure that food products used in the campus are less harmful to the entire campus environment (Jeffery and Jeremy 65). The sustainability council should ensure that all food products could break down into compost, which is used in a timely and safe manner hence ensuring that there are no toxic residues left on the environment, which may have any side effects to the environment. It is therefore my opinion that, by doing this, the campus environment will experience no pollution due to food product hence maintain a green environment in the school (Jeffery and Jeremy 76). The sustainability council will only achieve this through ensuring that products used in the campus are reusable, products used within the campus environment are non-toxic and compostable, and finally, they can be recycled. This will reduce solid waste disposal within the campus environment hence ensuring that the campus environment goes green (Jeffery and Jeremy 87). Secondly, Hawaii Campus Sustainability Council should come up with an aggressive approach, which has plans for the future of the University of Hawaii Manoa. The Physical, Long Range, and Environmental office should plan on how to provide guidance, leadership, and information concerning the areas of designing, planning, space management, and sustainability (Pyle and Robert 57). For instance, about space management, construction of new buildings should follow an approach, which will ensure good use of the campus environment. The building should not be scattered all over the entire school environment such that there is no room for flower beds. The Council should also ensure that trees and flowers are planted in the entire campus environment in order to enable the environment go green. Watering the flower beds will make the environment remain green hence attacking new students and staff members (Pyle and Robert 65). This will also make the campus environment look conducive and friendly. Another issue the new approach will consider is the campus landscape plan. I think there is a need to extend the civic space, and increase the use of bicycles than vehicles in the campus. This is because vehicle occupies a large parking area hence causing damage to the environment (Jeffery and Jeremy 111). Therefore, it is essential to reflect on the issue of the campus landscape. For instance, if the main vision of the university’s arts requires shower trees and monkey pods, then there is a need to grow tropical trees in the campus environment that are unique in some crannies and nooks that are not main civic roads in the campus. The current sustainability council does not focus on the agricultural landscape in the campus environment. It is my opinion to start agricultural projects within the campus environment (Jeffery and Jeremy 112). Its my proposal that, agricultural landscape should be incorporated, which is a good notion campus yards, for the purpose of building a community sense and making effective use of the campus environment. It is also a good idea for the Sustainability Council to find ways on how to make some improvements on the Varney Circle in the campus environment (Leung and Carole 15). Instead of having a raised mound, the council should ensure a sunken bowl lined with low plants or grasses with low inhabitant water tolerant (to filter out pollutants). The bowl should be made attractive such that it will be an attracting grassy place, where students and staff members could sit and relax during dry seasons (Leung and Carole 15). During rainy seasons, the grasses will be able to filter the surface water from Varney Circle and this will result in the formation of a pond hence creating a water garden place hence resulting in a greener environment. The last point explaining how Sustainability Council of Hawaii Campus can ensure the campus’s environment is through ensuring that the environment is always clean. The Sustainability Council should ensure there are several dustbins for disposing solid wastes. This will bring positive change in the campus environment since it will aid in minimizing litters, which makes the campus environment look dirty and unfriendly (Blatter and Ingram 64). Throwing litters all over the entire environment results in environmental pollution hence, hindering the sustainability council’s mission band vision of ensuring green environment. One major idea, which will help minimize solid waste on the environment is through putting posters in every corner of the campus warning students and staff member on the issue of throwing litter and wastes. Students and staff members should be encouraged to use the solid waste dustbins in order to ensure a green campus environment (Blatter and Ingram 77). However, the Sustainability Council, in order to achieve its goals, it should make plans of ensuring that the campus incorporates sustainability free courses in their semesters. For instance, Maui College offers degree in Sustainable Science Management and this highly helps its sustainability council to maintain the environment clean and green as well (Blatter and Ingram 98). Additionally, I think that it will be effective for the sustainability council to be organizing for environmental sustainability teaching sessions for the entire campus community. This will make the students and the other staff members understand the need of having and living in a conducive and green environment. By doing this, students and staff members will be aware about the benefits of living in a conducive and green environment (Blatter and Ingram 111). It is therefore my opinion that, by doing this, the campus environment will experience no pollution due to waste product hence maintain a green environment in the campus. The ‘sustainability council should also ensure that the campus has enough environmental cleaners. Currently, the campus has minimal environmental cleaners who are unable to maintain cleanliness in the entire environment. Employing enough environmental cleaners will make the work easier for them to be able to maintain the campus environment clean and green always (Blatter and Ingram 115). Conclusion In conclusion, the Council must come up with a more aggressive approach, which will ensure that the Campus environment is highly conducive and friendly to everybody. This is because ensuring friendly and conducive environment, with no pollution will attract a large number of students hence reducing the risk of losing students due to fear of conducting diseases because of poor campus environment. Secondly, Hawaii Campus Sustainability Council should come up with an aggressive approach, which has plans for the future of the University of Hawaii Manoa. The building should not be scattered all over the entire school environment such that there is no room for flower beds (Jeffery and Jeremy 65). It is also my proposal that, agricultural landscape should be incorporated, which is a good notion campus yards, for building a community sense and making effective use of the campus environment. However, the Sustainability Council should ensure there are several dustbins for disposing solid wastes. This will bring positive change in the campus environment since it will aid in minimizing litters, which makes the campus environment look dirty and unfriendly. Work cited Leung, PingSun, and Carole Engle. Shrimp Culture: Economics, Market, and Trade.s Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Internet resource. Pyle, Jean L, and Robert Forrant. Globalization, Universities and Issues of Sustainable Regional Development. Northampton, Mass: Edward Elgar Pub, 2002. Print. Jeffery, Michael I, and Jeremy M. Firestone, and Karen Bubna-Litic. Biodiversity Conservation, Law + Livelihoods: Bridging the North-South Divide. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. Blatter, Joachim, and Helen M. Ingram. Reflections on Water: New Approaches to Transboundary Conflicts and Cooperation. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT Press, 2001. Print. Leung, PingSun, Cheng-Sheng Lee, and Patricia J. OBryen. Species and System Selection for Sustainable Aquaculture. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Internet resource. Read More