Hear ye! Hear ye!

"When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world."
- John Muir

Describe how you would convince others at your site to implement "low or no impact/ sustainable changes.

This is a question that we have pondered over for some time now. How can you ask someone to change the way they live when that person feels like they are not making a difference. We guess it all comes down to what our good old friend Mr. Colin Beavan was talking about when he said that we don't have to change the world but if we change ourselves it will surely help out. We don't think that there is an exact way to tell someone who lives in the dorms how to make a drastic change in their routine because there are certain conditions that they are just forced to live under. You can't tell someone not to shower or not to wash clothes but you can ask them to be conservative of the amount of water and energy they use while doing these tasks. You can't ask someone to live in darkness but you can ask them to turn off their lights when they leave their room and their tvs too.You can certainly ask them to make small changes that will add up in the long run. Sometimes it's about the little things that make a big difference and judging by how many residence halls we have here at Texas State and the amount of people living in each of them, any type of change will help. We hate to think of the effects our planet will have in a few years from now just so people can take longer showers, drink from their Dasani water bottles, abuse the washers/dryers, and leave the lights on at all hours.

Getting down to the nitty gritty.

Enough with the negative observations. Here's some things that the residents in Sterry can do to live a more "sustainable" lifestyle (after all we don't have to practice living sustainable just because it is the theme this year on campus).

Well for one, maybe people should actually using the recycling bins instead of looking at them like they are from a foreign planet. This is a given- recycling promotes sustainability. Also, i dont know how many time i see residents carry in packaged water bottles. Dont get me wrong, purified water is definitely ok and i even use it but they should use the jugs instead of wasting so many little bottles. Or even if they reused each bottle twice it would cut the platic bottle trash in half.

Now moving on to the laundry room dilemma, we propose that each floor have a designated day to wash their clothes so prevent over using the washers and dryers. We would be curious to see how much energy this would conserve. Since you no longer have to pay to wash clothes (the fee is included in the residence fee on your tuition bill) people are using the washers and dryers alot more this year.

Another solution would be to install sensored lights in all the bathrooms to ensure that no one leaves them on when no one is in there. This would drastically cut energy usage.

Another bad example of non-sustainable practices

Ok, so check this out: girls usually take longer showers than boys do and at Sterry hall this is no exception. We have witnessed girls taking 45 minute long showers and realize that hygiene is an inevitable issue but we dont see how someone can be in the shower for almost an hour. You guessed it- excessive water usage goes against the sustainability theme this year.

Here you can see both sides of the laundry room and yes, there are a ton of washers and dryers. Imagine walking in and seeing them all being used at the same time.

Moving on to some of the worst examples of non-sustainable practices at Sterry hall

Ok, so the first thing that comes to my mind when we think about the worst examples of non-sustainable practices is the laundry room. Here's why: on several occasions when we have gone down to the laundry room, every single washer and dryer is being used at the same time. I hate to think about how much energy is being used. Not only that, but on a number of times we have seen girls just wash a few articles of clothing at a single time. Many of them do several loads of wash with only a few things and dry them in seperate dryers so they will dry faster. You can see how this is a problem already. There are about 12 washers and 12 dryers in the laundry room so for all of these to be running at the same time must mean a major consumption of energy. This means bad news for the sustainability theme being preached on campus this year. Oh, and the lint catchers inside the dryers are always full of lint when i dry my clothes which leads me to believe that people aren't cleaning them out, thus adding to more energy usage.

This would be one of the many posters hanging on the walls in Sterry hall. Well, at least you can see the good intentions behind these, even if people walk right past them.

These would be the recycling bins we were talking about that are given to each room to further promote recycling. If you haven't heard it enough by now, we will say it again- Recycle people! (ours are empty because we just emptied them in case your wondering).

Before we get ahead of ourselves, this is Sterry hall. The top picture is the north side and the bottom picture is the south entrance where the parking lot is (just in case some of you are unfamiliar with what it looks like). It's the residence hall located directly across from Subway. The address is 215 University Drive.

Say hello to my little friend. This bad boy might not seem like anything big but we think it's a really cool idea and sometimes it's about the little changes that add up to make a big difference. Don't throw your old cell phones or injets away people!

These would be the recycling bins located in the first lobby. They are a great idea to stimulate recycling- IF ONLY THEY WERE ACTUALLY USED!

Here, you can see various signs posted up on the first floor restroom. Two promote the conservation of water by reducing the time spent in the shower and making a conscious effort to turn the faucets all the way off. The other sign indicates for residents to conserve electricity by turning off the lights when they are leaving the restroom.

"scary" Sterry bathroom is scary alright.

Of course, the first thing we noticed when we walked into the restroom was that all the lights were on and no one was inside. Just another day in Sterry.

What are the best practices of sustainability...

We almost forgot: This past semester in Sterry Hall, they have gone even further and given each room a set of red, yellow, and blue recycling bins to really push the notion for residents to recycle. We can see why so many attemps to recycle are being used since every time we go to throw out our trash, the dumpster is full of trash bags.

The best examples of sustainable practices observed in Sterry Hall

Question: What are the best examples of sustainable practices observed at Sterry Hall?

Well for starters, Sterry Hall actually does a good job of promoting recycling and sustainable living styles, however, this does not mean that it is actually being practiced by the residents in the hall. When you walk into the lobby at Sterry there are a few things you will notice. One, there are posters on the walls that impliment recycling and taking care of the planet. You will also see about three huge, green recycling bins. There is even a designated area for people to dispose of their cardboard boxes which is then recycled as well. And personally, one of my favorites is the inkjet and cell phone recycling box. In the past, I have always thrown my old cell phones and injets away but i think this is definitely a good way to ensure that people will recycle them. Personally, this past semester i have put one of my old cell phones in it and I'm almost certain that i would have thrown it in the trash if i had not seen the box. Moving on to electrical usage, there are definitely some ways in which Sterry tries to conserve energy. For example in the restrooms, you will notice several signs that request residents to turn off the lights when they are done (however almost every time i walk into the restroom, i have found the lights on). Dripping faucets are encouraged by signs to be turned all the way off or as close as possible before you leave the restroom. Each room has it's own fan speed control for the air conditioner which can be good if residents leave it on low instead of the entire building having to maintain the same temperature.