Editorial | Going for the green

From windmills to fuel-efficient vehicles, green technologies are likely to transform the way our generation lives.

That's why it's so disappointing that Penn finished last among Ivy League schools in last year's RecycleMania competition, which focuses on individualized efforts to improve the quality of the environment.

Penn markets itself as a green campus because of wind purchases and forward-thinking technologies, but those improvements quickly evaporate when students forget the three R's - reduce, reuse and recycle - that are typically part of the elementary-school curriculum. Separating plastics from glass and putting paper in a recycling bin are also important facets of sustainability efforts.

Luckily, we have time to change this. The Penn Environmental Group is gearing up for this year's RecycleMania, which is currently in a warm-up trial phase. Students should pay attention and step up efforts to make the small, but significant, changes. This year's competition is off to a strong start, but it can only succeed if students participate.

While RecycleMania focuses mainly on student efforts, the University can help make students' jobs easier. Though Penn distributed recycling bins to off-campus houses last year, it's still difficult to find a plastic-bottle bin in most academic buildings and on-campus residences. Placing these, as well as paper bins, in more-prominent locations around campus are quick and easy steps to ensure that everything that can be recycled gets recycled.

Being last in a recycling competition is one ranking that we should all care about.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.