Environmental task force seeks input

The draft is in and IU’s Sustainability Task Force wants your opinion.\nThe draft of the environmental report, put together by hundreds over several months, was released last week so the Bloomington and University communities could issue their input. \nAmong the draft’s recommendations are for the University to establish an IU-Bloomington Office of Sustainability and to make a “formal, public commitment” to play a more active role when working with environmental issues. The report envisions the new office would provide administrative support for campus-wide programs. The report also assessed other areas and made recommendations for the University to improve in outreach and student engagement, recycling programs, public transportation and general energy consumption.\nMichael Hamburger, professor of geological sciences and co-chair of the IU sustainability task force, said the report is a result of an increased awareness of environmental challenges, in particular global warming. He said universities should be the first institutions to respond to these concerns.\n“Universities are in a unique position to respond to (these) challenges through their core mission of research, teaching and service,” Hamburger said.\nIU Vice President of Administration J. Terry Clapacs organized a 16-member task force last March to offer administrative direction for the sustainability report. The resulting report was put together after six months of research by more than 100 University faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate student interns.\nHamburger said he was pleasantly surprised to see a high number of students apply for these internships within a week after the positions were advertised.\n“More than 200 students applied,” Hamburger said. “This is something students are energized by.”\nKaren Hanson, IU-Blooming-ton provost and executive vice president, said the report would not have been as much of a success if it was not for the help of the task force and the other faculty, staff and students who devoted time to compiling research.\n“Their hard work and their commitment to the project bode well for the long term-success of this important campus initiative,” Hanson said. “In the end, though, we all need to be involved.”\nThe entire IU community can help the University achieve its goal of taking more of an initiative in helping the environment. Hamburger said the task force is hoping for feedback from administration, faculty, staff and students, so a final report can be produced before the end of the year. \nAnyone can read the report \nat www.indiana.edu/~sustain. The tack force also encourages everyone to send comments or questions about the report to sustain@indiana.edu.