Omar Nael: How is RCC ECO- Friendly?

How environmental friendly is our campus of RCC? What can us students do to help it become more of one? Well I can list five examples of how RCC can be environmental friendly. One thing we can do is recycle more of the plastic bottles we throw away and all the paper we use. An alternative that we can do to help with the recycling is having recycling bins around the campus (as the club on campus provides). Transportation can be another example, instead of everyone driving to campus; students can carpool with each other that live near the area. This will allow less carbon monoxide around the campus so it doesn’t affect our plants that are provided for the students and the faculty to enjoy. Third, can be providing produce with less packaging. Although it may not affect our campus as a whole but it can affect our budget and our waste management. Fourth thing is how our buildings can be more energy efficient. With our buildings being so large and use so much energy we can see what we can do to use alternative energy to help our campus. Final example is what type of renewable energy our campus uses. On a positive note, the building that we have most of our math and science classes is very energy efficient. Yes, our Math and Science building is the campus first LEED building that all RCC campuses provide. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, there are 20 LEED facilities around the Inland Empire. Some of the features that the building provides are “the low-flow toilets, sensors on restroom faucets, high-efficiency lighting and mechanical equipment, and effective use of natural day lighting strategies” information provided by Michael Stephens. The four story building has a big impact for our environment and it helps provide more classrooms for students for core classes. The University of Maryland is constructing a building that provides LEED facilities. They are going to enhance their building by providing solar energy into their buildings and having a greener environment by providing plants around the buildings and courtyards.