Students turn green for good cause

The Sierra Student Coalition is holding its first Green Fair today to encourage Ohio State and the surrounding community to start thinking green.

"We're not asking for radical measures, just common sense stuff like turning off lights to conserve energy," said Chrissy Cooley, president of SSC.

The event runs today from noon to 8 p.m. on the west lawn of the Ohio Union. The theme of the fair is "Scarlet, Gray and Green: Saving the world one kilowatt at a time," and it will feature more than 30 environmentally friendly exhibitors and several musical guests and speakers.

SSC is a student organization that advocates and enables green practices at OSU.

"We're very focused on energy usage on campus," said Cooley, a junior in environmental policy. "The fair is a great opportunity to get students thinking about sustainability, which is living in a way that you are not going to negatively impact future generations."

Solar power is one sustainable practice SSC will display at the fair. Cooley said a stage set up for the guest speakers and musical acts will feature solar panels that will provide the amps and microphones with power.

"Each exhibitor has a booth and students can wander through and pick up information," said Zach Henkel, a senior in geography, as he and other members prepared for the fair Wednesday night. "We want to show the diversity of companies, big and small, that have sustainable practices."

The fair will host a variety of exhibitors including American Electric Power, Toyota and National Wildlife Federation. Great Lakes Brewing Company is also an exhibitor, but Cooley said no alcoholic beverages will be available at the fair.

"This event is to emphasize Sierra Student Coalition's willingness to work with the university," Cooley said. "OSU is struggling with its sustainability program and there's not a lot of awareness about how serious this issue really is."

OSU spent more than $61 million on energy costs and they are projecting more for the upcoming year, Cooley said.

This year, OSU formed the Office of Energy Services and Sustainability. According to its Web site, the office's goal is to lead OSU in achieving sustainability in all areas of university operations, including responsible resource use and energy management. Its director, Aparna Dial, will be one of the guest speakers at the fair.

Musical guests include Mike Perkins, who recently toured with the Dave Matthews Band, and Loosely Strung, a Columbus-based Bluegrass group.

"I think (the fair) is an important event because it can reach out to the entire campus," said Bill Levendusky of the Ohio Union Activities Board, which is one of the event's sponsors. "It's something that you don't typically see here at OSU and I think it's for a good cause."

Other sponsors are American Electric Power, household-product maker Seventh Generation and OSU's School of Environment and Natural Resources.

"American Electric is OSU's power supplier," Cooley said. "And when they're telling us to turn off our lights and they're supporting an event like this, you know it's important because that's coming straight from the horse's mouth."

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