Every day you learn something new, and that truly never stops being true. In one of the last classes I'll ever take during my time here at Shippensburg University, I learned about SU’s climate commitment.
On SU’s website it states that, “Shippensburg University signed the Climate Commitment in May 2020, agreeing to develop a Climate Action Plan by 2023 that integrates carbon neutrality and community resilience planning.”
I am very excited to see where this leads and what changes are going to be implemented. I learned this information in my environmental sustainability class which has a group assignment that challenges us regarding what actions we can take as students to help make the campus more sustainable.
After some brainstorming, my group decided that something the campus can do to work toward sustainability is to add hand dryers as an alternative option to one-use paper towels. Obviously, there are many setbacks that come to mind with the idea such as the upfront cost of buying the dryers or the cost needed to install them in buildings.
However, there are many benefits. The University of Buffalo found that some electric hand dryers can reduce carbon emissions up to 40%. Additionally, a study done at Humboldt University showed that after several years, a university would save money and drastically reduce paper towel waste with the installation of hand dryers.
There are so many other benefits this change could do for SU, and I hope you will do a little research of your own. If you support this idea, please sign our petition below.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.