AU celebrated Earth Day with an inaugural Earth Week, each day commemorating a different sustainability theme.
Beginning April 18, the week’s themes included “energy and climate,” “transportation,” “food and water,” a day of service and Earth Day itself on April 22, according to Emily Curley, sustainability coordinator for the AU Office of Sustainability.
Among this week’s highlights were a speech by Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush, and a visit by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to view the School of International Service’s solar panels, according to Curley.
“In addition to simply celebrating the Earth, we hope that Earth Week provides a platform for students to get educated about sustainability and the many topics that feed into a sustainable campus, community and lifestyle,” Curley said in an e-mail.
Earth Week was incorporated as part of AU’s larger green initiative.
“We're proud to hold a groundbreaking ceremony with [AU President Neil Kerwin] to launch what will be the largest solar electric and solar hot water installations in Washington, D.C.,” Curley explained.
Some of Earth Week’s initiatives will have a direct effect on student life at AU, including the installation of bottle fillers on nearly 100 water fountains across campus to increase access to tap water and promote the use of reusable water bottles, Curley said.
The University also installed two solar trash compactors on the Quad and outdoor recycling bins and has begun to compost paper towels, according to Curley.
“All of these things can sometimes be invisible to the AU community,” Curley said. “Earth Week is a time to point out all of the green things we're working on.”
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