Going Green for a Day: URI students celebrate Earth Day in Memorial Union

04/23/09 - More than 15 organizations set up booths to promote eco-friendly products and sustainability at yesterday's Earth Day celebration.The celebration offered students information about how they could become environmentally friendly at the University of Rhode Island and offered eco-friendly products for sale.

Because of light rain showers in the morning, the event was moved from the Quadrangle to the Memorial Union Ballroom. Students, professors and the general public crowded into the packed room.

For freshman Allison DuBois, the URI Horticulture Club plants and the clothing-swap booths interested her the most.

"There's really cute clothes here!" the music major said. "I would love this if it were in my size."

According to Jennifer Scott, owner of Jasmine and Ivy, NASA published a study recommending homeowners place one plant every 100 feet to purify the air.

"We came here today to let people know that plants reduce toxins in the home," Scott said.

URI senior Emily Moore said she enjoyed the diversity and awareness the event brought to the campus each year.

"I think that it's a really good event," the art history and classics major said. "I've seen it get bigger over the past four years and it's become a part of the campus."

GreenEnvy, an Eco-Boutique based in Newport, had unique items for sale. Solar-powered backpacks and purses capable of charging your cell phone, recycled billboards that had been turned into CD cases and purses, journals from bamboo plants and colorful fish ornaments made from recycled plastic bottles were just a few of their eco-friendly goods.

Other booths promoting organic and environmentally friendly products included the URI recycling group and the Fashion Merchandising Society.

Nancy Hawksley, URI recycling coordinator, provided detailed information for each product on her table and invited students to ask questions about what they were made of.

"We have a lot of handouts and the pencils are made from recycled jeans," Hawksley said. "We're also selling bags made from water bottles, designed by Rudny Gacin, a URI engineering student."

Several textile marketing students had sustainable outfits on display for the event.

"We want to promote our club, our organic-cotton t-shirts and eco-friendly clothing in general," URI textile marketing and French major Heather Puckey said.

Posters throughout the ballroom informed students of what URI is doing to become more "green."

Students were invited to come visit the URI Biodiesel Laboratory at 1 p.m. in room 115 of Pastore Hall yesterday to learn how oil used in the dining halls is being converted into biodiesel fuel used for the URI diesel fleet.

The diesel fleet is a term used to describe the numerous diesel-powered engines emitting air pollution throughout Rhode Island. On April 15, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded $1.73 million to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to fund clean-diesel projects.

A petition against the building of a research park in the URI Century Forest was also displayed and explained at a booth toward the front of the ballroom.

"I'm interested in conserving the environment and I wanted to sign the North Woods petition," junior Armine Tahmassian said over the clapping of people watching a band on stage.

Below the stage, a large group of students gathered to watch a local band called Minus Green that had come to perform at the event.

"I love them!" Tahmassian, a biology major, said. Standing beside Tahmassian, junior Sarah Payne, a writing and English major agreed.

"They're a really good band!" Payne said. "They did a great job with a Fray cover song.