Florida State University - Renegade / Tally Ho Yearbook (Tallahassee, FL)

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AWARENESS rotecting our natural resources has long «?B been a leading con- ' cern for environ- mentalists. Now students are beginning to take action and do their part to protect the environment for future gen- erations. We need to worry more about the future we ' re providing for our children rather than what ' s conve- nient for us now, Angela Foote said. Students have come to re- alize that the negligence of past generations has left them with the problem of working out a solution to save the planet. The need to find a solution is of utmost impor- tance if we are to have a plan- et for the future. We need to stop the production of non- biodegradable items or any others that cause damage to the environment Junior Jennifer Hillary said. And Rob Rogers added that we need to stop the de- struction of the Amazon rainforest. One way that students, as well as many cities and states, have found to help the en- vironment is to recycle. Re- cycling is one of the easiest ways to save landfill space and to conserve our natural resources. Students living on campus began to visibly do their part with recycling. Most of the residence halls on campus placed recycling bins for aluminum cans and news- papers in their lobbies. So- rorities also did their part in recycling by placing can bins in their houses. Provided the means and the knowledge, people have become more aware of what can be done to save energy, money, and the environment. We need to teach everyone what is wrong with the en- vironment, Jerry Arocha said. If people are aware of the problems with the envi- ronment and realize that there are practical solutions, they will be more willing to help. One group on campus, the Rorida Public Interest Re- search Group, encouraged students to become environ- mentally aware by providing them with information on re- cycling and the environment. FPIRG was comprised of stu- dents who were willing to do more than just talk about en- vironmental issues. One of FPIRG ' s priorities was to af- fect legislation at the state level. Their next campaign was to get support for the Bottle Bill. This bill would place a five cent return on all bottles and cans. It was de- signed to encourage state wide recycling and reduce the burdens being placed on our land fills. To meet the requirements of the Solid Waste Manage- ment Act of 1988, which re- quired each Florida county to reduce total solid waste by 30 percent by 1994, 30 sets of three containers to hold glass, newspapers and cans were placed throughout campus and 500 boxes were put in offices for paper disposal. As of December there were also plans to place concrete re- cycling containers outside several major buildings all over campus. Though concern has in- creased for the environment, there was still a long way to go. Americans produce 7.6 billion tons of industrial waste and 160-180 million tons of municipal solid waste annually according to the Oc- tober 1988 Report to Con- gress: Solid Waste Disposal in the United States . But with groups such as FPIRG and students who are willing to get involved, our planet will have a future. Michelle Lacerte and Kelly Christy

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28 LIFE anny Newton throws his I copy of the Orlando Sen- tinel into one of the new - recycling bins at Moore Audrforium. Bins placed near ma- jor buildings made campus wide recycling easier for students i king a part in recycling. S ' ireshman John Living- ' stone, a resident of Kellum Ii- Hail, dumps into the re- cyclfhg bin a month ' s worth of cans. For the fail semester, Kellum residents raised over $300 through recycling. j ,- arah Pagan proves that it ,only takes a little effort to u r make a big difference. ' ' ' ' ?? ' This bin in the Diffenbaugh buifdirig a nd others helped to make campus recycling virtually effortless.

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FOOD FOR uring the Thanks- I giving season, usu- ally a time of plenty, the Florida Public Interest Research Group brought at- tention to those who could only dream about a huge Thanksgiving dinner. FPIRG focused on the issue of world hunger as well as local hunger and homelessness in Talla- hassee in November through a Global Dinner. The dinner was also sponsored by the Student Government Associ- ation, the Center for Partic- ipant Education, Hillel Jew- ish Center, and the Emergency Care Help Organ- ization. With the exception of a large scale nuclear war, no other type of disaster even comes close to hunger as an immediate threat to human life. Between 13 and 20 mil- lion people die each year from hunger and starvation, said Laura Somerville, co- coordinator of the Global Dinner. The general purpose of the dinner was to make people aware of the awesome problem of hunger and homelessness that exists not only in some far away coun- try, but also in their own back yards. Those that attended the dinner were treated to a unique menu choice. Once they had purchased their ticket, they were handed a box filled with colored squares and told to close their eyes and take a chance at the luck of the draw. There were three different colors — green, orange, and purple. The green ticket entitled its holder to a full three course meal. This represented the seven percent of the world ' s population which has plenty of food and shelter. The or- ange ticket brought its holder a meal of beans and rice. These holders represented 33 percent of the world ' s pop- ulation which just gets by. The purple ticket holders were pointed in the direction of a newspaper covered floor between the tables and the speak ing platform. Their din- ner consisted of rice that they ate with their fingers. This group represents the other 60% of the world population that hungers each day. The dinner ' s program also included three speakers, two poets and one musician to entertain and educate the au- dience. County Commission- er, Gary Yordon, amused the audience with anecdotes of his career and efforts to make Tallahassee a better place to live. Yet, underlying his jo- vial tone was the seriousness of the subject he was address- ing. The Tallahassee director of ECHO, Bob Sminkey, so- bered the crowd with the re- alization that the hungry and the homeless are normal peo- ple not some strange breed of animal. Speaking with a strong, but sad voice, he re- lated stories of the understaf- fed conditions at ECHO and the difficulty of meeting everyone ' s needs. Dr. Jenice Rankins, an assistant profes- sor of nutrition, gave an in- depth view of the horrors of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty — educating the au- dience of the menace of WHIT ELFNER world hunger. Tina Abich, one of the co- ordinators of the dinner, felt that the Global Dinner was a wonderfully creative way of getting people interested and aware in a problem that has been around as long as hu- manity has existed. The din- ner, which was inspired by the United States Public In- terest Research Group , raised over $500 in ticket sales for local and world hun- ger organizations. There was also a donation box that filled as the audience depart- ed. Through the powerful im- pact of experience, those that attended found that hunger is very close to home. Leanne Lewis, a freshman and a member of FPIRG, felt that the people who made an ef- fort to attend the Global Din- ner left feeling a bit more thankful for the food they eat everyday and usually never appreciate. Kelly Christy ■ ' irs - KEN HORNE C