Transportation Office Goes Green

Through efforts at campus parking facilities, large and small, Purchase students are going green, often without even realizing it.

According to the Purchase sustainability website, the parking office at Purchase is the first of SUNY schools to offer “Zipcar.” The Zipcar is a way for students to sign up and borrow a car for a certain amount of time. The cars used are the fuel efficient Toyota Prius and Matrix, which save money and reduce carbon emissions, thus remaining environmentally friendly.

Besides Zipcar, the facility also offers the carpooling service “Zimride.” This helps students not only save on gas, but it will help the environment with less pollution. It’s also easy for the students to access and organize rides through Facebook.

“The Zimrides make students aware they can rent a car and you can share a ride with another student going the same way as you,” said Rebecca Bruckenstein, a journalism and drama studies major, as well as an employee at parking services.

Campus bus shelters promote sustainability awareness as well as the use of bicycles, the buses and the Zipcars. Vehicles powered by electricity, batteries, and propane are in use by other departments on campus as well, according to the Purchase sustainability website.

“I take the bus a lot to go to White Plains,” said Natalia Fogarty, an undeclared junior, “And I’m really happy that I’m conserving energy and sometimes not even realizing it. It feels good to know I’m helping the environment.”

There are also more bicycles being used here at Purchase, which helps conserve more energy and helps lessen the pollution. Soon there will be efforts made to create a campus bicycle share program for students, according to the Purchase sustainability web site.

Besides transportation efforts, the parking office is cutting back on its paper and electricity usage in the spirit of “going green.”

Donna Salter, head of the parking office, said, “We no longer mail out envelopes for tickets, which helps us cut down on papers and stamps. We use biodegradable products, and we also participate in the sustainability hour by shutting down all electronics and stopping electricity.”

The sustainability hour is when all the students and faculty are advised to shut down and unplug all electronics to help conserve energy. According to prior Provost Damien Fernandez in a notice from April 2010, “The College saved approximately $5,000 during a similar one-hour electricity-reduction event conducted by our electric utility company in February.” Meaning that the energy hours will save the college money while conserving energy.

Besides the energy hour, the facilities is cutting back on paper products and heating energy.

“We don’t make as many photocopies unless people ask for it,” added Bruckenstein. “We don’t turn on the air conditioning or heat unless it is really cold or hot so that’s conserving energy.”

“I didn’t realize the importance of participating in the sustainability program until I went to a meeting and found out from Steve Dorso, associate director of facilities, how much Purchase saved over the shutdown during the Thanksgiving break” said Salter.
 
“I think [sustainability] is a reminder that we shouldn’t waste valuable resources,” she said.