February 8, 2010 19:24 by
Jenn
Being eco-friendly can get you pretty far. For one, it's empowering to the individual. Living a sustainable life is something to be proud of. Besides making you feel good about your decisions, living eco-friendly can just make you, "feel good." Eating organic is healthy and walking to work instead of driving will keep you in shape. Lastly, we think you should live an eco-friendly life, not just to stay healthy and be empowered, but to get prime parking on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus.
As incentive for students to drive more fuel efficient vehicles, the university is offering preferred parking at certain buildings. Over 600 vehicles, including models dating back to 1998, qualify students for the sustainable driver's satisfaction. This is a pretty cool perk for individuals but it's got me wondering; What about the eco-friendly carpoolers?
Very quickly, I found that North Carolina State University had the answer to my question. If high gas prices weren't enough, students at NCSU were also feeling the pressure to drive fuel efficient cars. However, college students are often plagued with empty pockets. Instead of rewarding students with fuel efficient cars with prime spots, the university worked to award car pooling students with price breaks. After student government officials met with transportation representatives, they devised a plan that allowed students to exchange their permits for carpool passes.
The program first began as an outlet to the faculty and staff as seen above but quickly the students wanted in on the eco-friendly fun. Parking services manager, David Gregory, said that the Student Government was a major player in making this sustainable incentive come to light. He is proud of the program and said, "Students save gas money, there's less congestion on campus and less wear and tear on vehicles. Every day that one or two [student commuters] don't drive, it saves everybody money. All these things come together to help the University."
Both of these are awesome ways to reduce the carbon foot print of your college of university. NCSU even has an arboretum, adding to their sustainability. Now we've just got to incorporate some environmentally friendly products into these programs to raise awareness and turn more students over to the green side.
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