While students across campus stopped to celebrate 4/20 on Tuesday, not nearly as many could say they made plans for Earth Day on 4/22.
This is exactly why Jim Simon thought this year was time to do something different and turn some heads for Mother Earth.
The president of the UB Environmental Network, Simon and his club teamed up with the UB Green Office, the Office of Student Affairs, the Geology Club and the Outdoor Adventure Club Thursday afternoon in order to increase awareness of the earth's needs and celebrate Earth Day outside the Student Union.
"This is the first time we have ever done something of this nature," said Simon, a junior environmental studies and sociology major. "We wanted to make it a fun event because a lot of times environment issues are hard to get people involved in."
Having lucked out with near-perfect spring weather, the event's festivities included informative handouts, exhibits, two live bands and a rock-climbing wall to attract passing students.
"I saw the rock climbing wall on the way to class," Mike Laporta, a senior film production major. "I wish they had had more events like this the past few years. It seemed like a lot of fun."
One exhibit was a small wind turbine and a small solar module that a guest from Buffalo Biodiesel showed off to interested students.
"The Community Energy provides wind energy for the university," said Simon. "They offered a unique opportunity for students and faculty members to receive a $20 discount for those who buy or sign up for wind energy."
Also on display were three state electric-powered vehicles to show students the benefits of using electric rather than gas vehicles in the future. One of the vehicles was a member of UB's small fleet of Global Electric Motorcars, which are electric-powered golf carts used by maintenance people on-campus as a fast and convenient way of getting around.
The Honda Hybrid car on display had its hood open so students could look inside.
"The cars looked really cool so I went over to see what the cars were about," said Perri Silberstein, a senior social sciences major. "They explained to me that in the future it saves a lot more energy and causes a lot less pollution to use an electric car rather than a car that runs on gas."
Another exhibit showcased CNG, or Compressed Natural Gas, which is also better for the environment than the regular gasoline most cars run on today.
"We gave out a lot of information about the Environmental Network and the New York Public Interest Group. We also gave out information about alternative energy vehicles," said Simon.
In cooperation with the Environmental Task Force, the UB Green Office held its Green Partners Program amid the day's festivities. The idea behind the program was to have the different departments on campus reduce their environmental footprints.
"We asked different departments on campus to recognize that UB is a big part of the city, and that they have an impact on the environment," said Simon. "We then asked them to think of ways to reduce their impact on the environment."
In addition to the activities outside, in the Student Union there was a lunch and a presentation where all the groups got together and revealed what they had chosen to do to help the environment.
Several departments chose to help out by saving paper and making sure to turn off the lights when their classrooms and offices aren't occupied.
With the interest and excitement generated by the turnout at Thursday's Earth Day celebration, event organizers said they hope to hold activities like these for many years to come.
"I am really glad we celebrated Earth Day on this day," said Simon. "A lot of people were interested, and we had a really great turnout."
Liam Gallagher, a senior environmental studies major, echoed Simon.
"We need more people to change the world for positive things," he said. "We figured Earth Day was a great way to start."
