Students in the UB Environmental Network (UBEN) are already planning their outfits for a fashion show this week. They can't decide whether to wear cardboard or plastic bottles.
The Eco-Fashion show, which is taking place on April 18, is one of the many events students will be participating in to celebrate Earth Week, which kicked off on Monday. The weeklong series, which started on April 15 and ends April 22, includes a variety of programs and activities in which students and faculty participate. The last day of Earth Week will be held at the UB Solar Strand park, where local and student-affiliated environmental groups will present exhibits in an evening with music and local food.
"What's unique about Earth Week this year and in the last few years is that it's not just about one group, one club or one organization," said James Simon, the sustainability engagement coordinator for the Office of Sustainability. "It's about the campus celebrating Earth Day and Earth Week."
Simon brought organizations like the Alpha Kappa Chi, UB's professional environmental fraternity, Engineers for a Sustainable World, SA Environmental and other groups together to create activities that focus on energy, food resources and recycling.
Kim Hahn, a senior environmental studies major and president of UBEN, said the objective of the Eco-Fashion show is to help students understand the advantages of reusing material that most people throw out.
"That's just to show how much we, as a country, use," Hahn said. "[Some materials] can be reused for so many different things."
In addition to the fashion show, Hahn held "Environmental Awareness Tabling" on April 16. The event presented information on processes of obtaining resources that impose environmental threats. One of these processes is hydraulic fracturing, also referred to as "fracking" - an issue Hahn is very passionate about.
Fracking is extracting natural gas in which gallons of water, chemicals and sand are pumped underground to break rocks apart and release the gas within the rocks. Hahn believes fracking poses a major health risk in the form of water pollution. She said there is a huge amount of water taken up to the surface during fracking that can spill over, and currently, there is no method to properly treat wastewater. Because New York State is heavily involved in fracking, the lack of a solution to wastewater pollution can have a damaging effect on the Great Lakes, she said.
"As a student club, we don't just want to be: 'Say no to fracking,'" Hahn said. "We want to get the word out so people can make their own decisions about it."
Hahn hopes the tabling shed light on the issue.
The use of industrial hemp in the United States and the controversies of its legalization is another issue on which UBEN will focus.
Although the topic will not be covered in Earth Week, UBEN held an event called "All the Wonders of Hemp" on April 9, which focused on how hemp can serve in the production of significant resources.
Students created their own hemp crafts like bracelets and other forms of art. UBEN club members ran the event.
Hahn said the public's misconception of hemp as marijuana is taking attention away from the fact that hemp is a renewable resource that can be used for food and nutrition and material for making paper and clothing.
Wednesday's events focuses on food systems, and students can do anything from making their own oatmeal to meeting with local food vendors. Events for the rest of Earth Week include: recycling and resource reduction on Thursday, a reptile party in Greiner Hall on Friday, an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, a Grand Island Cleanup on Sunday and a Sustainability Scavenger Hunt all day Monday.
Hahn and other students plan to use the Earth Week celebration to touch on issues ranging from the importance of healthy food resources to the effects of climate change.
UBEN will be working with Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, an environmental non-profit organization in Buffalo which dedicates itself to cleaning the Hudson River, to hold the Grand Island Clean Up, an effort on Sunday in which students will be given bags and gloves to clean up trash from the streets in different portions of Grand Island.
Hahn thinks there is a lot that needs to be done in regards to these environmental problems, but educating people on the issues is the first step in the process for a cleaner, healthier environment.
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