Albuquerque and UNM are trying to develop sustainable resources, and they want students to help with their cause.
John Soladay, environmental health director for the city of Albuquerque, said students can help by using their free pass to ride city buses.
"The more we use alternative transportation, like buses and the Rail Runner, the less single-occupancy trips we have in our vehicles and the more fuel we save, in addition to saving our environment," he said.
Students can ride the transit system for free by getting a sticker put on their UNM ID, Soladay said. The stickers are available at the information desk at the SUB, he said.
UNM senior Victoria Herrera, who commutes from Santa Fe to UNM everyday, said the idea is good, but not realistic given that UNM is largely a commuter school.
"I personally have to drive to school everyday," she said. "But I think other students who are able to take advantage of the program should."
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Mayor Martin Chavez required in 2006 that all new city vehicles run on alternative energy, Soladay said. On a given day, about 45 percent of the city's vehicle fleet is capable of running on alternative energy sources such as biodiesel, compressed natural gas and E85, a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, he said.
The city also buys 20 percent of its power on the PNM Sky Blue program, which is wind-renewable energy, Soladay said.
"City of Albuquerque is internationally recognized for many of our initiatives, whether it's water conservation or our greenhouse gas programs," he said.
The city is now trying to tackle recycling, Soladay said
"We currently put more than 600,000 tons of garbage in the landfill every year, roughly 1,650 tons per day," he said. "The sad truth is that we only divert about 1 1/2 percent of that material and recycle it."
Soladay said the mayor adopted a zero-waste initiative last year that aims to eliminate waste at landfills completely by 2030. The city plans to eliminate all waste going to landfills through a push for recycling, significant consumer education, an outreach program to manufacturers and businesses in town and exploration of waste energy technologies such as gasification and incineration, he said.
UNM junior Shelby McCorkle said she takes advantage of the city's free recycling program.
"It's real simple," she said. "Every student can take the time to separate their paper, plastic and glass for recycling."
Events are listed on the city's sustainability Web site, Cabq.gov/sustainability.
Soladay said students can conserve energy by carpooling, turning out lights when they are not needed and installing compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Bruce Milne, director of the Sustainability Studies program at UNM, said the University wants to stay active in its sustainability efforts.
"At a personal level, we've developed a coaching kit, which is a whole set of dozens of things people can do to become more sustainable."
The coaching kit, available at Unm.edu/~sust, is a guide to improving sustainability habits through peer support, he said.
The program organizes growers markets, which bring local growers to campus. A growers market was held last semester, and there will be another one in April, Milne said.
Sustainability Studies is also involved with the Alliance for the Carbon-neutral Foodshed, which is working to ensure that more of New Mexico's food is produced locally and grown with the help of wind and solar energy.
Milne said there is a lot of interest in sustainability on campus.
"It's nice to be in an opportunity where the demand is bigger than the supply," he said. "People walk in my office every day to get involved in some way or another, and it's remarkable."
Graduate student Hilary Lease said there are a lot of little things students can do to help out the environment.
"Just be aware of things like turning off the lights and turning off the faucet when you are brushing your teeth. Just unnecessary waste of resources," she said. "Another big thing that gets me is the use of grocery store and restaurant bags. When you go to McDonalds and order and Egg McMuffin, request that you don't want a bag. You're about to throw it away anyway. There's really no need for a bag."
Brandon Call contributed to this report.
