Letters to the Editor

Posted on September 4, 2007

Common sense Conservation

It was hotter than Hades on Wednesday afternoon — the high was 88° that day. While passing the Hillside field, I noticed a big industrial-sized sprinkler watering the grass. Ask any gardening center or check online, the best times to water are early morning or late afternoon. Why does Facilities Management water the grass during the hottest part of the day? Every student’s tuition dollars are paying for that water, a lot of which is evaporating into the air. But money aside, we are not setting a very good example. Water is a resource, and we have no reason to waste it, especially city water that we take the time to purify.

JMU is a highly accredited university, yet we are overlooking some commonsensical issues. Aren’t we, as a university, trying to become “greener”? I realize that it will soon be getting colder and grass watering will become less of an issue, but maybe the folks in charge could take some time to think about how we can make our university more water efficient.

Billy Polansky
senior, geographic science