EcoReps and Sustainable Carolina encouraged USC students to “burn calories, not fossil fuels” by taking alternative transportation Tuesday as part of No Impact Week.
Students got tips on how to meet the challenge, like taking stock of their transportation habits and considering alternatives like carpooling.
As part of Tuesday’s effort, Anna Kirkpatrick and Christine Doka from Sustainable Carolina’s Built Environment and Transportation Team spoke about their initiatives to make it easier for students to use alternative transportation methods on campus.
“[Alternative transportation] lightens our carbon footprint, it helps sustainment for future generations, and in the case of active transportation, it helps us be healthy and well and connect with our communities, too,” Kirkpatrick said. “We get to know each other better when we’re not driving our cars by ourselves.”
Doka spoke about a lack of parking on campus for mopeds and bicycles that Sustainable Carolina has noticed and told students about Sustainable Carolina’s work to collect data and take pictures to advocate for more parking.
“I think it will help students because, for instance, if they were to implement a no-car, first-year rule, which they’ve been thinking about doing … it would provide more space for students to park their cars and mopeds, and it would just prevent mopeds from driving on the sidewalk if moped parking was accessible and convenient,” Doka said.
Fitzpatrick also gave students a preview of the bicycle planning route system that Sustainable Carolina has been working on. This initiative is being planned through a program called Open Trip, which takes into account the complexities of navigating city streets on a bike.
“The goal with it is that students who are currently uncomfortable riding because they don’t know how to start … will have a tool to help them figure it out and help them have the confidence to try it and try it in a way that’s as safe as it could possibly be,” Fitzpatrick said.
The interactive bike map is available for campus and surrounding areas and plans bicycle routes by prioritizing bike-friendliness, flatness and quickness of the route. The map will be posted to the Sustainable Carolina website soon.
No Impact Week, which kicked off Sunday with a screening of the documentary No Impact Man, is a week-long event that tackles more than just alternative transportation.
Sunday put students to the test, challenging them to go a day without buying anything, and Tuesday asked them to go a day without producing any trash.
Wednesday’s task is to encourage them to eat fresh and buy local, Thursday focuses on water and energy conservation and Friday emphasizes giving back to the community.
The week will end on Saturday, which is reserved for a celebration of an “Eco-Sabbath.”