With more attention being brought to the stability of our planet, and the environmental issues that threaten such stability; a vas amount of information is becoming available as to how people can be better at protecting the planet. Wilkes University is an example of a community that has taken the steps to become more environmentally conservative. If someone were to take a walk throughout the campus, they would see many recycling stations near the entrance of most buildings. If they ventured inside The Cohen Science Center, they would find energy saving windows, motion technology that controls lighting as well as low-input fixtures and LED bulbs.

Computer labs and classrooms are outfitted with iMacs, which are energy efficient in themselves. All of these things promote positive strides toward making not only the campus energy efficient but also the surrounding Wilkes-Barre area energy efficient. However, it is up to the people in the community to not only be aware of environmental sustainability issues, but also know how to begin to solve them. Having recycling stations, motion sensors and iMacs is but half the battle to better energy efficiency. The other half rests in people to act and also educate others as to how to conserve that energy. Where the community of Wilkes University is comprised of students, teachers and faculty there is a role that everyone can take up in order to continue to become more energy efficient.

Students who live in dorms that do not have motion sensor lighting should attempt to make a habit of turning off lights as well as other electronics when leaving for class or out to lunch with friends. When finishing off water in a plastic bottle or soda in an aluminum can, try to save the bottle or can until it can be thrown into a recycling bin. Teachers who are leaving their offices or a classroom without motion sensors can lead by example by ensuring lights are shut off. Projectors, equipped with power saving modes, are sometimes left on after a class uses them. Turning off something like a projector, which uses significant amounts of electricity, in classrooms where they are left on would help a lot more than some may think.

Faculty, like food staff in the SUB or grounds keepers, can also have an impact by turning off equipment that is not in use. They can also monitor how others dispose of recyclable trash to a certain degree. Where if anyone were to see a tissue or plastic bottle on the ground they could pick it up and dispose of it correctly; however, those who monitor the campus grounds ensure this indefinitely. Energy sustainability and the overall protection of the environment may seem like a lot for one person or even just a small group of people to work towards and accomplish, However, if one person is able to teach another how to better take care of the environment then that knowledge can be spread and acted upon, not only by the campus community, but the entire city of Wilkes-Barre and beyond.