Features Editor

Yellow flowers held in glass bottles sat on each table while guest from different businesses packed into the Solario De Fortaleza in the Student Recreation Center for the fourth annual Earth Day Luncheon on April 22.

Over the years CSU Bakersfield has done its share to keep the campus earth friendly by conserving water during the drought with smart water systems and placing trash bins for recyclable items around the campus.

Currently there are plans to create a botanic garden for CSUB students and staff to enjoy while also conserving water.

“When Earth Day came around, the idea to recycle became a popular idea,” Superintendent of the City of Bakersfield Solid Waste and Keep Bakersfield Beautiful committee chair Sal Moretti said. “Everything is recyclable.”

Many businesses have looked into the different ways of becoming eco-friendly and have become role models for other businesses to follow.

“I really think Bakersfield is a national model,” CSUB dean of the school of natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering Dr. Anna Houtman said.

Top name businesses such as Chevron, PG&E, Wells Fargo, Keep Bakersfield Beautiful, FedEx and the Get Bus attended the event and presented different ways each have done to become eco-minded and save energy. Kern Green manager Stephanie Nava stated that the highest consumption of energy from a home comes from heating and cooling.

“It sucks money out of your home,” Nava said. “The reason we want to save our energy is to save money.”

Nava also advised that people consider using cold water in the washer while washing clothes to save energy.

FedEx looked into Kern Green for help when deciding to become an eco-friendly business. The company noted that they switched to a drip system to maintain the trees in front of their business.

They also switched to a fertilizer that conserves water better.

“These changes are not so hard we can improve our society,” Moretti said. “We can do some of these things and do them smart.”

Get Bus representatives handed out free Get Bus passes to the guest as they got ready to leave. For the whole month of April the Get Bus has two buses for Earth Day that are free for everyone, however, the routes change every day.

CEO and President Jay Tamsi of The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted the event with the goal to bring Earth Day to Kern County.

“Reduce, reuse, recycle,” Tamsi said.