This time of year the green trees of Frostburg bare a new type of place in campus life. They become the home of art. Art that is prepared for the day Frostburg students know as FOCUS FROSTBURG. FOCUS FROSTBURG is brought to the campus by the Sustainability Initiative entitled Learning Green, Living Green (LGLG). The mission of LGLG is to develop and coordinate programs and projects that create sustainable solutions to environmental, social, and economic needs. This is where FOCUS FROSTBURG comes in. All day today the lane center has played host to dozens of teachers who presented on ways to live a sustainable lifestyle. Among these presenters was Hank Bullamore from the Geography Dept.
Dr. Henry W. Bullamore is a Geography teacher here at Frostburg State University. He has a Ph.D in Geography from the University of Iowa and teaches courses here ranging from Human Geography to Tourism Planning. Also known as Hank, Dr. Bullamore gave a great presentation today at 1pm on Sustainable Living entitled “THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITITES” The purpose of his presentation was to show that per capita people in the city use less pollution then those in the suburbs. He showed this by first examining the differences between the suburbs and cites, then by showing the difference between America, a more suburban country, and Japan, a more city orientated country. Dr. Bullamore began the presentation saying “Today we are a suburban nation.” He then went on to say “A lot of changes have come about. The typical American family has gotten smaller, but the land needed has gotten larger.” He then jumped right into what a house was for people today. How it wasn’t just a place to lay your head, but that when looking for a house people were more likely to look for Quality Schools, Safety, Job Opportunities, and that small town feel. In the suburbs more people feel like they achieve this goal. Even if the people have to drive to an hour both ways they feel like it is better for the family. “90% of American people commute to work alone” He said. He then went on to say how that is where a lot of pollution came from. This was compared to people who live in cities in old home rebuilding their communities, who take transit to work filled with other city people, or who lived close enough to work that they worked.
“Reducing your Carbon footprint” flashed on the screen and the ways to do so also appeared. It said “Smaller exisiting homes, attached homes (i.e apartments, townhomes), and less car usage.” Dr. Bullamore then went on to talk about Smart Growth and a program downtown Cumberland initiated that worked out really well for the community. This program took owners of small business, and senior citizens and moved them into freshly renovated homes. This way small business owners could have their shop on the first floor, home on the second floor, a grocery store about a mile away, and could also watch their children play from their windows.
Lastly he talked about Japan, and how because they have such a high density they have little pollution. The homes in Japan are so close to the downtown area that most people don’t even have cars. “You have to prove that you have a parking space off of the street just for yourself in order to even get a car.” Dr. Bullamore told the audience. Because the homes are so close knit they have thriving retail in the neighborhood, it takes 15-20 minutes to walk to downtown, or you can take transit and get their in ten minutes.
Dr. Bullamore concluded his presentation with a question, he asked “Who uses more pollution, Someone who live in an apt in NYC or Someone who lives on 5 acres of land in Garrett County?”
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