Environmental action group coming to UM

Susana Marin and Sean Ahearn have I.D.E.A.S. to spread around campus.

Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions (I.D.E.A.S.) is a new non-profit organization at the University of Miami that Marin said aims to “create proactive university and community groups which work towards addressing local, regional and national environmental challenges, while finding realistic solutions to combat issues we face today.”

The group began in South Florida at Florida International University, but Marin and Ahearn have aspirations of making I.D.E.A.S an official UM student organization.

Marin and Ahearn have a clear idea for where they want the UM group to go.

“Sean and I have many goals for I.D.E.A.S., but our main focus is to create greener minds for tomorrow,” Marin said.

Ahearn stressed that global warming is a real issue and that the environment must be kept at equilibrium.

“More awareness education and positive reinforcement leads to people with better habits for the Earth,” Ahearn said.

Marin and Ahearn also want club members to be active in helping environmental causes, including a healthy dose of volunteer work at beach and sandbar clean-ups or by supporting programs such as the Kill-A-Watt energy efficiency project in the University Village.

The club, which recently presented its constitution to COSO, has rough plans to meet in the Copernicus Observatory on top of Ungar building. At least 30 students are already jumping on board with I.D.E.A.S. and even more are expected to join after COSO gives it final approval.

Freshman Jeremy Upsal is a concerned student who likes the idea of I.D.E.A.S.

“Our Earth is an important place and we must preserve it,” Upsal said.

For more information about I.D.E.A.S., contact Marin at s.marin2@umiami.edu.

Manuel Centurion may be contacted at mcenturion@themiamihurricane.com.