Concerned Teachers Post Reward for School That Solves Great Copy Machine Epidemic
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 03.25.08
With schools in NY and Florida confirming cases of a strange, contagious disease striking their photocopy machines late last week, and with Grace Hill Elementary School in Rogers, Arkansas confirming a case of that same disease just yesterday, a small group of concerned teachers have pooled their resources to offer a cash reward to the school that can determine it’s cause.
Apparently, symptoms include a propensity to chew up trees at an amazing rate, all while using tremendous amounts of energy in the process which is leading to global warming.
Of course no one is quite sure yet what disease it is, and so the copy crisis team at the Robert Moses Middle School, set up to handle the emergency, is asking schools across America to join them in a national day of action to help stop global warming by putting their copiers under quarantine in a fun, creative way on April 17th. And asking teachers and students not to make or use any photocopies in classes on that day in hopes of ending the crisis.
So if your school photocopier looks like the one above (or even worse) and you think it may be affected by this strange disease, the crisis team is asking that you head over to the Great Copy Machine Epidemic website and see how you can help solve the Great Copy Machine Epidemic of 2008.
See also: Crisis Confirmed, Great Copy Machine Epidemic Strikes Schools Across America
via:: Copy Crisis Team
Your epidemic is fantastic ... may it spread very large and quickly to share your passion and eco-education.
Please contact our Education Department as they are sure to assist in this important crisis!
Tree Blessings to you and your eco-brilliant students.
Warmly,
Cindy Katz "Tree Angel"
Founder and CEO, Plant a Tree USA
www.plantatreeusa.com
1-877-A-Tree-4-U
I don't get what the problem is.....our university encourages purchasing staff to purchase recycled-content paper. Departments are encouraged to purchase Energy Star equipment. We've moved in the direction of using mailing lists and other online forums to disseminate PDF documents to students, and for students to email papers to professors.
Shannon - perhaps some universities are addressing this problem (and that's great), but the public school my children attend certainly doesn't on an administrative level (my one son's third grade teacher does though by having them do a lot of their work on write on/wipe off boards).
I'm a freelance writer, and I need to print out a lot of documents to proofread, and I don't know the last time I bought paper. I'm kept in printer paper by using the back of the homework papers, administrative announcements, and parent/teacher group flyers that come home in my kids' backpacks. I've got two kids so I get double the announcements. Sometimes it's two or three sentences on one piece of paper.
I'll be forwarding this Great Copy Machine Epidemic info to my son's third grade teacher.
I've got two solutions :
1. Use tablet PC's/laptops - go completely wireless and send documents via e-mail or through servers.
2. Make sure the paper bought was somewhat made by recycled paper, and really encourage students to recycle the paper by placing proper bins in classrooms/hallways and getting janitors to actually pick them up.
I don't know if people didn't know, but the paper recycled at the big bins at my school, helps gets money to the school per ton. That money could be used for extra-curriculars or other things.