A Greener Ann Arbor?

Something caught my eye yesterday while at work. I was walking through Haven Hall on the University of Michigan Campus and in the main hall by the elevators, I observed something curious, if not hypocritical.

Ann Arbor is considered one of the most "forward" thinking cities in SE Michigan. I would compare it to, say, Portland, OR. They were among the first cities to recycle in our area, an area not known for being all that earth friendly...think heavy industry. Around here, Ann Arbor is thought of as a "green" city, or very environmentally friendly. Ann Arbor is a very liberal town, with the U of M, tree huggers (no offense), and Honda is the official car of Ann Arbor...you get my drift. Remember, I am being descriptive, not offensive here...

So, back to Haven Hall. Just to the left of the stairs in this photo, you can see the long glass wall. It is known as the "Posting Wall". This is an area where groups or people can post their message, advertise an event, set up a table to talk about their group or cause, etc. Anyway, the entire posting wall was absolutely covered in fliers. Many of them posted multiple times, and I mean like 100 fliers for the same thing all posted together.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that this is a college and posting fliers is usually the best and cheapest way to get your message out there, whether it be a party, concert, or protest. But, what an incredible waste of paper! If Ann Arbor is supposed to be so green, why would these people waste all this colored, sometimes glossy, paper? I just found this very contradictory...

I am sure that it must be kinda funny looking when some co-ed pulls up in her Prius and unloads two boxes of paper fliers that are going to get taped to a glass wall, just to be pulled down and thrown away, (recycled I would presume) two days later!

And on top of all that paper on the wall, you should have seen the garbage on the floor...

I really do not think that posting this stuff is such a big deal, I mean they are probably getting the copies done at FedEx Office, which would be good for business! But, the issue I have is that when I drive my Hummer through town, they look a me like I am single handledly killing the planet. Give me a break people! Quit being such hypocrites Ann Arbor!