Students may feel some satisfaction by tossing textbooks in the trash at the end of the semester, but the Environmental Science Club is asking students to donate unwanted and unsellable textbooks for a different kind of satisfaction.

The club set up bins outside The Bookie and other locations Monday for textbooks. The donated textbooks will go to Better World Books, a group improving literacy in Third-World countries. If Better World Books can’t take the textbooks, the Environmental Science Club will recycle them.

The Environmental Science Club aims to increase WSU’s sustainability by doing small, simple actions people may not think about, such as recycling textbooks, said Kara Mowery, a junior history and French major and Environmental Science Club member.

“There are a lot of connections people don’t think about,” Mowery said. “It is important to make students more aware of things they can do.” The club initiated the Cougar Green Fund, said Benjamin Derrick, a graduate student in environmental science and club events coordinator and treasurer. The Cougar Green Fund would be a voluntary $5 fee students can pay with their class registration. Contributions would go toward recycling and composting, water and energy efficiency, solar and wind energy, and other sustainability projects on campus.

The ASWSU Senate passed the Cougar Green Fund proposal last month. It will go on the election ballot for student approval in the spring.

Cougar Pride Days, Green Week, highway and river clean-ups, Earth Day and Springfest are some of the other events the Environmental Science club is involved with, said Leif Moon-Nielsen, senior environmental science major and club president.

The group has only been around three semesters, so it is brainstorming other event ideas, Derrick said.

“Students should get involved because we have a planet to protect,” he said.

The Environmental Science Club also gives students ways to get practically involved in the green movement and make positive impacts, Mowery said.

“We are actually trying to do things, instead of sitting around talking about it or listening to Al Gore talk about it,” Moon-Nielsen said.

The club also is good experience in environmental science work, he said, though it is not exclusively for environmental science majors.

“People feel preached at a lot,” Mowery said. “You don’t have to be an extreme environmentalist, but it takes everyone being aware of their actions and being responsible to make a difference.” The university and individuals can take several steps to be more environmentally friendly. Many buildings leave unnecessary lights on at night and during the weekend, Derrick said. The university needs more leadership in energy and environmental design-certified buildings, as well.

The university also can work on its energy and water conservation, and recycling and composting programs, Moon-Nielsen said.

Individuals can make huge positive impacts by changing behaviors that don’t affect their lifestyle, Mowery said.

One big change WSU students can make, Moon-Nielsen said, is using reusable shopping bags.

Perhaps the easiest way for students to begin a greener lifestyle right now is by recycling this newspaper when you are done.