SoD green initiative
The Office of Development and Alumni Relations has been distributing VCU SoD water bottles throughout the week. If you have questions or feel you were left out, please contact Nan Johnson.
When I became interim dean, one of the things I wanted to bring forward in the school was a “Green Initiative” to encourage everyone to combat waste in the clinics and in our personal lives. Dr. Archer and the IMS crew came up with ways to make sure students did not waste items such as anesthesia carpules, gauze and other disposables. Shane Castro and her Green Team came up with several other initiatives for the school as a whole that I will be sharing
with the new dean.
When things are going well, I like to think of things to worry about. I realize that sounds counterproductive, but why be constantly happy when I can think of dozens of things wrong with the world? One issue that I worry about quite often is our environment. Litter drives me crazy. When I walk through our clinics and see discarded or overlooked items on the floor, I constantly pick them up and place them in the proper place, the trash. I feel like I have been transported back to my teenagers’ bedrooms and I am picking up all the stuff they left on the floor instead of putting in the hampers.
So, by utilizing these reusable water bottles instead of contributing to the overwhelming amount of plastic in our oceans I hope we can begin to do our part—not doing further damage to our planet. Again, I worry about my carbon footprint and what I can change in my personal life to make the planet cleaner, less polluted and an environment where my children and future grandchildren can remain healthy and thrive. Let’s all try to do our part. Choose wisely, choose what you know is best for the future.
Clara M. Spatafore D.D.S., M.S.
Interim Dean VCU School of Dentistry
Chair Department of Endodontics and Oral Diagnostic Sciences
Diplomate American Board of Endodontics