Campus briefs

Green is the new blue

The blue books that are often required for written exams have been replaced by more expensive and more environmentally-friendly green books.

The new green books are made out of 100 percent recycled paper and are a part of an environmental push by the bookstore's sponsor, Barnes and Noble, said cashier supervisor Aleida Jones.

The old large blue books cost 45 cents, but the new large green books cost 50 cents. Students can also buy notebooks and folders made from recycled materials.

The regular notebooks with a Santa Clara label cost $4.98, while the environmentally-friendly notebooks cost $5.38, for a three-subject notebook.

The bookstore is also offering energy-saving light bulbs, which use about 75 percent less energy than regular bulbs.

Transgenic crop technologies and Catholic theology

The Center for Science, Technology and Society is hosting a discussion today on the moral issues surrounding transgenic crop technologies.

A transgenic crop has had a gene inserted in it through artificial means instead of the natural process of pollination.

Keith Douglass Warner, a professor in the religious studies department, will discuss the Catholic theological approach to this issue.

The socio-economic consequences for either using these types of crops or not are at the heart of the debate. Instead, it is a question of the idea that interference in the natural process of plant growth is somehow playing God.

The discussion will be held in the Williman Room at 11:45 a.m.

From staff reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.