June 2009 Dear Mike Diamond This year as MSIH is planning its annual budget, we students and future physicians ask that you make all efforts to reduce the cost of unnecessary environmental waste. It has come to our attention the exorbitant cost of photo copying documents for student packets, forms, and news letters. Last year alone, MSIH spent tens of thousands of dollars of printing. While some students take advantage of these mediums others do not. In the interest of cost and environment students should be given the choice of which educational materials they need. We believe that health is a concept not only of our bodies but of our relation to our world. If deforestation continues due to our irresponsible consumption, the air we breath and the animals that encompass our food chain will no longer be available. It is our moral responsibility to protect our resources. In addition, as a school emphasizing global health we must lead by example. Many of the current and future challenges to persons in developing countries are environmental. We can only be hypocritical if MSIH offers modules in environmental health and yet lacks its own initiatives. To this end, we the students of MSIH sign this petition requesting a coherent policy on environmental protection measures the school will take in the coming years. We ask that this policy be delivered to the student representatives of each class and the staff for review by October 2009. We want change in the following categories: -Recycling -Reduction of paper waste,e.g student packets -Energy saving -Water use reduction, e.g installation of water free toilets -Carbon off-setting for group flights to IHM sites -Staff training Sincerely, students for a Greener MSIH.