Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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USC begins first GPS tree inventory BY GABRIELLE SINCLAIR THE GAMECOCK With the same technology used for car mapping and pre cision bombing, USC has be gan its first inventory of the estimated 3,000 trees on cam pus. Using global positioning system (GPS), a grant from the School of the Environment and funding from the University Facilities Management Group, USC plans to have a map of the en tire campus in a database for each tree. Natural Resource Consulting’s George Barker is doing the inventory, record ing the species and condition of each tree and its diameter. To pinpoint the trees, Barker uses GPS in a system he and his wife designed. Twenty-four satellites bounce sound waves against the re ceiver Barker carries on his back to find a precise loca tion. But what is most impor tant, Barker said, is health and maintenance. Many of USC’s trees are in desperate need of pruning, he said. “What we’re really trying to find are real bad prob lems,” said Barker, pointing to a large dead branch loom ing over the Moore Garden walkway. “If you’re sitting there, studying for a test, you can imagine what that limb would do to you. Traveling from 60 to 70 feet up, it really doesn’t take a very big limb to cause serious injury.” Long-term plans include labeling each tree on campus, said Bruce Coull, dean of the School of the Environment. Planting new trees is also on the agenda. “If all of the sudden you have to go in there and start cutting all these trees down, you’ll see the devastation,” Barker said. “So the thing is to be able to see trees that have problems, start planting some new trees and then you can slowly start taking the bad ones out over time,” he said. The inventory is one of many projects the Sustainable Universities Initiative has worked on, in eluding recycling, electrical work, events for Earth Day and Arbor Day and hiring fac ulty to teach environmental ethics in the philosophy de partment. The inventory is an issue discussed by the uni versity’s environmental ad visory committee, which con sists of students, faculty and grounds staff who advise the Board of Trustees on campus needs. Former USC President John Palms started the com mittee six years ago. The cost for the inventory will not be certain until com pletion. Comments on this story? E-mail the newspaper. gamecockudesk@hotmail.com J.tKva 11 ■ n »■■■ !■■■ i ■■ —m him hi iiiiiiiiiii miii PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK George Barker will finish single-handedly inventorying USC’s 3,000 trees tonight. Edwards CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 voters one-by-one, face-to-face. Moylan also stated that the Edwards campaign is starting to contact students at colleges around the state to set up Students for Edwards organizations. According to a recent report by the Federal Elections Commission, Edwards has raised more money from South Carolina than his other eight competitors combined. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri was the first candidate to set up an office in South Carolina. Gephardt's office is lo cated further along Gervais Street, on 1800 Gervais St., closer to Five Points. Kim Molstre, Gephardt's deputy press secretary, said that Gephardt would look to reach out to constituencies in South Carolina like the black and Hispanic communities, but that the issues in South Carolina would be similar to Iowa and New Hampshire. The former House Majority Leader would concentrate on top ics such as rural issues, jobs and his universal health care plan. Rep. Gephardt will be in Greenville on Thursday at the Allen Temple AME Church Community Development Center at the intersection of Green and Vardrv. Molstre said that the Gephardt campaign in South Carolina is very active with students, but she said she could not provide any spe cific plans concerning attracting young voters to the campaign. The other seven of the nine Democratic contenders for the presidency have yet to set up cam paign offices. Former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont looks to be the next to open a campaign office in South Carolina, shooting for sometime next month, according to his state chairman, state Rep. David Mack III of Charleston. Rep. Mack explained that Dean would campaign in South Carolina by "reaching people and getting his message out by using a personal touch." Mack went on to say that the Dean campaign would concentrate on the fact that they have "an excellent candidate with an excellent message and an excellent track record." Mack also discussed that there are "some people from USC on board," but could not provide any names. The College of Charleston, though, currently has a Students for Dean organization. Three other campaigns are planning to have a physical pres ence in South Carolina in the near future. Sen. Joe Lieberman's press secretary, Jano Cabera, said that Lieberman would "continue to in crease his presence in South Carolina and would have an office set up by the end of the year." Lieberman was in South Carolina recently, stopping in Charleston on July 16 as a part of his "Joe's Jobs Tour." At the Trident One Stop Career Center, Lieberman pledged to fight for an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a federal tax break for low-income workers, which is de signed to encourage economic in dependence. Cabara went on to say that Sen. Lieberman "consistently says he wishes young voters would get more involved in the political process." According to Cabara, most of Lieberman's staff is under 30 years old and are less than five years out of college. Former U.S. Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun's campaign is seeking to "have field operations on the ground by early September" in South Carolina, ac cording to campaign spokesman Michael Mannino. Mannino also said that Moseley Braun, the former U.S. senator from Illinois, has "re ceived hundreds of e-mails from students around South Carolina and we plan to mobilize this base to make us successful in the Palmetto State." Sen. John Kerry's campaign is currently seeking staff for a planned Columbia office, but Could not be reached for comment. The campaigns for Sen. Bob Graham and the Rev. A1 Sharpton could also not be reached. Comments on this story? E-mail the newspaper. gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Initially Yours 765-9010 COlUmBin 1111 Lady St. LUGGflGi Downtown Columbia