The theme of this Friday’s Earth Day may be “The Power of One” but that doesn’t mean there will be a lack of activities to get into the go-green spirit. There are a broad range of speakers, musicians and freebies that all of you earth lovers need to check out.

Walking Tours
At 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m., the Center for Sustainability will host three separate walking tours around campus. Each tour will stop at various buildings such as ecological system labs, solar tracking facilities, the organic materials center and the hydrogen fueling station. The two hour expedition will lead students and interested community members through the various facilities which house “green initiative” research and education. This is a great way to check out how Penn State is leading the way in environmental action right from Happy Valley. Registration for the tours is free online here.

Earth Day @ the HUB
Between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. the HUB will be overhauled into a Green Peace oasis with a schedule packed full of speakers, student films and an award ceremony. Kicking the event off, Penn State faculty will take an hour to talk about the educational side of the green initiative. Then at 11:00 a.m., awards will be given to the participants of the Women’s Leadership Conference and the Stormwater poster contest. Then President Graham Spanier and assistant vice-president of OPP, Steve Maruszewski, will address the crowd, talking about sustainability from the perspective of the administration. After that the 12 finalists from Penn State’s Sustainable State video contest will be screened. Wrapping up the event, former UPUA candidate, David Adewumi, and professor of geo-sciences, Richard Alley, will discuss their idea of the student experience in campus sustainability.

There will be tables set up through out the HUB to represent 40 separate academic departments showcasing their contribution to the green effort. Games, competitions and live music will also take place during the down-time between speakers.

Noontime Concert Series
Our friends at SPA will be hosting the final of this year’s Friday concerts on Earth Day and their pulling out all of the stops. The show will kick off at 10:45 a.m. with acoustic, folk act Anthony Walker. Taking the stage at noon are the obscure indie rockers, Mike Mains & the Branches. Finishing up the performance is communications director for Penn State’s Center for Sustainability, Cole Hons. This local songwriter blends his love for nature and the environment into his soft acoustic style. Everyone raves about Hons’ great sense of humor and electrifying stage presence. This jam session may be something to check out.

Eco-Action Earth Day Extravaganza
From 3 p.m. to 9, Penn State Eco-Action will be hosting a free event in the East Halls quad. Activities include games, yoga, clothing & book exchange and even tie-dying for all you hippies in training. There will also be performances by musical acts Black Coffee, Mystery Train and State College’s favorite hip hop group, Atlas Soundtrack.

Free Starbucks
That’s right, coffee is on the super-trendy environmentalists at Starbucks this Earth Day. Anyone who brings in a reusable mug on Friday will be entitled to a free brew/tea. Don’t have your own over-priced Starbucks mug? They’ll be available for purchase with a 20% discount. If you really want to be sheisty, ask for a “for-here” cup. According to Starbucks’ blog, that warrants a free cup of Joe, too.