Earth Day, a national event promoting sustainability and environmental friendliness, has been extended to an entire week at the University of Virginia, said third-year College student Bukky Awosogba, director of current events for the University Programs Council. Earth Week began Thursday and will continue through next Sunday afternoon. Extending the event allows for greater emphasis on Earth Week’s purpose: to draw attention to the University’s growing sustainability needs, Awosogba said. ‘People argue that we ought to practice Earth Day every day,’ Awosogba said. ‘By expanding it to a week, we can better facilitate that.’ The festivities kicked off with a ‘Sustainability Barbeque’ at Runk Dining Hall Thursday. Awosogba said the event presented information about sustainable dining and helped show students how they can make environmentally friendly choices about what they eat. The events continued yesterday, as the Miller Center for Public Affairs hosted a forum titled ‘Driving Toward Sustainability,’ which featured transportation policy analyst Deborah Gordon. The Medical and Architecture Schools also jointly sponsored a climate change and health symposium at Alumni Hall. Facilities Management will host the Earth Day Extravaganza tomorrow between Minor and Garrett Halls from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Third-year College student Rachel Baker, a student employee with Facilities Management, said she hopes this event will give students a ‘general sense of how to conserve energy and resources.’ Students can participate in the Dumpster Dive, during which event coordinators will go through a dumpster outside a first-year student dormitory and measure the amount of material that could have been recycled. The Tapwater Challenge also is among the day’s activities, as students will attempt to distinguish bottled water, filtered tap water and regular tap water in a taste test. Water quality will be discussed tomorrow as well. The U.Va Bay Game, a computer model of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed developed by University researchers, debuts tomorrow in the Harrison Auditorium at 4 p.m. Jeffrey Plank, associate vice president for research, said he hopes students who attend the demonstration will better understand the bay’s environmental problems and how their actions impact the bay’s health. ‘What we hope to communicate is the interconnectedness of human behavior and natural systems,’ Plank said. The documentary ‘King Corn’ also aims to make clear the connection between human actions and the environment. A screening of the film, which shows three best friends from college investigating the origin of their food, will take place Wednesday at 7 p.m., followed by a discussion panel with Environmental Sciences Prof. Steve Macko, who appears in the film. The week will begin to wind down with Jeffrey Sachs, author of ‘The End of Poverty,’ who will speak at the Commerce School at 9 a.m. Friday. The Office of the Vice President for Research also will host a Student Sustainability Symposium in the Rotunda at noon. Later that afternoon, Students for Environmental Activism will host a workshop about green living and environmental activism in the Tuttle Dormitory Lounge at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Critical Mass Bike Ride, the week’s final event, starts at the Rotunda at 12:30 p.m. and continues to Tonsler Park at Cherry Avenue for a luncheon and flea market. Armando de Leon, sustainability programs manager for Facilities Management, said he anticipates that Earth Week might improve students’ understanding about environmental issues.