Tips For College Students to Help the Environment

College Kids,

With global warming becoming a huge problem it seems like we are really screwed. What can I do to make a difference?


Tom
21 years old
Napa Valley, CA

Tom,

I am glad you asked this question, but before I give my response we must all be in equal understanding of this one fact: our politicians are not going the be the major force fixing global warming, we are. While most of us may not be able to pass laws or talk to the president we can make a difference in our own way. Global warming is the biggest problem of our generation, but if we ban together we can stop it. Our generation needs to rewrite the standard on how to take care of our precious resources. Anyways...my rants could go on and on...so here are my tips:

Be efficient- Turn off everything when you leave your room and when you go to bed. Many students get in the habit of leaving their computers on all night. This is bad because most computers use between 200 to 400 watts of power. To compare, most DVD players use about 25 watts and most televisions use about 100. For all you techies out there, here is an interesting article on building a greener computer.

Recycle - You can make a huge impact just by recycling your cans, glass, and paper. After every semester I always have piles of notes and test lying around. My college has places to recycle them, but if yours does not, find a recycling center in your area.

Skip the car - Try to use public transportation, your bike, or walking as opposed to using your car. In fact if you can you should try to get rid of your car all together. I live in the city and no longer having a car has helped me save lots on gas and help the environment.

Buy used when you can - Whether its books, DVDs, or furniture, buying used means there is one less thing getting manufactured (and it saves you $$$).

Download when you can - Now, I am not saying you should illegally download music and movies. I am saying you should use services like itunes or Napster and save the resources they would use to make the CD or DVD.

Plant a tree - This may seem pointless, but that tree you plant will "eat" around 2,000 lbs of carbon dioxide a year.

Say no to bags - You should bring your own bags to the supermarket and say no to bags when you buy small things. For example, do you really need a plastic bag for that cell phone charger you bought at Radio Shack?

Buy a refillable water bottle - Buying water bottles every day is just an awful waste. You should instead spend $5 to get a refillable one. Make sure you buy one though, refilling an actual water bottle can be very bad because eventually the plastic will start to degrade (yikes!).

Get Involved - If your college/city is not doing enough, tell them to change. If there is no change then petition them. Still nothing? Run for dean/mayor (okay, most colleges do not let you run for dean, but you get the point).

Tell a friend - If you do everything on this list and have a friend do everything too, then you have just doubled your impact.

At the end of the day it is not Tom's responsibility to make change. It is everyones responsibility. We are college educated adults and we can stop global warming. Good luck and power to the people!

Cheers,

The College Kids