Being conscious of the environment throughout your day means reducing your consumption. It also means altering our buying habits for clothing, food, and using our devices. The last point will surely affect your study. However, there is nothing to worry about, as StudyCrumb can assist you in completing any task at university. This means that you’ll have more time to concentrate on the essential things. Below are some minor changes college students can make to live more eco-friendly.
Cut Down on Plastic Use
In the United States, packaging constitutes the most significant kind of municipal garbage. Things that aren’t used for a single time include 10% of waste within America. This is because in the US 29% of greenhouse gasses are derived from products made and consumed before being removed. It uses a significant amount of energy and energy-saving items.
Plastic is represented chiefly by polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene. The substance that is used in the production of synthetic plastic is petroleum. It contains harmful chemicals such as vinyl chloride and benzene.
Therefore, these chemicals could be detrimental to humans. Suppose we could change the use of straws and plastic containers into recycled water bottles. In that case, we could cut down on the number of straws manufactured from plastic material. 7.5 million straws have been made from plastic (Mosquera, 2019). They can be found in the waters of America and the one million glass bottles made from plastic are purchased every minute (S Laville & M Taylor, 2017).
Unplug Your Electronics After You’re Done Using Them
Many people keep most of their technological devices plugged in throughout the day. The price that we could pay for it could become too high. In 2018, electricity usage was responsible for 37 percent of CO2 emissions throughout the United States alone. This percentage indicates that electricity is one of the most significant environmental factors contributing to climate change.
Moreover, when you turn off your electronic devices after you are done with your gadgets, you’ll lessen the carbon footprint you left behind. Suppose you’re not enrolled in a school and pay for your own electricity bill. In that case, you can save anywhere between $100 and $200 annually.
Use Thrift Shops
60% of all the clothes made will be thrown away after the first season. This implies that the energy and water used in producing these garments are wasted in this process. It is also the second most serious environmental pollution, just behind petroleum production (Liu et. al., 2021). One of the best ways to help our climate to change is to buy green clothing.
Thrift and antique stores can be an excellent alternative to these brands. They can be a perfect option for finding trendy clothes. Go to your local thrift shop instead of buying a new shirt. The US-based company Buffalo Exchange, for instance, is an excellent option for purchasing new and gently used products for less.
Use a Reusable Coffee Cup
The world’s customers use around 8,000 cups of paper at Starbucks per minute (Nagarajan, 2020). This is equivalent to more than four billion cups a year. Because Starbucks coffee cups come with plastic, they aren’t recyclable. It increases the environmental impact plastic can be causing on the planet. Reusable coffee cups are an excellent option to reduce the amount of plastic pollution we produce on our planet.
Buy a Bamboo Toothbrush
Bamboo toothbrushes reduce waste and are actually antimicrobial. Also, the toothbrush eliminates unnecessary waste while providing the same quality of cleaning that a plastic brush can offer. If you buy an organic, compostable bamboo toothbrush, you’re helping to reduce the impact on the environment of plastic.
Use Recycled Material Notebooks
Forests are vital to help keep the world cool. They also can remove greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide out of the air. We should have forests to absorb carbon that has been accumulated into the atmosphere. Americans consume about eight million tons of paper every year (Nedumaran, 2015). You can conserve forests and help reduce pollution by purchasing recycled notebooks for a cost comparable to the price you’d pay for ordinary ones for students at college.
Join a Campus Campaign
There are many ways for you to participate in the fight against climate change at the very campus of the school you go to. Groups like ZeroHour and Extinction Rebellion have branches throughout the US including the campuses of universities.
In addition, you can participate in efforts to ensure that your campus is sustainable together with divestment and other programs to put solar panels on the university’s buildings. By being involved and speaking out about the consequences the climate crisis has on our lives, you will aid in spreading the word about sustainability and how important it is.
Meatless Mondays
Let’s assume that each American did not eat one chicken per week or substituted it with grains and vegetables. It could eliminate the equivalent of half-million vehicles from US roads in terms of less CO2 emissions. Additionally, eating meat-free on Mondays can also be cost-effective. When replacing meat with eggs, legumes, beans, seeds, and nuts, a family of four could save around $80-$100 a month (De Visser et al. 2021).
Vote
In 2020, it was predicted that approximately 4 million of 18 and 19-year-olds will be in colleges in the US (Hussar et al., 2020). It means they’ll be eligible to cast their ballots for president for the first time. One of the best strategies to help combat climate change is to make an effort to vote. By selecting candidates who have a clear understanding of climate-related policies, you will aid in the removal of political obstacles that we’re facing nowadays.
Moreover, the UN recently published an article stating that we have 11 years left to transition away from fossil fuels and prevent the global temperature from increasing over 1.5 Celsius. Our responsibility is to join forces to ensure that our planet can be a sustainable resource for future generations.
Final Tip
There are numerous minor tweaks that you can incorporate into your daily routine to help you be more sustainable and slow climate change. It’s not a requirement to reduce the frequency of shampooing or go utterly vegan to be more eco-friendly.
Also, there are several ways to lessen the impact on your environment and reduce the stress of your day. Now you know some easy green living tips that can assist you in conserving resources and will also save your time and money!
