People all across America are taking up the call to “go green”; save the environment and save our planet The call was heard everywhere from the street corners to the office building. Now, college students, it’s yours!
There are many easy ways to get green everywhere from your classroom to your dorm room. Here are fifteen suggestions for how you can go green on your campus!
Go (and Share) a Bike
Many students, especially on larger campuses, may drive their cars to class. Or, on smaller campuses and campuses near local cities and/or towns, students drive into town for a fun day trip. Instead of hitting the road in a car, try riding your bike! You waste less energy and gas, and get some exercise to boot! Another option is to “share” your bike. Make a pact with groups of friends you really trust to share your bike. I share the combination for the lock, or they all have a chip in for the common lock, so everyone can identify the combination. This allows you and your friends to share one bike and use it to get around the campus as you please! Just be the last person who rides him back to take your bike wherever you are supposed to be.
Carpool
Another option is carpooling to get to town or simply skip the countryside for a while. They agree to split the cost of gas between whoever is riding in the driver’s car, so the driver does not bear the burden of paying for your car. If you decide that carpooling is an option for you and your friends to get together with, make sure you pick up drivers who have big cars. They try to pick drivers who can fit in more cars, located comfortably or a little tight. You want to reduce the number of cars, even with many people.
Recycle!
The number one option for you is to recycle paper in college. College students write notebooks all the time, and try dozens as soon as the project is completed. throw it in the trash can. Don’t! Grab an empty paper bag or box and start collecting your paper. Use that paper to scratch paper, or check notes. Make origami animals. Do what you want, but don’t just throw it away. The same goes for plastic items. Most schools provide recycling receptacles for your bottles and cans; make a point of using them. If your school doesn’t have a recycling bin for you, by asking your school to consider investing in recycling bins, you can help the whole make your school a little greener!
Reuse!
It’s easy to reuse your stuff. Reuse empty bottles as flower vases and paperclip holders. Make your old shoe-boxes into storage units for old assignments, photos, papers, and more. It can be turned blank into a pencil holder. You can also recycle old CDs to make light birds, or even as a mini-mirror! Think of creative ways to reuse stuff you might have otherwise thrown away, or reuse items you were thinking of buying instead of spending more money on groceries.
Buy Coffee Mug & Water Bottle
For cup after cup of coffee or tea, or a bottle of water, tea or other drinks Take yourself a good mug and a bottle water You can simply throw away an old water bottle to fill it with your favorite cold drinks. You might also want to consider investing in a good Nalgene bottle, which is as cheap as a pen for toting your drinks in. For hot drinks, consider a portable kettle with a lid, or a thermos. This way you won’t be using regular cups!
Turn off the overhead lights
Instead of using those who are exposed to overhead dorm lights, try opening the blinds to let in natural light. For the evening hours, consider placing a lamp on the desk. You may also want to consider a floor lamp. For lighting, use fluorescent bulbs, which are great energy savers. Make sure before you buy a bulb that your lamp will fit fluorescent; otherwise you will save the bulbs with great effort and put nothing on! Another option that is popular among students in college is using Christmas lights. Christmas lights are placed in LED, which are not only beautiful, but also energy saving.
Use Plautus
Instead of using separate notebooks for all your classes, consider using a refillable three-ring binder. You can buy one, along with some loose leaf paper, at any craft store, or even a craft store. Buy separators for a separate section for each of your class notes. The binder is used to cut large pieces of paper; It’s already hard enough to fill an entire notebook with notes, and now you won’t have half the notebook at the end of the semester! It also helps you cut down on the amount of stuff you have to stuff into your bag, which means carrying a smaller bag that, due to a little less weight, goes out a little slower (saving you from having to buy a new one every time)!
Bring aTote Bag
Although some people think that this is more of a women’s tip, the pleasant voice is becoming more and more popular among many men, even men. It does not have to be a purse; You can buy recyclable bags from trouser belts to wallets, even purses and messenger bags. A tote bag, whatever your style, is great for carrying your books to class, clothes to the gym, or carrying lunch. to travel They are also great for shopping, using paper or plastic shopping bags. Check out sites like ThePromoShop.com or ReusableBags.com for great deals on recycled-product bags.
Strike the benevolence/health forces
When you’re in college, thrift-shops go by another name: thrift! You will never find a better deal on the things you need than at thrift shop. Especially for those young people who are more trendy and/or artsy, shops like Goodwill or Salvation Army offer a great mix and match of patterns and designs to choose from. And not only clothes! You can find lots of fun stuff to decorating your dorm room or apartment with, gifts for birthdays; and more. And you can do more than shop; don’t want to try and donate your clothes and things anymore before the shop. Even if you don’t want to buy from a thrift store, at least you can give before spending, and store items for adding to your personal collection!
Turn!
For some college students, the temptation at the end of the semester is to do one of two things. also the unwanted: to sell, or to throw away. But there is a third option that too few college students think about: trading! Share text books with a friend who has the books you need next semester. Or, look online for a book-swap program like PaperBackSwap.com or BookMooch.com, to trade in your old books—even text books—for something new. You can buy CDs, burn yourself on your computer with friends, as well as DVDs, and even burn stuff. Of course, the other option is to sell them, but it’s a nice exchange to show the world—and your classmates—that you think about others more than you think about making a buck!
Turn off the water
True, in college, it’s great to have unlimited access to all the hot showers. But instead of using long showers, turn off the water between your showers. Turn off the water while you wash your hair or condition. Put your teeth in the shower to prevent it from falling off after a while in the shower. Try timing your shower so you spend less time there; some students will play a delightful CD and decide to turn off the water after a certain track. Some college students at my alma mater have made the ultimate decision to avoid flushing the toilet until absolutely necessary (ie, until the bowl overflows if the toilet flushes< /a> if they tried too much, or if some things stood too much it would seem)! No one is saying you have to take things to that extreme. . . but let no one say, not even you!
Boy, it’s cold outside!
Instead of the heating up at the temperature drops below 70, they are turned down, or even from all heat. Covers are used to pack when it gets cold. Try to only use the heater when it is completely too cold outside to use it. Don’t avoid the heat at the expense of your health. But do not tide for your absolute comfort. We can all stand a little cooler than we want to admit; Also, turning the heat to a minimum will help decrease the amount of wasted energy coming out of your room. Persuading your friends to do the same can also help your dorm become an energy saving haven!
It’s hot in here
Turn off the AC, or use it only in the room, and it’s too hot to tolerate. As with the heater, keeping the AC on just too comfortable is a big waste of energy. You’d be surprised how much energy a campus can save just by using reducing air conditioning. If you can stand on the beach on a ninety degree summer day in July, you can probably do without air conditioning in April!
Wash Clothes in cold water
Here is a little done for you: washing machine you are not “Hot” your clothes will be out of the world! For it seemed that they were repulsive. But that’s a little beside the point (trying to convince you that extra cold washing is a great option). Washing clothes in cold water uses much less electricity. Using less energy means producing less CO2, which means a little cold water on your side can help save a tree or two! If that’s not enough of a reason to switch to cold washing, consider that cold water washing will also cause less heat damage to your clothes. , that they may last longer.
There are many, many more on campus or in your life in the green class. But remember: every little thing you do to reduce your energy consumption, and everything you do to avoid loneliness, is a step towards saving the planet we all love! Find small ways to be greener in your life on campus, and enjoy a greener world!
Check out the pages suggested in the article:
Promo Shop
Reusable Bags
Book Mooch
