2008 Woodie Awards
Five easy ways to save the world
Feana Kotter
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Opinion
Tuesday was Earth Day, and the majority of people celebrated by using plastic cups without recycling them, throwing wrappers on the ground and embracing their apathy toward going green.
The problem with Earth Day is it advocates being environmentally aware for only one day out of the year. If reducing carbon emissions and landfill capacity is the goal, we should all make choices every day to decrease our impact.
Luckily, such actions do not have to be drastic and life changing. To prove this, here are five simple steps to save the planet.
5. Turn off the lights when you're not home or in the room. According to powerscorecard.org, generating electricity in the U.S. releases toxins like sulphur and carbon dioxide into the air, which leads to acid rain, smog and other airborne irritants. By not leaving every light in your residence on, you are saving money and helping decrease the demand for vast amounts of electricity.
4. Stop buying paper plates and plastic cups. This may seem like blasphemy to all of the bachelors and beer pong enthusiasts on campus, but those convenient plates and shiny cups can't be recycled in Macomb and are left to slowly rot in our landfill.
If you can't bear the thought of using the set of glasses Grandma gave you for beer pong, wash and reuse the plastic cups instead of throwing them away the next morning. You will have to hand wash them, however. In lieu of paper plates, try buying sturdy plastic plates you can simply squirt some dish soap on and reuse until your roommate breaks or steals them.
3. Drink your favorite caffeinated beverage from a mug or small thermos instead of paper or Styrofoam cups. You may feel strange about asking the barista to pour your chocolate mocha into a portable coffee mug, but treehugger.com says "14.4 billion disposable paper cups" were tossed into trashcans in 2005. Paying $5 for mediocre coffee does not mean you have to use the cups provided, even if some small label claims it is semi-recycled.
2. Stop using plastic grocery bags. If you dash into Wal-Mart or HyVee for a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk, kindly tell the cashier you do not need a bag. If you are stocking up for the last two weeks of school, purchase a reusable canvas shopping bag or bring a reusable bag of choice. If you must use plastic sacks, Wal-Mart provides two bins near the front door for (hopefully) recycling the bags.
1. Make the choice to do something environmentally minded - whether one of these options or not - every day. Decreasing the impact we have on the environment does not have to turn us all into fanatical tree-huggers, but it should motivate us to take small steps toward improving how we use - and reuse - everyday items.
The problem with Earth Day is it advocates being environmentally aware for only one day out of the year. If reducing carbon emissions and landfill capacity is the goal, we should all make choices every day to decrease our impact.
Luckily, such actions do not have to be drastic and life changing. To prove this, here are five simple steps to save the planet.
5. Turn off the lights when you're not home or in the room. According to powerscorecard.org, generating electricity in the U.S. releases toxins like sulphur and carbon dioxide into the air, which leads to acid rain, smog and other airborne irritants. By not leaving every light in your residence on, you are saving money and helping decrease the demand for vast amounts of electricity.
4. Stop buying paper plates and plastic cups. This may seem like blasphemy to all of the bachelors and beer pong enthusiasts on campus, but those convenient plates and shiny cups can't be recycled in Macomb and are left to slowly rot in our landfill.
If you can't bear the thought of using the set of glasses Grandma gave you for beer pong, wash and reuse the plastic cups instead of throwing them away the next morning. You will have to hand wash them, however. In lieu of paper plates, try buying sturdy plastic plates you can simply squirt some dish soap on and reuse until your roommate breaks or steals them.
3. Drink your favorite caffeinated beverage from a mug or small thermos instead of paper or Styrofoam cups. You may feel strange about asking the barista to pour your chocolate mocha into a portable coffee mug, but treehugger.com says "14.4 billion disposable paper cups" were tossed into trashcans in 2005. Paying $5 for mediocre coffee does not mean you have to use the cups provided, even if some small label claims it is semi-recycled.
2. Stop using plastic grocery bags. If you dash into Wal-Mart or HyVee for a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk, kindly tell the cashier you do not need a bag. If you are stocking up for the last two weeks of school, purchase a reusable canvas shopping bag or bring a reusable bag of choice. If you must use plastic sacks, Wal-Mart provides two bins near the front door for (hopefully) recycling the bags.
1. Make the choice to do something environmentally minded - whether one of these options or not - every day. Decreasing the impact we have on the environment does not have to turn us all into fanatical tree-huggers, but it should motivate us to take small steps toward improving how we use - and reuse - everyday items.
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