In light of the recent problems surrounding the “paper crisis” on campus, students and people around town need to be more green-minded. There should be a particularly strong awareness in such a pressing time, where the school is forced to cut back on paper consumption and not supply us with it, as well as the fact that bad decisions are flaunted and prices for items are plummeting. Of course even the gas prices are hitting the upward three dollar per gallon range. This is the time to be hip, so buy a Hybrid. Or rather, use and reuse renewable resources.
Care for what you have on Earth and the open spaces still available, because those are going quickly too. Only several weeks ago, the entirety of Walker Ranch’s back property off of West Avenue was bulldozed. Just days ago, the back entrance area to the NEISD sports facilities was desecrated to make way for newer power lines. Deer now crowd the field along Wurzbach parkway, the outskirts of McAllister Park.
Social networking has also become a strong supporter of a clear atmosphere, and according to MySpace/Our Planet: The Complete Guide to Saving the Environment, change is possible.
Do not worry about efficiency being strenuous, recycling is an easy and productive way for everyone to contribute to the planet. For instance, a recycled stack of newspapers 3 feet high saves an entire tree and recycling aluminum cans saves 95 percent of the energy needed for one new can to be formed.
A 24 year old woman of Nahant, MA, alias Anne of the dead, shares her way of contributing to an eco-friendly world in Myspace/Our Planet: ” ‘I’ve brought a bin into work for my co-workers and myself to put all the scrap paper we create and drafts and documents that we do not end up using – we so a lot of extraneous printing and create a lot of scrap paper. I work in retail, and recycling is not provided by our company. As my town has a recycling program, I can collect this paper and submit it for recycling.’ ” (Myspace Taudte 109).
Scrap paper has become a main concern, and the easy alternative to a littered trash can is the filling of a recycle bin. They are all around school, located in the cafeteria, halls and courtyard. Teachers carry their own bins in classrooms, although only for paper outside the cafeteria. Several others have brought their own plastic recycling bins, so try and find them if you feel able enough to because in mass it makes a difference.
An option to recycling plastic and glass bottles is to cut back on using them altogether. BPA-free water bottles are commonly seen nowadays, BPA-free meaning the leaking of the plastic’s chemicals is not apparent. These kinds of water bottles can be refilled by taps and save the plastic. One common myth is that bottled water is healthier, but nothing could be further from the truth. Labeled as spring or mountain water, most name brands are actually misleading. It is all the same. Aquafina, purified water bottled by the Pepsi Company, actually comes from the municipal systems of Detroit and Fresno.
Virtually the easiest, but just as important in carbon emissions, is electricity consumption. Among other things, remember to shut the refrigerator door, shorten your shower, and try to buy lightbulbs that use less energy. LED bulbs use less energy and last for longer periods of time, common sense for any conservationist. Going on, the list of efficient ideas are endless; power strips can conveniently be turned off to save hundreds of dollars per year, but even a simple flick of the switch when leaving the house will do the trick. That competence covers all appliances.
Carbon emissions also vary by vehicle. Minus the Hybrid, two wheels will always be better than four, but engineless is most cost-effective. Bikes would save the United States 460 million gallons of gas per year if the number of trips biked rose from 1% to 1.5%.
From bottled products to paper consumption and power use comes a clear necessity of a greener city and a greener world. The planet will last longer with small contributions to its betterment. Productivity does not take much, only a couple of green-minded thoughts. The possibilities for a cleaner atmostphere are endless.
