As the people around the world continue becoming more and more conscious about their effect on the environment, learning to live “green” is now a very acute topic – especially for students. The fact is, living green doesn’t have to be difficult, and is easy to adapt to. The following are 10 tips for students to live green.
1.) Use a Reusable Water Bottle
One of the best ways to live green on campus is to avoid purchasing plastic water bottles each and every day. Reusable water bottles are inexpensive and do not harm the environment.
2.) Take the Bus
Instead of driving to school, consider taking the bus. By keeping your car off the road you are helping cut down on pollution in your area.
3.) Never Litter
Don’t be one of those people who throw their trash on the side of the road. Littering is illegal, not to mention hypocritical.
4.) Take Short Showers
Keeping your showers short is a great way to cut back on excessive water usage. The less water you use, the more you are doing to serve the environment.
5.) Keep Lights Off During the Day
There’s no reason to have the lights in your room on when you are away at classes. Be sure to turn off your lights during the day and whenever you are not in your room.
6.) Go Easy With Your Heat
Aside from saving you money, keeping your heat in the “low” or “off” position is much better for the environment than letting it run all day, no matter what the heating source.
7.) Buy Used Textbooks
New textbooks are extremely expensive, and most students have difficulty affording them. Purchasing used textbooks is not only a more affordable option, but it is far better for the environment than buying new books.
8.) Take Notes on a Laptop
Instead of wasting paper to take notes, better take them on your laptop. Besides, typing notes is often faster than writing them out.
9.) Stay Thrifty
The thriftier you can be in terms of food and other expenditures, the smaller the impact you will have on the environment. Remaining thrifty can be difficult, but is both respectable and mature.
10.) Grow Your Own Food
If you have the opportunity to grow your own food in either a garden or a dorm window, by all means take advantage of it. Growing your own food is a great way to both save money and reduce your footprint on the environment; not to mention that it is a great way to impress your friends!
Louise Baker is a freelance blogger and journalist who writes for Zen College Life, the directory of higher education, distance learning, and online schools. She most recently wrote about the top online colleges.
Green students pic by Nazareth College (via Creative Commons licence)
Excellent tips for going green, but more importantly, a positive example of our youth getting involved to change their culture. If you can change the mindset of a generation, you can change the world!
Hey Louise! Good to see your numerous tips. I consider youth as the next generation so it must be the heart of every individual to prepare the next generation. Still, I do believe we can change the world radically for a better and greener place to live in. Thanks for sharing this information!
Cheers,
Nelson Hourani
Our Youth are the promise of this nation. Without them we perish as a nation. I feel the more we get them involved the better we are. I think everyone needs to think more about going green. We use to may resources and it is only getting worse. thank you for sharing.