Recently I went online only to be inundated with the fact that we have passed what has become known as the “carbon tipping point.” Scientists have been tracking the earth’s daily atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide since 1958. For years they have been warning that once we reach past a daily average of 400 parts per million of carbon, there is likely very little chance of decreasing levels or environmental effects. This September the daily and weekly values remained above 400 ppm, and so it can easily be predicted that this year’s overall value will remain higher than 400 ppm.
This is scary. All of it is scary – the Great Barrier Reef is dying (although not completely dead, as many have been saying), temperatures are rising, and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about it.
Except that there is! When you’re a college student on a budget, the task of helping to support the environment can seem incredibly daunting. However, there are several easy steps you can take to make your lifestyle a sustainable one.
I’ve compiled a list of 10 of the simplest ways to support the planet. These are all suggestions for myself as much as anyone else. Let’s make our generation the most eco-friendly yet!
1. Invest in a reusable water bottle and K-cup
These small changes can make such a difference. Though the initial cost of one reusable water bottle is more expensive than a single plastic bottle, overtime using one can save you so much money, as well as plastic. A study the Pacific Institute of California suggests that the process to manufacture plastic water bottles uses 2,000 times more energy than that required to produce tap water. Plus, (unless you are living in an area like Flint, Michigan that is dealing with horrendous water contamination) studies show that there is very little reason to believe that bottled water is any cleaner than tap water. So invest in a reusable bottle! Also: if you’re an avid coffee drinker, get a reusable K-cup for your Keurig. Using a new one every single day can create a lot of waste! Investing in one reusable K-cup is a great way to get your coffee fix in the morning while supporting the environment.
2. Turn the lights off
We all know this, yet how often do we forget to turn our lights off when we leave the house (or dorm), or leave a light on in one room while we’re in another? We can save so much energy if only we get ourselves in the habit of flicking that switch before leaving the room.
3. Recycle, recycle, recycle
Okay, I know this may feel like a buzzword. But it’s one of the easiest ways to help the environment. Keep a paper bag in your dorm room and fill it with recycling that you can then take out separately from the trash. If your school doesn’t make recycling easy, then talk to them about it! Lead the movement to create an eco-friendly campus.
4. Walk and bike to your destinations
Uber is great, I know. But so is walking in the fall weather. Cars are a huge source of pollution. By biking or walking more often to your destinations, you will be helping the environment as well as getting some exercise (you know, to burn off those Uber Eats calories).
5. Lower your meat consumption
The meat industry is extremely harmful for the environment, especially red meat. In fact, according to a Worldwatch Institute Study, 51% of global greenhouse emissions are a result of animal agriculture. Does this mean that you must immediately become vegetarian? No, but consider eating vegetarian for one or two meals a day, or only eating red meat three times a week (and if you have the resources, buy meat locally). This is something that I have only just started – this September I began cutting out red meats, and I plan to try to weed out poultry eventually. Will I become full out vegetarian? I’m not sure, but at the end of the day I hope to lessen my contribution to an industry that is so often inhumane as well as unsustainable.
6. Cut down on napkin-use
An average American uses around 2,200 paper napkins per year, which comes out to around 6 a day. Billions of pounds of paper could be saved every year if every American used just one less napkin per day. Think about it – 6 napkins a day averages 2 napkins per meal. What a difference you could make by only using one!
7. Don’t buy what you won’t eat
This is something I know I can work on. 40% of food in the United States currently goes uneaten. Don’t go shopping while hungry, and write yourself a note when you bring home leftovers! I know I constantly forget about leftovers until it’s too late and end up throwing them out. We can do so much by just remembering to eat the food we already have.
8. Go thrifting
I know I won’t have to do too much convincing on this one. Shopping at and donating to thrift stores is a win-win-win situation. When you buy second-hand you support a more sustainable lifestyle, save money, support a local business, and you get the added bonus of feeling cool and hipster when someone asks you, “where did you get that?”
9. Get creative with your Halloween costume
Halloween is fast approaching and with it the seemingly never-ending quest to think of the perfect costume. While surveying your options this month, don’t forget to factor in sustainability! Instead of buying an entire new costume from a store or online, look in your own closet. Get crafty! Being creative about how to make a costume from reusable or recyclable materials can make the Halloween season even more rewarding (and this applies to any other costume or outfit you might need throughout the year).
10. Get political!
Caring about the environment can be rather frustrating because – if we’re being totally honest – the most impactful changes to save our planet have to come from major corporations and our governments. However, at the end of the day we are the ones who elect politicians, and who therefore influence their political actions. Tell your senator to join those who are standing against the Dakota Access Pipeline, write to your city councilperson, and research the platforms of political candidates before going to the polls this November! If we come together, we can make a difference.
Some of these may seem obvious, but oftentimes we just need a reminder. When I was a kid, I was extremely passionate about the environment. I remember going on stream cleanups, and writing and performing a song with my dad and brother called Every Day is Earth Day. I cared deeply and – most importantly – actively about how to save our planet.
Though I have never stopped caring, over the years my priorities seemed to have shifted. Feminism and politics (though not totally separate from environmentalism) came to the forefront of my mind as their effects felt more immediate to my day-to-day life.
For even though the rate of climate change at the moment is alarmingly rapid, we seem to experience the effects rather gradually (or at least, not as obviously as other issues). But this is exactly why we need to make sure we create habits in our own lifestyles that support the environment so that we don’t wake up one day and realize that it’s too late to make a change.
Some may say that we’ve reached that point already. But I have to believe that there’s still a way we can fix this – after all, pessimism never changed anything for the better.
