Posted On: February 24, 2010
Being environmentally conscious has become a mindset that is now one of the staples in forefront thinking. From businesses to personal lives going green has changed many of the ways that our communities conduct themselves in an effort to better our way of life and reduce negative impact on the planet. As we all know, being a college student can be a costly endeavor and it’s easy to look back and realize that you have acquired more things than you probably need in order to have all the comforts of home during your years of higher learning.
For instance, while you might enjoy that TV and DVD player, it consumes a lot of energy and brain power. Many students opt for buying new entertainment equipment at the start of their college careers but being young and in school means having the opportunity to get out there and meet new people and try new things. You certainly don’t need that new stuff and it’s more elaborate spending rather than a necessity. You can watch TV any other time, but joining clubs or meeting different people at social gatherings can be a cheaper and more productive way to spend your time. Television can also become a major distraction for you when you are trying to study, as well. Using brain power rather than electrical power can become a satisfying trade-off and in the long run can benefit both you and the environment.
There are different ways that you can limit your spending and use fewer resources while you’re in school. While many classrooms require note-taking, the amount of paper you will go through during a semester can be excessive. A good suggestion for reducing your use of all of this paper is to use your laptop to take notes. Laptop use in college classrooms is becoming more and more common and students are finding that they can dictate the teacher’s lectures easier and quicker than if they were hand writing everything. Your hand won’t cramp up from trying to keep up and you’ll greatly reduce the amount of money spent on paper, which in turn, will aid in the reduction of paper manufacturing.
Water bottles are probably purchased more by students than anyone else (well, ok, besides athletes). The amount of plastic used to produce these already abundant little products can take a toll on your wallet after a while. A good way to reduce your contribution to unnecessary manufacturing of plastics is to purchase a water filter for your faucet. It will clean out your regular tap water making it just as safe (if not more-so) than bottled water, which contains added nutrients and harmful testosterone disrupting chemicals called, phthalates. It will also cost you hundreds of dollars less.
Online colleges have become more popular during the past 10 years and, as far as environmentalism goes, they couldn’t be more earth-friendly. Due to their entire structure being web-based this helps cutback on school supplies being purchased and carbon emissions from commuting from your home to campus. Gas consumption is one of the highest forms of spending the average person does on a regular basis. It’s also one of the most negatively impacting. Taking your classes from the comfort of your home could save you hundreds of dollars on gas each month. Even if you are a commuter there are other ways to decrease your gas spending such as car-pooling with fellow students. Since mostly everyone is on a minimal budget in college, this could be a great benefit for those around you. Riding a bike could also be another option if you live close to campus. Due to spending so much time studying, your body probably doesn’t get as much exercise as it should. By biking to school you could help mother earth and get a good work out at the same time.
Being conscious of your everyday impact can be a rewarding one and some students have furthered their efforts by shifting their area of studies toward life sciences and environmental law. Realizing your passion in this particular type of study can give you a strong sense of purpose and pride in knowing that you will be working to better the entire world. But, not everyone has to change their major just to consider themselves green. The small changes everyone makes in their personal lives can add up to a large population shift in awareness. The additional benefit on the side, is that you will be surprised at the amount of excessive spending you will cut back on, which any college student can be happy about.