Global warming is becoming more noticeable and drastic in our day to day lives. The main cause of this phenomenon is the overuse of fossil fuels that further the impact of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is where some gases are trapped and reflect heat back towards the earth. But with the use of fossil fuels, we are amplifying the trapping of these gases and making the earth warmer than it should be! So, there are simple steps we can take as college students to be eco-friendly. These tips and tricks are easy to integrate into your life and will not prove to be a hassle in any way.
Turn off your lights.
One simple step as you walk out of your dorm room every day, turn off your dorm lights! A simple flick of the switch could help reduce the use of electricity that is fueled by fossil fuels. It may be a hassle at first, but integrating it into our daily routines could help reduce the negative impacts on our earth if we all do this together.
Unplug!
When you're not using your charger, extension chords, or your dazzling fairy lights you snagged for your dorm room, simply unplugging them when you're not around to use them can help bring about a more eco-friendly campus. It's the same concept as turning off a light switch, these small gestures can greatly add up if we work together as a community to make sure no resource is being overused.
Recycle
It's the most well-known tip when it comes to being eco-friendly: recycle! It's hard to keep track of how many water bottles you buy, drink, and dispose of. However, by putting those plastic water bottles in the recycling bins all over campus, it can help clean up our earth and help reduce the amount of waste we need to get rid of.
Buy a refillable water bottle
A reusable water bottle can serve to not only keep your drinks warm and cold all day long, but it can also help you become more eco-friendly! Not having to buy plastic water bottles on a daily basis or not having to think about where to dispose of the plastic water bottles are some great benefits to owning a reusable bottle. Across campus at the Ohio State University, there are many locations to where you can refill your water bottles. Try to find these initiatives at your university, it's quite common!
Washing your dishes
Thinking about washing your dishes is probably not what you want to worry about as a college student. But having only one or two dishes to ever worry about can be more helpful than you think! I know my roommate and I have a problem with having too many things in our small trashcan in the dorm, but once we switched to investing in reusable and washable dishes, it saved us so much time. We no longer had to take out the trash every other day, but instead, we could take it out at the end of the week! Essentially, by washing our dishes, we were able to not only reduce trash and help the environment, but we were also able to live life a little easier. You can do it, too!
Walk, bike, or bus.
By walking to class, using the bus system, or biking instead of taking an Uber or your car can help reduce the amount of fossil fuels being emitted into the atmosphere. The increased use of fossil fuels is the leading cause of global warming, therefore, we can take a simple step to help reduce the use of these resources by one decision. We can walk to class and enjoy the somewhat bearable weather. But if the weather is formidable, the bus stops near all dorm locations are available to help you out!
All in all, it's not too hard to become an eco-friendly college student. Follow these steps and you can contribute to a more eco-friendly campus!
