Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day everyone!  Every year on April 22, we celebrate Earth Day across the U.S. to bring attention and awareness to the environment.  Nature has given us everything and today is a great day to simply say, “Thank you,” and maybe even give something back in return.  Visit the Earth Day Network to find out things you can do to make a difference in your home, community, and world.  Go to www.earthday.org.  There are different links you can click on throughout the site that will help guide you to take action.  Whether that’s taking a pledge or finding out where you can give back by donating money or volunteering, it’s all on there.  Although Earth Day only comes once a year, why not make every day Earth Day?  There are countless things you can do to help out the environment each and every day and we shouldn’t just wait around for that one day of the year to help out.  Every little action counts, and we can all make a difference.  Hope you had a clean, healthy, and happy Earth Day 2011.  

Hunger + ? = BAD

We all do it…  You’re sitting there watching TV or busy studying/facebooking at home and then all of the sudden you get that hungry feeling and walk into the kitchen to grab a snack.  Your first move is probably to open your pantry/cabinet to see what kind of snacks are inside, but nothing in there satisfies you so you then open the FRIDGE and STAND THERE for a LONG TIME browsing your options.  


Alright, now let’s take a moment to realize what you have just done.  By keeping the fridge open for longer than you need it is a waste of energy because the cold air escapes and it takes more energy to make the fridge cold again once closed.  So next time you’re hungry, have an idea of what you want to snack on or choose quickly and do not to stand there with the fridge wide open trying to make your decision.  This will reduce the amount of energy you consume while also saving you some money on your energy bills.

Go Hiking

A common dilemma for college students usually sounds like, "Hmm, what should we do today?"  There are a lot of activities that are fun, however they usually involve spending money.  Well guess what, I have a solution for you!  Go hiking through your local national forests and/or parks.  This may sound a bit uneasy at first, but I promise once you are out in the wilderness you cannot resist the beauty of the nature that surrounds you.  Hiking is a cheap, affordable, and fun activity for everyone.  I'm not telling you to go on a 10-mile hike up a mountain.  Your best bet is to find a trail that best suits your needs and ability.  My friend Sam and I visited Red Rock Canyon, located just outside Las Vegas.  We went on a six-mile hike up 1,000 feet through the beautiful geologic features of Red Rock Canyon.  Not only was the hike free, it was a great activity that allowed us to explore and appreciate nature.  Another “R” this is commonly ignored, is “Respect.”  In order for there to be change, we must respect what nature has to offer us.  If we don’t respect nature, then how do we learn to appreciate and take care of it?  

Drink Tap Water

Drink filtered tap water instead of bottled water.  Not only is filtered tap water healthier for your body and better for the environment (refer to Green FAQ), it is a lot cheaper.  The average cost of a water bottle is about a dollar or more, and the price of tap water in a bottle amount is a tiny fraction of the price.  If you think tap water “tastes weird,” keep drinking it and I promise you will get used to it.  I used to feel the same way about tap water and now I think bottle water tastes flat and is not refreshing whatsoever.  Buy a Brita water filter and keep that in your dorm/apartment.  It will generally be under $20 depending on what size you get and within about twenty uses it will pay itself off.  This is honestly the easiest and the best way to save the environment and save a lot of money.  Being EGOlogical has never been easier!

Recycle Your Electronics

My teammate shared with me this online recycling program called, Gazelle.  Gazelle allows you to send in your old electronics and get cash for however much they are worth based on their pricing scale.  Another awesome feature is they pay for the shipping of your items.  Once Gazelle receives your electronics, they will send them off to the correct safe electronic recycling center.  Recycling your electronics is extremely important so that their chemicals don’t contaminate landfills when tossed out.  Gazelle allows you to save the environment and make a little extra cash at the same time!  Check it out at: www.gazelle.com

Coffee

Why pay $5 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks when you can pay a fraction of the price by bringing your own cup of Joe from home?  Not only do you get to save a bunch of money, you can drink it on the go with a really fancy looking cup!  Also, make sure you turn your coffee maker off when it’s done and only make what you are going to drink so you don’t waste any.  If you have any left overs, leave it in the pot and warm it up in the microwave whenever.  That will reduce the amount of energy used up when your coffee pot is left on.  


If you choose to pay $5 for a cup of Starbucks coffee, bring your own coffee cup.  This will save the amount of paper used in a disposable cup and will also save you ten cents!  As part of Starbuck’s “Make a Difference” movement, they will give you a ten-cent discount every time you bring your own cup.  I know that may not sound like a lot, but ten cents does add up and eventually you’ll save a few bucks.  

Don't Move!

In today’s modern society, many public college bathrooms have automatic toilets to promote a more hygienic environment.  We are saving more people from spreading the germs built up on flushing toilets manually, however, automatic toilets have their downfalls as well.  Have you ever been sitting on a toilet and all of the sudden it flushes but you’re not done?  Then when you’re actually done it flushes again, in time using twice as much water as it should have.  Each flush can use from one to two gallons of water.  So next time you use an automatic toilet, try to sit really still so you reduce the risk of setting off the automatic sensor.  This will save your school a lot of money on their water bill, which in turn can be used for possible future projects on your campus.  

Print Double Sided

I’m sure you’ve heard this one many times and often ignore it, but I’m going to repeat it:  DOUBLE SIDE YOUR PAPERS!   You will use half the amount of paper it would take to print notes or essays making your paper last twice as long saving you twice the amount of money.  By reducing the time it takes to use up the package of paper you bought, you will eventually save a lot of money.  Some printers don’t have a double-sided printing option.  I know this is extremely time consuming, but you then must print each page one at a time.  When the printing options are displayed on your screen, press “From Page 1 to 1,” print that page, then flip the paper around in the paper holder and print “From Page 2 to 2” and so on until you’re done.  

What time is it?

When asked the common question, “What time is it?” most college students pull out their cell phones and illuminate them to view the digital time.  However, there are plenty of clocks all around you displaying the time.  Instead of wasting your phone battery to look at the time, just glance at the clocks hanging on the wall of the classroom, library, or office you are in.  By prolonging the life of your phone battery, you will have to charge it less, reducing your energy bills.  

Note-Taking

Taking notes in class is an essential part of a college student's success.  There are lots of pretty lines and margins that help you “organize” your notes.  However, who ever said you need to follow those?  You can be just as organized ignoring those lines and margins.  By writing on the entire page, you reduce the amount of pages used up in your notebook causing you to utilize your notebook for a longer period of time.  You then won’t have to buy notebooks as frequently saving you money and Earth’s precious resources.  

Paper Towels

After you wash your hands, if the public bathroom you are in does not have hand driers and you are forced to use paper towels, limit the amount of paper towel you take to dry your hands.  You don’t need 3 feet of paper towel to dry off your hands, so just take the amount you need, which should be about 6 inches. Some may argue that a small amount does not “dry your hands all the way.”  To avoid this, try shaking off the excess water and then dry them off with the small amount of paper towel.  If your paper towel dispenser is automatic, rip the paper towel before it is released all the way.  There will be a little hanging out, but then the next person won’t have to waste as many paper towel releases if they have enough.  Your little step can go a long way. 

I’ve heard many arguments in the past that, “it doesn’t matter how much I take they already chopped down the trees and made all these paper towels.”  My answer is: True, however the key word here is reduce.  If you reduce the amount consumed, then there will be more for other people to use, reducing the amount of time it takes to replace the dispenser.  Eventually, the amount of paper towel the school uses will decrease and they won’t have to purchase as much reducing their costs.  

Dim Your Computer Screen

My friend brought this up during our environmental policy class yesterday.  Dim your computer to save your battery life on your computer.  Dimming your screen makes the screen darker so you use less energy to power it making your battery last longer.  A longer battery means less charging time and less charging time means smaller energy consumption reducing your energy bills.   

Automatic vs Normal Doors

Most colleges or public buildings have automatic doors to assist the handicapped.  However, automatic doors are bad!  If you are handicapped, I understand you may not be able to do this, but for those who are able use the non-automatic door please use it.  Yes that requires you to use your muscles and open a door but doing this will reduce the amount of heat/air conditioning from leaving the building.  An automatic door keeps the door open letting heat/air conditioning escape 4 times longer than using a normal door that swings shut right away.  This will help reduce the amount of heat/cool air costs for your school and that money could be used towards other projects to help your education.  And as an added bonus for gentlemen, holding the door open for ladies is quite the generous common courtesy.  Maybe holding the door for that cute girl behind you will be the start of something beautiful.  

Hold It

I know this may sound odd… but try sometimes holding going to the bathroom until you REALLY have to go.  Each flush uses approximately 3 gallons on water and if you go to the restroom 1 time within a 2 hour period instead of 2 times within that time, you save twice as much water.  I’m not telling you to hold your human waste in for TOO long, just don’t waste a flush unless you truly need to go.  

Blackle

My blog is mainly dark in color because it uses less energy.  I got the idea from the search engine site, Blackle.  Blackle is just like Google, but the background is black to make screens around the world darker utilizing less energy than a bright screen would. 

Give Blackle a try!

Blackle

Textbooks

College Textbooks.  Two words that will make you cringe due to their obnoxious prices.  An average college student will spend over $500 a semester on books for their classes.  However, there are ways to reduce that cost.  Go to different bookstores on or around your campus to figure out who has the best RENTAL prices.  Renting books reduces the amount of resources needed to produce a brand new book and goes back to the simple idea of reusing. 

Another important resources for textbook rentals is a wonderful site called Chegg.  Chegg saves students hundreds of dollars each year through their online service that rents books for a decent price and for every order they plant a tree!  It also costs $0 to ship the books back to Chegg, which makes it an even more affordable service for students.


Check out the link below.  It's easy to use and use this code to receive an extra discount: CC127922
Chegg.com: Rent Textbooks. Cheap Textbook Rentals for College

Study Guides

When making study guides on your computer for notes or upcoming tests, widen the margins and reduce the font size to utilize maximum page space.  Also, avoid double spacing.  This can take a 7 page study guide and turn it into 4 page study guide not only saving trees made into paper, but saving you more paper you can use for later projects and increasing the period of time until you need to buy more paper. 

Sunshine

“Let the sunshine in!”  Open your blinds and utilize the sun’s glow to light up your home or workplace.  There is no need to turn on any lights when there is bright sunshine right outside to do the job for you.  This will cut down on your energy bill due to the lack of lamps being used.  If you’re worried about excess heat/cool air leaving through open windows, simply keep your blinds down and open them slightly to reduce the amount of heat/cool air from leaving.

Laundry

Don’t wash your laundry until you have a FULL load.  For example, let’s say you separate your darks and lights, but you have full load of darks and only half a load of whites.  Put the whites aside and wait another week or so of wearing whites until there is a full load and then wash them together.  This will cut down on the amount of water and energy used per cycle, therefore cutting down on your water and energy bills.

Reuse School Supplies

Reuse school supplies from previous semesters.  You don’t need brand new supplies each and every semester.  Therefore, reusing notebooks, folders, pens, etc. will cut down on the amount of resources it took to produce these items as well as save money on materials you don’t need.