Huge round of applause for the Climate Change Walkout last Friday. The amount of support and turnout was widely dispersed between students and faculty, which is important in showing we all stand in unity.
But, the Climate Strike doesn’t mark the end of the work to be done. We must take Friday and the cause it supports and continue to take a stand. Taking on saving the world, the polar bears, the ice caps — or just general humanity — is a daunting task, but there are little things you can do (with minimal effort, so really, you have no excuse) to continue contributing to the care of our planet.
We have all probably heard what I am about to suggest a million times. These habits, however, have yet to stick. Please, try to begin implementing them. Do it for whatever reason you want. Do it for the polar bears. Do it for your (future) children. Do it for the coastlines. Or do it for those who are going to be hit way harder than we might be. Just do it to do it. I really don’t care. But just try. It’ll be easier than you think.
Do not take a long shower. Try to limit to 5–7 minutes, maximum. If you are shaving, turn off the water until you’re all lathered up. A 10 minute shower uses 25 gallons of water. Just cutting that time in half could help conserve millions of gallons a year.
Eat food that is in season. We all (mostly) love avocados, I know. But the amount of energy required to produce avocados outside their normal season, which is between June and October, costs the environment far more than the trendy, yummy avocado toast is worth. Use peanut butter or bananas instead.
Turn your lights off when you leave your room. Yes, even your fairy lights.
Get a reusable mug. You get a discount at Opus! Plus, you are keeping yourself from being another statistic to condemn Hamilton students for the amount of disposable cups they use daily.
Recycle. Compost. Just be smart about disposing of your food. Even better: only ask or take what you can eat. Your eyes are often bigger than your stomach. Ask servers for one scoop or half a scoop. You can always go back for more.
Pressure your friends to adopt these strategies. The amount of times I have seen plates piled with food on the Commons conveyor belt makes me mad. The amount of times I’ve been waiting to shower for 20 minutes is frustrating.
I am not saying that I follow these all the time either (I am still working on the reusable mug!), but I, you, and we have no excuse to shy away from taking these necessary steps. It is really not that hard. We can do it.
So, whether you were at the climate walkout or not, these are your new challenges. Embrace them, and embrace that you are making an active choice for your environment, knowing that if the collective comes together, we can enact real change.
Eating seasonal food will increase demand in those seasons and allow farmers to plan accordingly. Conserving water and electricity saves money. Plus, if consumers begin demanding sustainable practices from producers, energy companies will have to respond in turn.
Climate change is complex, but the baby steps to make change are not. Right now, it is not so much a question of asking more of others, but rather a question of asking more of yourself. What else can you do? How else can you treat the environment to improve its health? How can you spread these practices to others? These are big questions and worthy of considering over the course of a 5-minute shower.
