5 Ways to be Green During the Holidays

The Holiday season is notorious for using a lot of natural resources. Between traveling to visit loved ones,  lights, presents, elaborate meal preparations and holiday parties, there’s really no way to avoid it completely.  That being said, there are many little things you can do to stay green over the holidays.

1)      Turn off your lights

We all enjoy sparkling Christmas lights in the wintertime, whether they’re decorating the houses that line our streets, or the Christmas trees in our living rooms. But beautiful as they are, they use a ton of energy.  Leave your outside lights off during the day, and invest in a timer that will turn them on automatically at 5pm and off at midnight. For your inside lights, make sure to unplug them before you go to bed.

2)      Wrap wisely

The wrapping on your presents can be half the fun! Make sure you’re using paper that is recyclable or better still, made from recyclable material. Retailers like Amazon and Greenfield Paper sell paper that is made from 100% recycled materials.

3)      Reuse gift bags

I have a closet full of old gift bags that I couldn’t bear to toss after opening the gift. Chances are you have some too. Re-use them! The large majority are still in perfect condition after one use. Another idea is to use shopping bags as gift bags. Fooling family and friends into thinking they know what you got them is an added perk!

4)      Send e-cards

Holiday cards are a staple of the season.  Traditional cards use endless amounts of paper, not to mention the time it takes to make them. Send an e-card instead! Not only will you save time, and money on postage, but you’ll also have the energy to send your card to more people you care about.  And if you must send a paper card, try Tiny Prints, as they focus on smaller cards, or any online cardmaker, which will allow you to avoid buying cards and printing pictures to go inside the cards.

5)      Give gift cards

For family and friends in your immediate area, gifts of whatever size are fine, as you can take the gift with you when you go to see them.  For loved ones that are further away, consider sending a gift card, it will cut down significantly on packaging, and fuel used to transport it.

There are countless ways to conserve energy and resources during the holiday season. These are simply five of my ideas to help get you started. I’m not an expert by any means, just a Seattle native who cares about the environment. Every little bit helps. Happy Holidays!

Morgan Pinckney is a senior at the George Washington University, majoring in Communication with a minor in Women’s Studies.  She is an admitted Starbucks addict, cupcake lover and all around foodie.  She studied abroad in Paris, her favorite city in the world. After graduation she hopes to pursue a masters degree in Global Communication or a job in Public Relations.

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Categories: eco geek

Bringing the Green Revolution to Your Campus

From September 16-18, 2011, the Dave Matthews Band Caravan came to Randall Island in New York City. Not only has Dave Matthews Band been a box-office leader in concert ticket sales, they also set a great example for other artists and music festival coordinators to go green at their concerts. The Dave Matthews Band Caravan was one of the greenest concerts I have ever attended and really proved that if people are given the choice to make a more eco-friendly decision, they will chose to go green and help save our environment. Environmental health is a big concern for many institutions around the world, and going to the DMB Caravan showed me how easy it is to bring the green revolution back home to our universities.

DMB Caravan teamed up with Brita’s Filter For Good Music Project to help both music artists and fans do their part to save the environment by giving them the option to decrease their carbon footprints at concerts. This includes providing an alternative for bottled water by setting up water refill stations and encouraging the use of reusable plastic bottles, sold by companies such as Nalgene. As long as there is a water source near the concert area, Brita is able to install a water filtration system on the concert grounds, providing free water to fans and workers. Smaller water refill stations are set up backstage for performers and reusable water bottles are given out at the concert so concert goers could stay hydrated and help reduce plastic water bottle waste.

I go to a large university in an urban area which definitely feels the effects of city pollution. My campus does several things to go green within our community, such as having printers default to printing double-sided, installing small water refill stations in our student centers, and having the largest solar-energy powered campus facilities in the nation. Being that our university is in an urban area, we students see exactly how pollution affects the air we breathe and the grounds on which we study and walk. We have numerous “Go Green” campaigns at school which have recently worked to get our university buses to use leftover cooking oil from the dining halls and also limit the sale of plastic water bottles.

Stay educated about the Green Movement—after all, we are in college and therefore have a huge platform to jump off of whenever we want to start a change in our communities. The first step to changing anything is educating yourself about the topic and then bringing awareness to others. If the Green Movement is something you feel strongly about emphasizing on campus, start by getting signatures to bring a water refill station to your campus through Brita.

If you are given the choice to go green, would you? Start the revolution at your school!

Dawn Angelicca Barcelona is a sophomore at Rutgers University, a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and a sister of Iota Sigma Beta, an elite leadership sorority. She is majoring in English and Creative Writing. Among many things, she is a poet, dancer, green tea lover, and productive insomniac. She was a former Rutgers Admissions Student Blogger and currently works at Xanga.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DawnAngelicca.

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Categories: eco geek, pop geek

Food for Thought

As I eat the brownie crumbs off of my fingers, I am the last person who should be preaching about eating healthily. However, with the arrival of the fall semester, living a healthy, eco friendly lifestyle on a campus with a Starbucks on every corner and never ending dessert buffets in the dining halls has never seemed more difficult. So instead of offering up a recipe for cheese fries (available upon request…) I asked my friend Michelle Wong who’s an eco-gastronomy major at UNH what her dining hall tips are for living healthy and green.

Most of us know to choose the salad bar over the hamburger line but what about choosing between different fruits and vegetables? Which are better for our bodies and the environment? “When it comes to dining halls,” Michelle says, “try to choose local produce.” All the miles that fruits and veggies have to travel just to get to your school creates a carbon footprint. At the dining hall, look for labels that signify that your food is locally grown. Many colleges and universities around the country are going green and creating sustainability programs to ensure that they are doing their job to help the environment. To see how your school adds up, click here.

Another factor to keep in mind when stacking up your plates with fruit salad is the chemicals that may remain on the surface and within the flesh of the produce. “Pesticides are causing a growing health problem. Apples, celery, and strawberries are several seemingly healthy choices that have the highest levels of residual pesticides,” Michelle says. So what’s so bad about a little bug-killer on your fruit? According to the EPA, some pesticides may be carcinogens (cancer causing), may disrupt your hormones and may affect your nervous system. Some healthy, low-pesticide options (because we can’t always afford organic as college students) that Michelle suggests are onions, pineapple, avocado, asparagus, sweet potatoes and watermelon.

With fruits and vegetables being the obvious nutritional choices, what should we eat when it comes to protein? Certain colleges (like mine, Boston University) are now offering cage-free eggs upon request. Cage-free eggs have lower cholesterol, less hormones and yolks that are richer in nutrients (and result in happier chickens). “Tofu, beans, and quinoa are other healthy sources of non-animal protein,” Michelle says. With red meat now on the very top of the food pyramid, “eating less meat is better for the environment and can be better for our bodies.”

We can’t always be expected to pass up the chicken nuggets and cheesecake, but making small changes, like choosing tofu over steak tips or sweet potatoes over French fries, is a step closer to living a healthier, greener lifestyle (and avoiding the freshman 15).

Laura Nelson is a junior majoring in Psychology and English at Boston University and she’s been a member of NSCS for two years. When she’s not trying to read classic Greek and Roman literature, you may find her frequenting art museums, drawing and reproducing famous masterpieces in cake form.

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Categories: campus geek, eco geek, fit geek

Campus Recycling: Easier Than You Think

Going green is a phrase that is frequently tossed around in media campaigns, and those same campaigns are continually asserting that little progress is being made in the ‘green movement’.

Whether your goals this year are simply going to school or also include going green, it is probably easier than you think to contribute to recycling efforts on your campus.  Recycling bins are typically strategically placed near trash cans.  Is it really so hard to toss your pop bottle into the recycling bin rather than the trash can?  Furthermore, many on-campus residence halls across the country are encouraging residents to recycle by placing large recycling bins in or near the buildings, and in Spring 2011 Kansas State University placed blue bins in each student’s room, to make recycling simple and easy.

If going green is something for the individual, then sustainability is the buzzword for larger organizations.  Universities across the country are working towards becoming more sustainable, and several universities, such as K-State, Columbia, University of Washington: North Sound, Syracuse, Oregon, and many, many more, are working on LEED certified buildings, structures, and sustainability plans (for more information about LEED certification, click here).

So if your college is trying to do their part to help the planet, why not do yours?  Here are some simple tips for recycling on campus.

1. Keep a recycling bin in your room.

Keeping a recycling bin in your living space will stop you from tossing bottles, cans, or paper into the trash because it’s convenient.  When you make recycling as easy as throwing something away, it becomes something you will enjoy doing.

2. Keep empty bottles in your bookbag.

If you buy a bottle of soda in the morning to keep you awake, don’t toss it in the trash when you’re done.  Keep it with you until you come across a recycling bin.  Who knows, maybe you can even fill it up at the drinking fountain and get a little more use out of it before discarding it.

3. Use both sides of computer paper.

Using both sides of computer paper is one of the easiest ways to recycle.  Print pages double-sided, or print things like maps, directions, schedules, etc., on the back of papers you no longer need.  When both sides are used up, take the paper to a recycling bin!

4. Tell your friends!

Telling your friends that you recycle might make them see the value of recycling; similarly, knowing your friends recycle can motivate you to continue your recycling efforts.

Emma Brace is a sophomore at Kansas State, where she is an engineering major.  She keeps a recycling bin in her room, and enjoys playing tennis, drinking frozen mochas, and playing board games.  She also writes a blog, Adventures in Wildcatland, where she rambles about movies, events, and college life in general.

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Categories: campus geek, eco geek

Keen on Going Green

Well…here we are…starting yet another year of school. I know it can seem a little redundant over the years, especially when entering that final stretch of college, so here’s a challenge for you in hopes of making things a bit more interesting.

I dare you to attempt to “go green” this semester. What do I mean by that? Well, let me enlighten you…

There is a lot of talk nowadays about helping the environment and enhancing the overall quality of the world. So, what’s stopping you? I know that statements such as “Save the Whales” may cause this whole phenomenon to sound like a lot of work or beyond your control, but that’s where you’re wrong. There are many things you can do this semester in order to do your part for the environment. Just in case you’re drawing a blank, here are some ideas to help get you started:

1. Carry a reusable water bottle.

  • This may seem obvious, but many people forget to do this. Not only can it help the environment by recycling the same bottle, but it can also save you a bit of cash. Have you ever been in a situation where you are simply desperate for a sip of water? I have, and many times I cannot help but to spend $1.50 on a bottle of water. Well, it may seem like a mere sum of money, but all of those $1.50’s can definitely add up. Save yourself and the ecosystem the trouble by having the convenience of a water bottle with you at all times.

2. Make recycle bins in your living area: paper, glass, plastic, aluminum.

  • It may seem annoying at first and difficult to become accustomed to, but if you start a system of recycling in your house, it can become a habit. Eventually, you will separate paper from plastic from trash naturally.

3. Buy used books

  • I do not even need to try to persuade you to buy used books instead of new books. The money you save should be reason enough.

4. Walk/bike/take public transportation to class and work.

  • If you are living on campus, plug in your iPod and simply walk or ride a bicycle to class. It can usually be a lot faster due to shortcuts, and it’s not too bad for your health, either. Walking to class can give you time to think and to be relaxed before stepping into a busy classroom. If you don’t live on campus, research the public transportation options in your city, such as buses. Or, try to coordinate a carpool schedule with roommates and friends. Consider finding a job you can walk to as well. Small things such as these can really make difference.

5. Recycle things you wouldn’t normally think of.

  • There are many things you can turn in once they are used, such as old cell phones, batteries, and printer ink cartridges. At many places, such as Office Depot, you can even save by refilling ink cartridges for a fraction of the price.

6. Unplug things that aren’t being used in your room.

  • You think you are saving all power possible by turning off your television, but what about the little red light which stays on once you hit the “off” button? If you unplug the system it will save all electricity possible when it comes to that specific device. This can save you a lot of money on the power bills.

So, as you can see, performing your part to save the environment is not only doable, but simple as well. I mean, you may as well save some money while you’re at it.

Melissa Smith is a senior NSCS member at the University of Alabama studying Telecommunications and Film, with a focus on Media Production, and Photography. Last spring semester, she studied photography in London and hopes to return to work there post-graduation! She currently interns at WVUA, the campus-owned TV station at her school, and never turns down an opportunity to meet new people for friendships and networking. You can follow her blog as an ambassador for Study Abroad Italy (SAI), the program she studied with in England and also check out her video portfolio.

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Categories: campus geek, eco geek

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