15+ Ways College Students Can Contribute To A Greener World

Viewing the drastic effects of human exploitive activity, the concept of environmentalism began taking roots in theory and in practice in the 1960s. Regardless of age, gender, demographics, and racial gaps, this open movement invited anyone who focused on sustaining the global environmental issues.

The goal of sustainability measures is to preserve the natural landmarks and resources for the younger generation, which refers mainly to the students of today and tomorrow.

Developing healthy environmental perspective during the learning years helps the students cut down the exploitive habits that take a toll on the environment. College students are the intermediate group that can bridge the child- and adult-aimed eco-friendly practices.

In this article, you’ll find 15+ practices to keep your environment clean, neat, and safe. Though these practices may not directly address the contemporary environmental problems, these efforts will start bettering the lives of yourself and others.

1. Choose Colleges With Green Buildings

Students opt for colleges that offer them a credible degree. As serious as going to a top-rated college is, viewing its sustainability practices is even a more exceptional aspect. Green and efficient buildings tell much about a college’s respect for the environment.

When choosing a college, look at the efforts, such as gray waters systems, solar panels, and other building initiatives run by faculty to reduce environmental damage.

2. Pursue Environmental Degrees

Being an environmental conservation enthusiast pays off when you start your college journey with proper education of ecological stability. It allows you to discover and expand your reach to maximum solutions for environmental practices others can also use.

Environmental sciences, sustainable agriculture, environmental humanities, and natural resource preservation are some of the many degrees universities provide.

3. Choose Efficient Energy Sources For Studies

Technology has added several dimensions to environmental conservation, one of which is shifting studies from hard to soft paper copies. Instead of wasting papers on your assignments and written tasks, you can simply search for an efficient write my assignment for me writing service to do the task for you and save you time and other expenditures.

Moreover, most of the daily use devices come with eco-friendly options to save battery and reduce electricity consumption, of which your laptops and smartphones take the lead. You may also download apps to keep up with your environmental practice.

4. Make Your Dorm Eco-Friendly

Many colleges have dorms, but only a few are adapted to eco-friendly measures. While some may come with rain barrels, solar panels, reclaimed wood, and passive lightening, you can also contribute to green living.

Start by bringing some low-maintenance plants in your room, use recycled or second-hand furniture LED-lamps for studies and so on.

5. Walk To The Campus

Using a vehicle means you’re using natural fuel and passing contaminating gases into the environment. The only practice with a zero-turnover rate is walking. If you reside within the campus vicinity, prioritize walking over choosing a vehicle.

You surely won’t be emitting gases, but also, you’ll be improving your own health. Walking also energizes your circulation and proper motor functioning. It also decreases the risks of various diseases.

6. Bicycle Ride To The College

If you’re lazy enough to walk to the campus, or the college lies outside your power to walk, then grab a bike and start riding. Cycling isn’t only good for fitness, it also improves your mental health. According to Graeme Obree, cycling helps people suffering from depression.

It also helps you lose calories, and you get better lung health. Studies suggest that cyclist experiences the least of pollution, thanks to the zero-waste ability. However, riding a bicycle to your college has better impacts than liberating harmful components into the air.

7. Stop Using Disposable Material

The animal watch channels regularly show you videos of turtles suffocated with plastic straws or fish strangled with coke holders. There are even times when the streams and lakes in the parks are contaminated with disposable plates and glasses.

If you want to contribute, start carrying your own set of portable and eco-friendly mug or water bottle. You can always replace the disposable options with your own reusable material, so there is a less chance of environmental corruption.

8. Use Recycled Products

When it comes to recycling, about 80% of the water bottles are never recycled, and surprisingly, over 2 million tons of empty plastic water bottles flood the US landfills.

With so many people discarding paper or plastic products, maintain your responsibility to recycle water bottles, disposable items, clothes, and technology. Also, nothing matches this strategy than using recycled material.

9. Eat Fresh Produce

For as long as time knows, the excessive use of chemicals in the farming industry has contributed massively to the anomalies in the agricultural landscape. However, addressing the need for the essential nutrients, the organic food industry has pledged to incorporate sustainable practices to reduce the use of toxic fertilizers and pesticides.

In place of using the additive loaded vegetables, go for fresh and green produce. The organic ones may be a little pricey, but you can still grow your small garden in the dorm room.

10. Save Energy

The reason they tell you to turn your thermostat to a lower temperature is that it’s either using massive amounts of electricity or burning natural fuel only to emit CO2. Also, setting your air conditioner to a higher degree won’t make you feel much difference, but it’s going to impact the bill and the flow of electricity.

Plus, turn off the lights when you’re not using a room or when sleeping at night. Learn to conserve and preserve.

11. Try Going For Borrowing Instead Of Buying

Borrowing something for a little rent is way better than something you’re going to buy to use it just once.

During your college years, you may fall victim to over-shopping and keep blowing off your budget. You can borrow second-hand books or rent courses for a small fee.

12. Decrease Meat Consumption

When it comes to raising cattle, the concerns for greenhouse gas emissions increase reports United Nations. The amount of nitrous oxide produced from cattle rearing is 296 times than that of CO2 emitted from pollution.

So how is your reduced meat consumption contribute to reducing this obnoxious gas? When you eat less meat, their cattle rearing action will slow down. You can reduce the meaty meal to twice times a week. If it’s hard for you, make sure you pick the meat that is free of potential contaminants.

13. Waste Water No More

Repeatedly, you’re told not to waste water. That’s true. Where you’re wasting a gallon of water, people are dying of thirst. Whether you’re at a drinking fountain at the campus or in the restroom in your dorm, turn off the tap just as you stop using it.

Plus, you may also want to cut down your shower time so you can save water from being wasted. It’s a precious resource availability of which you should cherish.

14. Suggest A Planting Campaign

The greener your study area is, the healthier you’re going to be. Planting trees goes a long way to cutting the emission of gases and emitting fresh oxygen to breathe. Trees and plants also communicate on a natural level and help in restoring the balance in an area.

As a student, you can suggest a planting campaign of seasonal plants favored by your university’s location. You can invite people to sign up for the campaign and propose the university authorities to designate funds for an environmental initiative.

15. Save The day For Environmental Cleanup

You may see littered parks and sidewalks on the way to your college. Not only does it looks nasty, but it can also trigger the spread of air-borne viral and bacterial infections.

Like the plant campaign, roll out an off-day activity to clean up the whereabouts of your university. You can start picking up trash in your locality or start recycling material for some cash as well.

16. Initiate A Carbon Footprint Tracking Campaign

This includes tracking yourself, your class, or individuals from your university. The idea of this campaign is built around monitoring everyday activities, so to notice the amount of CO2 you and others are emitting.

You can track by calculating how much carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide was emitted when you used to transport or how much meat you ate or how many seeds you sowed. Once you determine the average footprint, make sure you have plans to cut the emissions too.

17. Encourage Others

Once you’re a goodwill ambassador of environmental protection, you can influence others with your sustainable practices. Instead of talking them into believing what you’re doing is out of sheer good, show them with your efforts.

When they join you in your journey, appreciate and welcome their stand and realization. If they’re keen enough, allow people to participate in your daily activities, such as walking, cycling, planting, and other activities to make social life fun and interesting for yourself and others.

Environment Is Where The Home At

The environment we live in is our home. It’s our responsibility to keep track of the positive and negative changes in our lives. No matter how small your effort to sustain the environment is, it’s woven into the thread of love and support for the environment.

Contemplate on what other practices you can take on to expand your contribution. Do let us know if you’ve got something else in mind.