Even though climate change and environmental problems are huge issues to tackle, there are many easy ways to be green. By making small changes to your everyday life, we can save energy and eliminate waste. Collectively, all of our efforts will add up. Share these tips, and encourage your friends and family to make these small changes too!
1. Wash your clothes with cold water instead of warm water.
Turning down the dial on the washing machine reduces your carbon footprint and saves energy. Even though 60% of Americans still wash their clothes in warm water, it’s really a myth that warm water will get your clothes cleaner. When you wash your clothes in warm water, only 10 to 15% percent of the energy goes to running the machine, while 85% to 90% of the energy is used to heat the water. If everyone who uses a washing machine in the US switched from using warm water to cold water, we could save around 30 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
2. Hit up the thrift stores.
Reusing clothes is a great way to reduce waste. Instead of throwing away clothes you don’t want anymore or that are too small for you, give them to a consignment store or thrift store. You can also give the clothes to your friends or younger siblings. Did you know it can take 2,700 liters of water to produce a single t-shirt? It also takes energy to transport clothing to wash and care for clothing. If we can reuse our clothes we can eliminate wasting this water and energy. Doing clothing exchanges with friends and shopping at thrift stores are a fun and easy way to refresh your wardrobe and give to others.Â
3. Unplug appliances while you’re not using them.
By simply unplugging appliances like fans, phone chargers, lamps, computer chargers, and printers while you’re not using them, you can save energy. Even if the appliances aren’t being used, having them plugged in still uses energy. Nationally, “phantom power” accounts for more than 100 billion kWh of energy and more than $10 billion in energy costs each year. Unplugging appliances while you’re not using them is an easy way to save energy and money.
4. Avoid using disposable cups and opt for reusable cups.
The disposable cups that you get from food vendors around campus cannot be recycled, so they produce a lot of waste. Bringing your own mug when you buy coffee will also eliminate waste – the Davenport Coffee Lounge in SIS encourages you to bring your own mugs! According to a study conducted by Starbucks and the Alliance for the Environmental Innovation, each paper cup manufactured is responsible for 0.24 pounds of carbon emissions. If you get coffee three days a week, thats around 87 pounds of carbon emissions per year! By using your own bottles (glass or BPA free plastic bottles are the best) you can help eliminate waste.Â
5. Keep shopping bags and use reusable bags.
Throwing away your plastic shopping bags produces a lot of waste. To avoid this, keep your shopping bags and bring them use at your next trip to the grocery store or invest in some reusable bags that can be washed and used over and over again. People are giving them out all the time for free around campus, so take them! When you throw plastic bags away, they end up in land fills or in the ocean. Plastic bags are not very biodegradable, so they build up in landfills. At the least, plastic bags take more than 20 years to degrade. Some types of plastic bags take more than 500 years to degrade. Do the Earth and the ocean a favor and reuse your bags.Â