I live in on campus at a smaller university. Here's how I live a low-impact life while at college. Housing I live in a single dorm room, but I do share a bathroom with one other person adjacent to me. In my room specifically, I try to turn off all lights when I can, but I do leave a fan running, because my cat lives with me and the smell of cat lingers more if I don't have the fan running. I wish I could open a window, but she has bad allergies, so I only get to open the window once in a while. For lighting, I open the blinds during the day, and use one lamp at night to light the room, instead of the giant fluorescent light in my ceiling. For cleaning, my toiletries, food storage, and more, I use the typical run-of-the-mill plastic free/low-impact replacements. Food I don't eat animal products, but thankfully there is a vegan station in the upstairs caf, where I can eat on reusable plates, utensils, and cups. This is my preferred place of eating. The downstairs area of the caf gets a little tricky. Whenever I go to Starbucks, I make sure to bring my reusable cup, or buy a glass bottle of Teavana. The only other two places I eat are Moe's or Which Wich, because they have vegan and plastic free options. I get my sandwhich at Which Wich wrapped in foil and put in a paper bag. At Moe's I typically get a burrito, because ordering anything else means they will put your food in a plastic container. A burrito guarantees foil and a paper bag as well. I know I can also go to Freshen's and get a smoothie in my own cup, but I rarely ever do. Because I am not in control of making my own food, I unfortunately do not have much access to locally grown foods. The other options in the downstairs caf include Chick-fil-a (which I can't eat and uses Styrofoam for their cups), Panda Express (there are no meat free options for an entree at Panda, and the food comes in either plastic or Styrofoam), and an Aramark run Comfort Corner, which has different kinds of stuff, but it is hard to tell what food I can eat. Transportation Most of my classes are in walking distance, but for anything else on campus I use the campus-run CatTrans, which have routes all over campus. I use the CatTrans to go to one of my classes a couple miles across the four lane, to my car if I had to park far away, or to marching band practice. I am definitely glad for the use of public transportation so that I do not have to walk or drive. For off campus things, I usually try to grab a ride, but I do have a car on campus to drive to teach marching band at the local high school, or run out to the store when no one can take me. I try to use my car as little as possible. Classes For notes, I use the RocketBook Everlast, so that I can keep reusing one notebook, and not waste trees while I do so. I do have manuscript paper I uses sometimes, but I do not use that all the time. If I ever have to turn in something I write in class, I usually write it in my recycled-paper notebook. I really want an iPad Pro and Apple pen to take notes on OneNote, but we will have to see about that, because I am still on the fence about it. Thoughts I personally find it easy and simple to live a low-impact lifestyle in college. I don't have to drive every day, which cuts down a lot of carbon emissions. I may not be in control of where my food comes from, but I can choose to eat the things that produce either zero waste, or plastic free waste. Plus most of my food is made in bulk which also cuts down on waste and emissions. I know there is always room for improvement though, and am constantly figuring out ways to cut down my footprint and plastics. Some of my biggest problems are shower time, laundry, and my cat's litter/food. When I do drive, my car is not the best for the environment, however, I am trying to save up for an electric car one day within the next 5 years. Even though I am not in charge of my food, I'd like to contribute more to local farmers and their products. I also am trying to buy as little as I possibly need, and trying to buy second hand as often as I can. These are just some of the things I do on a daily basis to live a low-impact life. I know we all can be on the path to a low-impact life as soon as we start making conscious changes in our everyday life.
Coming soon is a two-blog post about my band trip to St. Louis, Missouri and how I travel with as low of an impact as possible!
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December 2018
Ally
Just looking out for the Earth and everyone who lives on it. |