April 25, 2009
Opinion
Making every day Earth Day makes sense
To celebrate Earth Day last week, two of my Columbus State Community College colleagues held a brown-bag session on going green in the classroom. The discussion emphasized practices we can utilize to save our department money, as well as educate ourselves and students about our effect on the environment throughout the year.
Saving money and not wasting office resources are of primary importance not only to us, but also to colleges and universities across the nation, because of the recession.
Recycling and reusing paper was at the top of the list of what my colleagues termed "eco-conscious habits," in addition to using technology to eliminate classroom clutter.
Online resources are very helpful today in reducing paper use, because assignments and lecture notes can be posted on classroom Web sites, and instructors who are extremely tech-savvy can blog with their students.
We also were encouraged in our session to design recycling boxes and take turns with our students emptying them into our blue recycling bins located in the hallways. I've been doing well in making sure I throw outdated newspaper and magazine clippings into the bins, and I'm using e-mail links more to save research articles. I've certainly destroyed enough trees in my academic career, making excessive copies and tossing piles of paper into the trash.
Paper accounts for one-third of solid municipal waste in our country, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and newspapers and magazines are among the top 10 items that can be easily recycled in most cities. When we fail to recycle these paper products, we also add to the methane gas emissions at landfills.
As I continued to chat with my colleagues after our session, my thoughts turned to the national discussion on Earth Day and other steps we can take outside the workplace to reduce our carbon footprints.
Despite the recession, many Americans are still concerned about the environment, and although we are not the throwaway society we once were, the EPA says we still could recycle 80 percent of our waste. In addition to recycling, we also can avoid what some environmentalists call "green sins," which include buying lots of bottled water and using plastic bags. The plastic used to make the bags and bottles represents a huge drain on us, ecologically and economically.
According to the Container Recycling Institute in Washington, D.C., 15 million barrels of oil a year are required to make the plastic water bottles we use, not including the fuel needed to transport them.
Because most of us are on the go with hectic schedules, it isn't feasible to completely stop purchasing bottled water. However, we can significantly reduce our consumption by filling reusable bottles with water and taking them with us to work and the gym.
Plastic bags have been on the ecological hot seat for several years, because of the aggravation they cause regarding city litter and the enormous cost of recycling them. Retailers such as Wal-Mart have taken a lead to reduce their use among customers, pledging to cut one-third of the plastic bags given away by 2013. We also can do our part by bringing our own bags to stores when shopping. I haven't stepped up to the plate in this area, but I admire the stand that cities on the West Coast, particularly San Francisco, have taken to curtail distribution of plastic bags. San Francisco banned their use at large grocery and drug stores in 2007, and plans to eliminate them by 2010.
There is obviously much left to accomplish in striving to make our cities and workplaces greener, and my Earth Day discussion with colleagues has motivated me to do much more than just recycle.
I think the recession has been a critical wake-up call for all of us to make a serious effort in becoming more eco-conscious. In these times, we can no longer afford to be complacent regarding the environment.
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