A call to be mindful and take part in green acts

St. Joe’s fails on some fronts more than others, one of which being sustainability on campus.

There are obvious signs of failing sustainability: excess food waste, water waste, plastic waste and energy waste. None of these are new or uncommon faults of people, or college campuses for that matter.

However, the Earth has been changing for a while and the biggest perpetrators of that change are humans. Again, nothing new, but the changes in climate and the effects of pollution are catching up to us much more quickly than ever before. Therefore, it’s critical that  we focus on what each of us can be doing to help.

To be fair, St. Joe’s is doing many things to increase  sustainability on campus. There are recycling bins in every hallway of every academic building that are equally as large as the trash bins. The recycling bins have helpful signs and diagrams stating what can and cannot be recycled.

There are water fountains on every floor in every building on campus, and better yet, a bottle fill-up station in certain hallways and certain buildings.

In Campion Dining Hall, plastic straws are no longer offered. Many of the bathroom and classroom lights turn off after a certain amount of minutes of inactivity. The green roofs and air dryers and so many other green projects are amazing. However,  this does not mean that we, as students, and as a university can’t be doing more.

As stated in the “Pounds of waste: diners discard food in Campion” article in the Jan. 23 issue of The Hawk, there is an obscene amount of food wasted. This food waste is on us. We are the ones that choose to put too much on our plates. But it’s hard when there’s an unlimited buffet.

While your extra serving of fries that was grabbed because they were just so good may seem like barely anything, it adds up. Food waste across the world contributes to 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.

And, while yes, your extra serving of fries may not seem like that big of a deal and is not going to make the difference between sea levels rising or staying stagnant, every fry does, metaphorically and literally, count. The amount of water that went into growing the potatoes then mashing them up, adds up.

If everyone is throwing out their metaphorical fries, then imagine all of the freshwater that is going to waste.

Being cognizant of what you put on your plate and trying to be careful of what you throw away will make a difference if everyone follows along.

Getting other people to follow along may not be as difficult as you might think; look at the No Plastic Straw Campaign. Social media, celebrities and a serious serving of sad incapacitated turtles are getting so many  people to give up plastic straws.

Not to say that plastic straws aren’t important to remove from our everyday activities, but there are some equally important problems that we as students, and humans, participate in.

The paper take-out boxes and plates, paper cups, plastic tops for the to-go cups, plastic ice cream cups and spoons and excessive amount of paper napkins are a significant amount of waste that can be easily avoided.

Recycling your cups and to-go boxes (after gently cleaning them) and using reusable cups and lids can greatly improve not only your carbon footprint, but also the campus’s footprint as well.

I also acknowledge that being told not to take the paper cup and to not throw it away can be annoying and might push you to grow more frustrated with the conservation movement, everything everyone does, matters.

Taking shorter showers, eating less meat, and recycling more are all things you can do without really detracting from your everyday routine.

If you think the recycling program at this school makes it more difficult for you to recycle, you aren’t alone. I still cannot find the recycling bins in McShain Residence Center the entire time I’ve lived here and the website in the diagrams above the recycling bins in many of the academic buildings is non-existent.

Working on being more sustainable is hard if there isn’t a lot of support from where you live, but it is crucial for every person to do what they can and to advocate that the university also improve their unsustainable ways.

Climate change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, caused by the production and breakdown of plastics, paper, food, oil, and energy.

With the dreaded Doomsday Clock two minutes to midnight, it is on all of us to be more sustainable if we have the means to do so, which many of us do.