Wake Up Call

           Two weeks ago, the words ‘global warming’ were not a part of my everyday vocabulary. I wouldn’t be able to tell you when the last time I had a conversation about the hole in the ozone layer or ways I can decrease my carbon footprint. Taking on the task of going green has completely changed my mindset. I used to think that global warming was not a major problem for my generation. I figured that I would be dead and gone before the world would show the major warning signs of distress. But clearly I was wrong! My wakeup call came to me after reading Bill McKibben’s book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, that global warming is here now, and is here to stay if the billions of the earth’s inhabitants do not make some major changes. . Forget the future; the time is now to begin to fix the problem, because the reality is if we do not take action now there will not be a future.

            

            From my last post, I learned a few ways of how to reduce the amount of waste that accumulates in a college dorm room. I took some of those methods and applied them to my life. Midnight food craves are common for college students. Instead of making that late night Cookout run it has been peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me! This means less food containers piling up in the trash can and it saves gas. Killing two birds with one stone! Also I attempt to recycle everything that I can. I have also tackled conserving energy and water usage. If it’s a beautiful sunny day outside, I shut off the ceiling light and open the blinds. When I brush my teeth, I do not leave the water running. Once I began to live a more sustainable lifestyle, it became natural for me to choose the eco-friendly option. But I have noticed that in my attempt to go green, the people around me are having more difficulty making a change. At night in my suite, I turn off all of the lights in my room, my television and unplug my computer and phone chargers. I also turn off all of the lights in the bathrooms, common room and finally the hallway. To my dismay, some of my suitemates sleep with the television on and sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up to the light from the hallway seeping through the crack of the door. I may have realized that a change in my lifestyle is necessary to help the planet, but for others it is a little more difficult. So how do we change the way people think and live?

           

            Drastically changing one’s way of living is going to be a huge task and not an easy one. The world’s population needs to reevaluate the relationship of quality of life and the standard of living. We can get by off only needing the necessities and trying to eliminate the unnecessary wants from our lives.  I think we need to spread continued awareness on the issue of global warming and the negative effects it has on our environment. With our generation being a technological age, we can do this through Facebook, twitter, YouTube, TV etc. This problem is not going to go away just by wishing it away. It is time that we take action and take the needed steps towards a more sustainable way of living.

T.Y.G