By Madison Wilson, Contributing Writer
Recently, people everywhere celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. On Saint Patrick’s Day most celebrities wear green. This signifies the green attire that is worn by the leprechaun.
However, what about wearing green to represent something else? Green has been proven to represent the ‘going green’ movement- that signifies reducing, reusing, and recycling to help our Earth.
There are many things that we as students can do to keep our environment clean, green, and pristine, even at Saint Leo University.
We know that recycling has proven to be a very effective method in accomplishing the goal of being more environmentally responsible.
Some of the simple ways might be picking up trash when we see it, turning off lights, changing light bulbs, hanging clothes outside on the line instead of using a dryer and composting.
“Students can be more environmentally responsible by substituting certain materials like containers or other tools with environmentally friendly products,” said Lynsi Sands, a freshman majoring in psychology.
Saint Leo has trash cans everywhere so we should never feel the need to throw trash on the ground. There are also recycling bins all around the campus where we can put items in that we would like to help recycle.
“We should always make sure we are throwing trash directly into a trash or recycling bin and never throw it on the floor,” said Sands.
There are also stickers on the light switches that remind us to turn them off to help conserve energy.
Additionally, there are some other things that we can do to make our environment healthier for us all in the long-term.
We can use electric vehicles instead of gas. This dramatically decreases the pollution of gas in our environment by contributing to cleansing the air.
The result of this action can be an asset to the environment and our health. Breathing in toxins like gases over time can be dangerous to the body.
Moreover, using solar panels is another way to influence the environment for the better. Natural energy from the sun is important in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and lessening climate changes.
When we use natural energy, we are using energy that does not change and will not get exhausted. This rules out having to constantly maintain power plants that require the use of gases.
While things like solar panels and electric cars may not yet apply to us college students, they are certainly things to think about in the future. In the meantime, there are small ways to help, such as recycling.
It may not always seem easy to go green, but if we all try, it gets easier, and the Earth gets greener.
