Category | Op Ed

Going green is about going clean

Published on November 17, 2009 by Joel Mendelson

Throughout KSU’s campus, recycling bins are in convenient places for students, faculty and staff. It’s quite easy to recycle plastics, aluminum cans and paper. However many students just as easily trash their recyclables, or in some cases casually toss them somewhere on campus, creating great work for KSU’s grounds crew.

Many think the movement to become more environmentally friendly, or green, is nothing more than liberal hippie propaganda, a way to convince others that climate change is real. Whether you believe in a changing climate or not, is hardly the reason to take advantage in the green movement, it’s about being a cleaner human being.

Yes, compared to the developing world, the U.S. has impeccable cleanliness. We hardly litter; much of our population does in fact recycle. However, we are not doing nearly enough to clean up our world. Climate change aside, our planet is growing dirtier by the day. This is a result of the consumer choices we make and our inability to cut our own carbon emissions. For some reason we always seem to be fighting a war against trees; unfortunately the trees lose the fight to wood chippers and axes.

Whether we appreciate it or not, each individual has an incredible impact on the environment. If just half of the students who currently trash recyclable items recycled them instead, think of the difference that would be made in KSU’s consumption? The more bottles we throw away means hundreds, if not thousands of years until those bottles decompose. If they’re recycled, the bottles will be melted down and turned into fresh bottles for people to consume.

This is just one example of the many ways Americans can be cleaner, not just greener. The more we make an effort to clean up after ourselves, the better world we will have left for our children and grandchildren. People rarely think that just one person can have a positive or negative impact on the world around them, but collectively, we become a powerful force against nature.

A new and frightening discovery is being found throughout the world’s oceans-floating islands of trash. Yes, the soda bottle you casually tossed in the trash has the potential to someday provide a lovely landing strip for birds. Folks, it’s time we clean up our act.

We consume far too much in this great country without any idea of the true impact we’re having on the world. Americans could drastically cut their spending on consumables, from food products, to useless goods (mostly made overseas), and not only save money, but also the environment at the same time. If we choose to consume a product, we need to be consciously aware of exactly where the goods came from and where they’re going. Too often people put themselves first and once the product is no longer of use to them, they simply throw it in the trash. It is quick and easy to rid oneself of something that no longer has any value.

This collective mindset has led to a collection of trash that will never disappear back into the earth during our lifetimes and will simply litter the planet as we move from consumable to consumable. This doesn’t mean you should stop consuming altogether; just be mindful of where it’s going. If a product you have purchased is no longer of any use to you, pass it along to someone else, or sell it or give it away. So much of what we trash can either be reused or recycled and drastically cut down on waste.

Even the dining hall had to limit portions recently as a result of students taking far too much food at a given time. There is no need for this waste as we should simply take what we need, not what our gluttonous behavior craves. Less food leads to less waste, unless of course you’re going to eat the six slices of pizza, five hamburgers and two platefuls of fries you just took.

It’s time we clean up our act and start thinking about those around us, the future and how to look after not just ourselves but also the world, which would only scratch the surface of what needs to be done, but we can get started. Now if there was only a way to convince guys that not all toilets on campus flush automatically we’d truly be in business. Until then, let’s settle for the responsible cleanup of KSU and ourselves.