What do you do for the environment?

[Michael Higdon]

I'm curious to know what kind of things you all do for the environment, whether it's using special light bulbs and eating certain foods to protesting and chaining yourself to red woods. And more importantly, why do you do it, how does it make you feel, what do you accomplish - or think you accomplish?

[Rachel Lane]

For the environment i use special light bulbs, always recycle, turn off all electronics and unplug them when they are not in use. I also do not eat meat, not only because i view it as cruel, but factory farms create a lot of runoff pollution. I also have just recently started a new blog called Keep'n It Green where i am tracking my efforts this summer to make my carbon footprint a lot smaller and share cool environmental facts along the way.
I do this because I know global warming is happening, we can see it in our glaciers and the behaviors in a lot of animals it has been effecting, also temperature increases. I feel that we should all be doing our part to help our planet where we live because as of right now it is the only one we have. I feel being environmentally friendly is just the right thing to do.
This summer so far I think I have accomplished a lot. I no longer have people come pick me up to go over there house (because i don't have a license) when it is within 2 miles because i know I can walk, or when i want to go to the store right up the street... so i know i have lowered the amount of carbon emissions i usually released. I also have thrown away less...and learned a lot more.

[John]

For the environment I use compact flourescent lights, constantly get on my parents and friends about turning off lights and electronics when they're done. Recycle everything from plastic to paper bags, wrappers, and napkins from fast food or wherever I go out. Anything that is re-usable I try to reuse as much as possible. Grey water (while waiting for shower to get warm) for house plants and lawn, water lawn before sun comes up on watering days.

For myself I mostly do things to benefit my health and wallet. I have been carpooling a lot with friends and family. Biggest thing I have been doing is biking, which I absolutely enjoy...there is just something about it. Over the summer I rode my bike many places and just this semester have gotten the nerve to ride 10 miles to school 2-3 times a week; it is a very liberating experience to know that I can do all of my daily activities/necessities without a car (which I have been accostumed to thinking we cant live without a car all my life). One other immediate benefit I have also noticed is my health improvement; I have been losing weight steadily while still having the pleasure of eating what I want, I am able to pay better attention and retain information better in class on days that I ride to school, and when I play basketball or do some type of sport with my friends I am in much better shape and riding my bike to the destination gets me a pretty good warmup too. One of the other very suprising things is that after timing my rides and comparing it to when I drive, I ACTUALLY MAKE IT TO SCHOOL FASTER RIDING MY BIKE then when I drive on the freeway, park at tan (its now silver 17 or something, west stadium parking) and walk to my classes (engineering buildings and Anasari business)...I could not believe it, but when I ride my dads old mountain bike I make it to school at the exact time as driving/parking/walking, but then I decided to try skinnier tires (road/hybrid bike) and make it 7 minutes faster!!
I am hoping that early next year I will be completely car independant. Of course this doesnt mean that I will never touch a car ever again...just that I dont really need one to use every single day and will likely get around just fine using bus and bike. One of the reasons I would like to be car-free is the amount of savings I will recieve: Some studys done by AAA say that SUV owners spend an average of 8,000 to 11,000 annually on vehicle expenses, I have done the math on my own car (honda accord) and figured that I will save around 5000-6,000 annually just by not owning a car. Imagine just saving even half that money and compounding the interest from CD's, and stocks/dividend over 20-30 years.

For the future: Like I wrote, I would like to be car free early 2009. My Girlfriend and I are planning on getting a house (on 7th street) closer to school, and her 2 jobs. Unfortunately I will end up having a 10 mile commute either way because I of my work. Luckily, I think I have an awesome job working at the bike shop in Scheels where I will be able to promote and learn more about something I really enjoy, and another great thing is that I told my managers that I plan on commuting by bike/bus and they are very lenient and will be understanding if I ever show up a little late. The new prospective house really needs new roofing, so I am going to try my best to get some PV's up and running. The backyard is beautiful and big for our dogs, and I would like to have a green house we can grow some food/herbs and spices. Ok sorry for the big spiel, and I hope other people reply with some of the things they plan or already do...writing down goals tends to give them a better chance of coming to fruition. Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from others.