2008 Woodie Awards
Being 'green' requires sacrifice
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Opinions
Perhaps that's just not your cup of tea, you say? Well, don't worry, there is always recycling. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, not so fast. Let's go through the steps. One, buy recycle bins. Two, recycle. Three, dispose of recyclables. This may be an easier habit to get into than turning off the lights, but the sacrifice comes in for many at step three.
Around UCF, where the majority of residents live in apartments, there are no recycling programs available. That means getting in your car and driving (i.e. emitting CO2) to a recycling disposal facility to dump your green goods. For some, this hassle is too annoying or time consuming to bother with, and frankly, who could blame them?
So what's next? What else can one do to meet these raging green demands? Well, there are a number of things left on the list, don't worry. There is air drying clothes, keeping the AC lower than you like, riding your bike or walking, asking for paper instead of plastic and reusing those same bags every time you shop, buying locally grown food, cutting meat from your diet, or conserving water.
No problem, right? Again, not so fast. Option one tends to produce stiff-as-a-board clothes that many don't exactly enjoy putting on. Option two leaves some a little too warm for comfort. Option three may make you wake up extra early to have ample time to make it to your destination on a bike or on foot. Option four requires you to remember to bring paper bags to the grocers every time you go and, yes, ask the bagger to use them. Option five requires higher prices and searching your town for a farmer's market every time you need veggies and fruit. Option six requires you to tighten the reins on your diet and eat healthier by (gasp) giving up eating meat. Option seven requires you to take shorter showers and be conscious of all your water use. And the list could go on and on.
So what's the point we're driving at here, folks? It's that meeting the demands of groups like Focus the Nation and joining the green movement requires real-life sacrifice, not just turning out to a rally events during your college career. Going green is not about wearing a T-shirt made in China that reads, "Support your local farmer's market." It's about making real, hard changes in your lifestyle. Being green is not glitzy and it's not easy. These options may sound simple-as-pie on paper, but we urge you to try out some of these green choices for a few weeks and stare the power of habit and luxury in the eye.
We feel that an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 is a realistic and achievable goal, but this will only come with people who wholeheartedly join in the environmental movement, accept the changes that need to be made in their lives and carry through with them on a daily basis.
If you don't have the grit to follow through, then please, do yourself a favor - stay home this Thursday.
Around UCF, where the majority of residents live in apartments, there are no recycling programs available. That means getting in your car and driving (i.e. emitting CO2) to a recycling disposal facility to dump your green goods. For some, this hassle is too annoying or time consuming to bother with, and frankly, who could blame them?
So what's next? What else can one do to meet these raging green demands? Well, there are a number of things left on the list, don't worry. There is air drying clothes, keeping the AC lower than you like, riding your bike or walking, asking for paper instead of plastic and reusing those same bags every time you shop, buying locally grown food, cutting meat from your diet, or conserving water.
No problem, right? Again, not so fast. Option one tends to produce stiff-as-a-board clothes that many don't exactly enjoy putting on. Option two leaves some a little too warm for comfort. Option three may make you wake up extra early to have ample time to make it to your destination on a bike or on foot. Option four requires you to remember to bring paper bags to the grocers every time you go and, yes, ask the bagger to use them. Option five requires higher prices and searching your town for a farmer's market every time you need veggies and fruit. Option six requires you to tighten the reins on your diet and eat healthier by (gasp) giving up eating meat. Option seven requires you to take shorter showers and be conscious of all your water use. And the list could go on and on.
So what's the point we're driving at here, folks? It's that meeting the demands of groups like Focus the Nation and joining the green movement requires real-life sacrifice, not just turning out to a rally events during your college career. Going green is not about wearing a T-shirt made in China that reads, "Support your local farmer's market." It's about making real, hard changes in your lifestyle. Being green is not glitzy and it's not easy. These options may sound simple-as-pie on paper, but we urge you to try out some of these green choices for a few weeks and stare the power of habit and luxury in the eye.
We feel that an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 is a realistic and achievable goal, but this will only come with people who wholeheartedly join in the environmental movement, accept the changes that need to be made in their lives and carry through with them on a daily basis.
If you don't have the grit to follow through, then please, do yourself a favor - stay home this Thursday.