Sustainability in Small Doses:
What You Do Makes an Impact
by Macy Roberts
March 16, 2023
I got the opportunity to speak with members of the Lynchburg Environmental Sustainability Society and discuss attainable and reasonable changes people can make in their lifestyle to be more environmentally conscious.
Making the change to be more environmentally conscious can be a daunting task for some. Facing the seriousness of global warming or climate change can be incredibly overwhelming and may be discouraging to those wanting to make an impact.
For students concerned with their academics and preparing themselves for adulthood, it can be difficult to find easy, efficient, and cheap ways to be sustainable. Eco-friendly products and alternatives tend to be more expensive and inconvenient for most students.
One inexpensive option is for students to educate themselves. Students should be encouraged to find what is achievable as a student and that sometimes requires a bit of research. It's also important in your effort to go-green that you make sure you are doing things properly.
Recycling is a great way for people to contribute, but people should know what can and cant be recycled and pay attention to labels on products that specify how they can be recycled.
When discussing this with LESS treasurer, Allison Jewell, she talked about how people often have these environmental issues as a low priority because it can be time consuming and impractical. The University's dining hall does have a green initiative campaign for composting the waste that's produced by the students. They work with places like Lynchburg Grows and they compost the food scraps.
This is an example of something students could educate themselves on. In addition, having a general awareness about what products are good and bad for the environment are important as well. If you can't afford the fancy eco-friendly soaps or if you can't make time to go to stream clean ups, there are always attainable alternatives for students. If your options are still limited, educating yourself is the next best option.
Source List
LESS Treasurer Allison Jewell: jewella584@lynchburg.edu
LESS Executive Board Member Elizabeth Johnson: richare634@lynchburg.edu
LESS Member Rin Doering: doerink424@lynchburg.edu