The importance of sustainability
As time goes on, the need for sustainability only increases. Luckily, there are ways in which each person can include practices of sustainability into their own lives. Simply understanding the components of sustainability and incorporating them into your life can help foster a more environmentally-conscious society.
On Geneseo’s campus, there are many different ways in which sustainability is being incorporated into the lives of students. There are programs, clubs and other activities students can get involved in, from the new sustainability studies major to Geneseo Environmental Organization (GEO), SUNY Geneseo has many different opportunities for students who are interested in sustainability.
The reason it may be important to learn more about sustainability is to combat global warming. According to the United Nations, “Human activities like the ones mentioned above are causing greenhouse gasses that are warming the world faster than at any time in at least the last two thousand years.” Later it states “The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record.” This is useful due to the knowledge of it saying that the efforts that have been made are not enough and what needs to change is something more drastic to prevent climate change.
The effects that climate change is having on the environment, according to NASA including, “ glaciers and ice sheets shrinking, river and lake ice breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges shifting, and plants and trees blooming sooner.”
Joining organizations is not, however, the only way to lower your carbon footprint. There are routines that each individual can do to help slow down climate change. For example, if you take small steps like turning off lights you are not using, recycling old assignments in the paper bin that are located in every academic building, decreasing water use by turning water off when not in use, and taking shorter showers. Recycling things properly (see our article How to properly recycle to learn more), along with composting is one of the things that campus encourages to act sustainability. Composting spots are more scattered, but you can find numerous different spots in academic buildings that have paper, plastic, and a spot for landfill. Additionally, you can opt for reusable versions of products that are normally disposable, such as metal coffee cups, dryer balls, makeup rounds, metal straws, and shopping bags.
The campus’s involvement in sustainability is described through the “three pillars”: environmental, economic, and social. According to the school’s mission statement, it is important to include all of these pillars to create an effective change.
A highly-popular way in which one may be able to help the environment is through thrifting, rather than opting for mass-produced clothing and apparel. As the holiday season approaches, many people are going to be ordering online and getting items wrapped in layers of plasti. Going thrift shopping is an alternative, and oftentimes cheaper way of shopping more sustainably during the season.
Though there is no instant relief for the ever-heating world, there are ways in which each person may help slow it down. These habitual practices are one step in practicing kindness toward the planet.