It requires an enormous amount of non-renewable fossil fuels to power lighting, and by using less energy we could slow the pace at which these fuels are being consumed. It may seem like a fruitless effort, but, my dear potentially skeptical reader, trust me when I say that even the smallest amount of energy you save makes a difference. “But how will I go about saving energy in school and at home?”, I hear you ask (yea, I heard you). So to start your inevitable destiny of helping conserve our resources you can first try…
3) Turning off lights when possible;
I know you’ve heard it before, “turn off lights when you leave a room to conserve energy”. But Captain Planet really did have a point, and still does. The fuels used to power electric generators are expensive (and getting more valuable by the day), so along with saving the atmosphere shutting your lights off also saves your wallet (the second most important place to make green).
Captain Planet and the Planeteers, for those of you without the boomerang channel.
If you’re in class on a sunny day and your class has windows (which I know it does), ask your teacher if you can open the blinds and use natural light. And even if the sun isn’t out, most of the classrooms have 2-4 lights that are controlled with different switches. So, you could just have class under half of the light as usual (it’ll prepare you for the next eclipse) The same goes for your home, during the daylight hours you don’t necessarily need your lights (unless you live in a cave or something)
” It’s nice… But are the flood lights really necessary?”
— Batman
Speaking of changing you brightness, you could also…
2) make your iPad (or phone) the next Eco-citadel;
Our iPads are capable of doing many productive (and non-productive) things, making them a sort of “fortress of activities”. And I ask you, why should your fortress not ration its supplies? By that I mean dismiss (or “kill” for you violent types) your apps if you don’t plan on going back to them soon. The less your iPad has to keep track of, the less energy it uses, and the less you need to charge it.
Did I kill them right??
Also try putting your iPad on airplane mode when you’re not using it, like when you sleep or travel home from school.
And on your way home you can…
1) use the elevator only when the elevator is needed;
Elevators are nice, but so is cheaper electricity, so try not to spam your elevator use. If you can, walk up the stairs to your apartment. It provides extra exercise which is surprisingly necessary in our current decadently sedimentary lifestyles, and lowers the cost of operating your building (which lowers the rent, and gets you more Starbucks money). Overall, these things can add up and really make an positive impression on the quality of your life, and if not you can just cheer yourself up in your newly acquired bath of saved money and frappuccinos.
“Oh! You care about the environment, take two.”
— Every barista ever
By: Clarence Duncan
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