Finals week has finally come. No matter how badly you’ve been praying it would all just be some sick joke, it’s time to engage in the final, maybe most difficult battle for your grades. And it’s easy to have a one-track mind. It’s almost impossible not to! I know that, “stress… I want to go home…. five more days… you can do it… maybe you can’t… no you totally can… stop playing Candy Crush…” is the constant soundtrack to my life. But while this obsession might be good for your grades, it could be really detrimental for one thing: the environment. As we focus our energy on getting through the week, it’s easy to forget that we have to play our part in taking care of our planet. So here are four easy things you can do this week to minimize your impact.
Try not to print so much!
I know this is a tough one. I prefer to read things on paper. I question whether my soul is still in my body after hours of staring at a screen. But an insane amount of paper gets used in preparations for finals. And chances are, it’s not completely necessary. Challenge yourself to take your practice exam from your computer. Obviously, you can’t get around needing to print a paper, but avoid printing every draft. It will save you money and conserve resources that could become limiting in our lifetime.
Reuse and recycle the paper you do use
There is no excuse to not recycle. Ever. Every college campus I have seen has an impressive collection of bins in just about every building. It’s hard to get around using paper during this week, but recycling it is an easy way to give back just a bit of what you’ve used. You can also reuse your paper. Collect all of the work sheets or assignments you’ve done and gotten back throughout the semester. Use the backs of these sheets if you need scratch paper to work problems or take notes.
Source: http://agezine.blogspot.com/2010/04/generate-money-from-your-room.html
Unplug
Who can imagine finals without a computer? And we’re using them so much, it seems like they constantly need a charge. But if you’ve been at the library forever and realize that your laptop is sitting at 70-100 percent, unplug it until it gets to around 20 percent. There’s no need to keep it charging, and it’s wasting energy. That energy costs your school and leads to unnecessary pollution.
Invest in a reusable coffee cup
If you’re using a paper cup every time you need a caffeine boost, you are contributing to a ton of waste. A lot of those cups can’t even be recycled due to the sealing substance on the inside. Buying a reusable cup will save the environment a world of hurt, and getting one from a local coffee shop (like Java Break, Jayhawks!) could get you a discount on future drinks, paying off your investment if not by the end of this week, definitely by the end of next semester.
Source: http://inhabitat.com/all-starbucks-cups-will-be-recyclable-or-reusable-b…