By Michelle Reynolds, staff writer


Today is one of the greenest days of the year. No, not Saint Patrick’s Day, I am talking about Earth Day. There are 318 million people in the United States, but on April 22, just one person can make a difference. Here are three things you can do to not only celebrate Earth Day but to help rejuvenate mother earth.

  • Use less paper.
    As college students, we burn through a lot of paper, whether for notes, sketch paper, books and on average, this leads to students producing around 320 pounds of paper waste each year. Now you could stop printing notes and tell your teacher you are saving the trees, but that might not go over well. Doing simple things like reusing old scratch paper, recycling or printing papers double-sided helps save paper. As an example of this, this article is not available on any printed papers and is only available online, paperless.
  • Rethink your mode of transportation this Earth Day.
    If you drive to school, think about tagging along with some friends and creating a carpool, riding the MetroLink, being like Joseph Gordon Levitt in “Premium Rush” and riding a bike, or if you’re in the mood to enjoy some fresh air, enjoy a nice walk to campus and enjoy the scenery and geese. There are many benefits to these alternatives. Not only is taking the MetroLink eco-friendly, it is relaxing. You could to sit back and have a nice relaxing trip while someone else drives you around. Plus this eliminates your traffic problem and answers that pesky question of “Where the heck am I going to park?” But one really good reason to take the train: it’s money-saving. Riding the bus or MetroLink versus driving a personal sedan can save you almost $8,000. That is more cash in your pocket.
  • Watch water waste.
    This could be achieved by not running the sink while brushing your teeth or taking shorter showers. The average time a person spends taking a shower in America is around seven minutes, which is approximately 17.2 gallons of water per shower. Those seven minutes jump when you include brushing your teeth and shaving in the shower. Now if some were honest, their shower is nowhere near seven minutes, but keep this in mind next time you linger in the shower: a study found that 20 percent of men were irritated with the lengthy showers women take, and 15 percent of women admitted that it causes arguments with men. So for the sake of the relationship, take shorter showers.

Earth Day only happens once a year, but the most important thing to remember is to treat every day like Earth Day and to spread the word about its importance.

Reduce, reuse, recycle sign up against tree.