Practicing Environmentalism at Barnard
Growing up in a rural Western North Carolina Appalachia, I witnessed abundant nature on a day to day basis. I lived about 15 minutes from the Mountains to Sea Trail and a little further from the Appalachian Trail. With a deep love for the mountains and all the biodiversity they share, environmentalism has become something more than a mindset for me; it’s a way to protect my home and the memories that are tied to the land I grew up on. Beyond that, environmentalism has become an incredible way to be connected to people around the globe who feel a similar way about their homes and the nature that supports their livelihoods. With this deep personal connection to the nature around me and social justice related roots, I’ve become even more inspired to find easy ways to reduce my carbon footprint and waste output. I know that Barnard as an institution is working really hard to do the same. And I know a lot of my friends and peers are trying more and more to be environmentally conscious in their everyday actions. That being said, it can be easy to get swept up in everything, from classes to mental health to jobs to extracurriculars to physical health to social interactions. Because of this reality, I’ve compiled an easy list of things that you can do as an individual to be a more environmentally conscious college student!
1) Buy books and other school supplies second-hand or online, use the library! Often, you can use Columbia University Libraries (CLIO) online to search for books, essays, etc. There are a lot of online resources available for free! Also, there is the FLIP library at Barnard that is specifically for First Generation Low Income students at Barnard. You can check out these books for the whole semester, and it’s saved me so much money! Lastly, there are a lot of great second-hand book options--sometimes I post directly on Buy/Sell or Barnard Class pages on Facebook asking if anyone is selling class books!
2) Use Ecosia as your search engine! This organization plants a tree each time you do a search! Click here to find out more!
3) Recycle! This might seem like a really straightforward point, but it can definitely be confusing when it comes to knowing what is recyclable and what is not. And because we are all spread out across the country and world, it’s even harder to know what local or state rules apply! If you want more information on what the rules are in NYC, click here! As for composting on campus, there are guides by each recycling bin for quick reminders.
4) Compost! If you see a yellow bin at Barnard, it’s for compost! You can compost all of your apple cores, biodegradable napkins, etc. During the Broadway farmer’s market on weekends, there are also sites that allow you to drop off compost there. Composting is super important--if you throw your food into the trash, it will decompose, but because there are layers of nonbiodegradable material on top of it, the amount of oxygen is limited. Then the bacteria will use anaerobic rather than aerobic decomposition, which reduces methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas! This past year, I just used a second trash bin as a compost and took the contents out once a week. If you’re worried about smell, you can also keep your compost in your freezer.
5) Use reusable food utensils and containers: When you go to Diana, bring your own fork or container! When you get coffee from Peet’s or Liz’s Place, bring your own cup! It’s a really easy way to still get food on the go without being wasteful.
6) Environmental clubs on campus: Some climate activism focused clubs on Barnard/Colubmia’s campus include Ecoreps, Extinction Rebellion Club, Sunrise and the Columbia Vegan society! You can find more information about them here. Ecoreps actually has a very thorough list of ways to be more environmentally conscious in 2020! You can find their document here.
7) Shop local: I didn’t quite realize the weight of this action, but it’s HUGE. Having this mindset when it comes to food and other products, it’s so important to think about the transportation and packaging that goes into getting the product from someplace far away to where you are. Try to reduce how much you buy on Amazon and other online stores! Not only will you be supporting local businesses, but you will be reducing the amount of plastic waste and your carbon footprint! Another tip--look at where your food is from before buying it, so you can make sure you’re not buying something from halfway across the world! If you buy food that’s in season where you are locally, you’re less likely to be buying food from far away.
8) Don’t buy overfished fish & eat a variety of different kinds of fish! This is pretty straightforward! Here’s a list of overfished fish and which fish are most sustainable to buy/eat. You can also get an app from the marine conservation society or other major ocean conservation groups!
9) Consider cutting down on meat: By no means do you have to go vegan, but if you feel that you can still be healthy while reducing the amount of meat you eat, then go for it! Barnard and Columbia offer a lot of vegetarian or vegan options, so there’s no shortage of good food. It might even be helpful to just try a “Meatless Mondays” approach! Anything counts.
10) Take your own bag grocery shopping: I usually stuff my groceries into my backpack, but here are some bags that are really useful, cute, and sustainably made!
11) Bike or walk as means of transportation: Instead of using Uber or Lyft, bike or walk to where you need to go! You can use Citibike or borrow a friend’s bike if you don’t have one. Not only is it cheaper, but walking/biking helps you get to know the city!
12) Turn off electrical appliances when not being used: This is a super easy way to reduce how much electricity is being used by our school! Unplug your fridge and turn off the heat over breaks and use a powerstrip so you can turn off all lamps, chargers, etc. when you leave your dorm. Even if your phone isn’t plugged in, if your charger is in the socket, it’s using energy!
13) Use a microplastic catcher for your laundry: Microplastics are a major source of plastic pollution all over the world. Chemicals and even vectors for disease can hitch a ride on these microplastics, and can then be transferred all over the globe. This then travels up the food chain, as filter feeders ingest the microplastics and everything else that is with it. Because of this, us humans eat approximately ONE credit card worth of plastic per year. A direct source of microplastic pollution is from doing our laundry! Microplastics leech from athletic clothing and other plastic-based clothing into the waterways. To reduce our direct impact on the microplastic crisis, we can put certain products in with our clothes when washing our clothes that almost act like lint balls, but catch microplastics instead of lint. To find out more about these options, click here!
14) Hang your clothes to dry! This will help conserve energy, and you get to take one less trip to the laundry room!
15) Buy deodorant and other toiletries with reusable containers: I just recently started doing this, and I’m really having fun with it! I like to use this deodorant because it’s vegan and it still really works. It’s a bit expensive, but when you recycle the glass container, you get free deodorant! I also use bar shampoo and bar soap while at school, but am still planning to try out different bar shampoo options. You can find some highly rated options here!
With all that said, I know it can be hard to change our habits and ways of living, especially since not a lot of these suggestions or products are as easily accessible and mainstream. Some of these things are a little out of the way--for example, you can’t just buy the bar shampoo at your nearest drug store. Beyond that, some of them can definitely be more expensive than the setup you have at this moment. As a low income student, some of these things were a little difficult to afford. That being said, I think there’s at least one thing on this list that each person might be able to do, and if we each are doing one thing on the list, then we basically are doing everything on the list together as a community... and doing things together as a community is more fun anyways! Thanks for listening to my little rant, and I really hope some of these suggestions are helpful. Looking forward to seeing how we shape a greener future together!