We Can’t Waste What We Don’t Use.

I believe that the average college student will consume what is most easily available to them. At Lafayette, I live a life of convenience. When I’m pressed for time, I grab a to-go meal at Lower. When I have homework, I can endlessly print assignments in the Library, for free. When I take a shower, the hot water never runs out. On this campus, there is seemingly no limit to my consumption of resources and the impact of such consumption is almost never immediately noticeable.

Upon calculating my carbon and ecological impacts online, it’s sadly unsurprising that I live a lifestyle which is centered around consumption. I have a greater carbon footprint then the average American. While I like to believe that I’m an “environmentally conscious” person, the data proves that there is plenty of opportunity to change my ways.

As we discussed in class, there is a strong disconnect between being educated on sustainable living, and actually practicing such a lifestyle. I believe that I contribute to this theory. I spent all four of my high school years contributing to the promotion of sustainability in my school. I had internships with environmental organizations, introduced a single stream recycling program to the school and even succeeded in the implementation of waterless toilets to a new building on campus. Although these acts may serve as a pat on the back for my attempts at living sustainably, in the end, I still choose to live in whatever way is most convenient.

Since coming to Lafayette, my lifestyle has increasingly become less sustainable. My behaviors have become lazy and I tend to neglect opportunities to lessen my ecological footprint. Most notably, I have noticed and increase in my waste production. Going forward with this project, I will seek to produce less trash. I will abide by the three R’s of recycling, reusing and renewing to ultimately decrease my impact on what gets trucked away from campus.

I will monitor my consumption habits and sacrifice unneeded materials when possible. Whether it’s reusing paper towels, bringing my bags back to Wawa or eliminating carry out boxes from my life. I hope to reuse more and discard less.

This project will be an exciting opportunity to make small changes in multiple aspects of my life rather then abruptly changing one larger piece. It might be a challenge, but as the Lafayette motto states, Why Not?