Dimming the Lights in My Life

Did you turn off your lights when you left your room? Over the past semester I have had a reoccurring conversation with my close friend about turning off his bedroom lights. Every time I go over to his house his bedroom lights are on on and I would say, “Hey Duncan, turn off your lights!” He got into a bad habit of never turning off his lights and he didn’t know the negative effects of his behavior. I took it upon myself to help him realize how his actions were negatively impacting the environment. After having these conversations with my friend I had to think about my own behavior. Were the lights off in my room?

The reoccurring event that took place with my friend helped me realize that my behavior was not very sustainable. We are all guilty at some point of not turning off the lights in our house or room for an extended period of time and generating unnecessary waste. I always make a conscious effort to turn off the lights in my room when I leave. I want to juristically minimize artificial light usage in my life. I began to ponder the issue and realized that Mother Nature provides us with 12 hours of daylight. All dorm rooms have a window and they can be utilized to maximize the natural light. Going forward in this semester I would like to utilize the natural light provided rather than turning on the LED lights. At night, I would like to utilize my desk light because it will decrease my light consumption compared to the room light.

Changing my current routine would make me more environmentally conscious and promote sustainable behavior. My behavior changes will have an impact on the ‘bigger picture’ because any effort to benefit the environment helps others become mindful of the issue. Overall, I need to consciously monitor my light use during the day and find alternate solutions at night in order to save the everyday energy I take for granted.