Are you fed up with being promised storms that only produce a sprinkling and don’t cancel classes for the day? Maybe not, but if the fluctuating weather in March and the petrified daffodils in Village Park don’t sadden you enough–maybe the whispers of climate change do.

Now, all political views aside, I think it can be agreed upon that something is happening right now that is causing shovels and plows to come out on a Monday and flocks of college students in cutoffs on a Tuesday.

I get it, it’s easy to bundle up and complain about the moody weather, but eventually we need to step back and recognize that the way we live our lives is affecting the bigger picture.

We live in a consumerist world, and it’s so easy to put on our blinders and pretend that our material intake isn’t affecting anything. Status is created in Instagram likes, Starbucks cups and spring trends from Forever 21.

We are told everything is replaceable and disposable, including ourselves. Where do things go after we carelessly throw them in the trash? A landfill probably.

Then maybe after years of sitting in a landfill, those packing materials that covered your precious Keurig from Amazon Prime have broken down enough on a molecular level to enter our soil, our water, our plants, our animals and eventually our own bodies.

Don’t give up now, thinking the havoc humans have created is irreversible, because if we get up off our ice cream stained, “Netflix and chill” couches and do something now, we can stop the worst before it happens.

This doesn’t mean that we have to go plant a tulip sanctuary each weekend, go sort everyone’s trash or move to a remote goat farm in Norway. It can be as simple as making the conscious effort to be aware of your consumer habits and maybe recycle for a start.

Point Park has been promoting that we have a green initiative on campus, and that is definitely reflected through the multiple recycling receptacles, refillable water stations and reusable takeout containers now available at the dining halls around campus. Now that you got a quick rundown of the little changes the university is making, ask yourself what can you do?

Be aware of where things go when you are done with them. Will it really kill your vibes today if you put the leftover can of soup you just heated up in the industrial campus microwaves in the recycling bin?

Take this paper you are reading now. Will it ever make it to the blue recycling bins on campus? Or will you discard it on a table, hoping someone else will take care of your trash?

Recycling more is not the be-all end-all answer; reducing our material intake and consumer habits is really the root of everything. Choosing a more sustainable lifestyle, seen through movements like the tiny house movement or the zero-waste movement are amazing choices, too. Other ways you can easily help out the earth: bring a reusable shopping bag on the Sunday shuttles. You can also walk or take public transportation. I know I need an Uber just as badly as you do sometimes, but if you can, get outside for little bit and soak up some of that amazing Vitamin D.

For the love of the Allegheny, don’t forget your reusable water bottles.

Borrow before you buy – if you need a professional outfit for an interview or event, ask a friend before buying something you will literally never wear again. In the summer and early fall, walk to the
Market Square farmer’s market and get yourself some beautifully fresh produce that supports local agriculture as well.

Stepping off my sustainable soap box, that list is just the beginning of things you can do on your end to be aware, and to make change.

With a little work and determination, we can grow the movement of a generation who cares about what their future and planet looks like.