By Michael Collins
Staff Writer
In a world of over-consumption, a few individuals stand out as guardians of our natural resources. But we all can play a role in being environmentally friendly, and there are several ways to do so.
Every day, we waste a considerable amount of water. Each minute we shower, we use up to four gallons of water, de- pending on your shower head and pressure. Little things such as wash- ing dishes by hand can make a huge difference.
“We [the Environmental club] were trying to see whether washing dishes by hand or using a dishwasher used more water,” Junior Whitney Ngo said. “We found out that washing dishes by hand wastes much less, so I try to do that now.”
One of the most overlooked water wasters are our toilets. You can easily minimize the waste of its water.
“You can fill a bottle full of water and put it in the toilet tank,” Junior Tiffany Lee said. “It reduces the amount of water that you use when you flush the toilet.”
Another manner that people waste water unknowingly is by improperly timing their sprinklers.
“[Use your sprinklers] early in the morning or late in the afternoon,” Lee said. “It’ll absorb more water and it won’t evaporate as much.”
Try to minimize sprinkler leakage as well. If you notice that it’s leaking, fix it, as a broken sprinkler head can waste 40 gallons of water per minute. Also, try to reduce your sprinklers’ distances if their water is hitting the sidewalk or driveway. Aside from saving water, you can limit textile and paper usage by using recycled materials daily. Recently, clothing lines and other conscientious brands like H&M have implemented recycled fabrics.
“You can make a bag out of recycled materials,” Junior Brittney Chau said. “I know someone who made one out CapriSun pouches, and it was really cool.”
Doy Bags, an eco-friendly brand, makes all of its colorful jewelry and accessories entirely out of materials such as juice pouches or magazines.
Students from Environmental Club and Happitat are practicing their ingenuity by
taking part in Operation Sprout, growing plants indigenous to California on campus, outside of Mr. Randles’s room.
“We’re using plants native to California because we know that they don’t use that much water,” Junior Rachel Dong said. “This can be done at home too, which is a good thing.”
Also, to conserve electricity, besides simply turning off your light or unplugging your electronics, you can install energy efficient light bulbs, such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light emitting diode (LED) for 75-80% in energy savings. A difference that we can all make daily is reducing the use of the fossil fuel gasoline. By walking, biking or even carpooling to school, we can save precious resources, as well as reduce harmful emissions. Eco-friendly behaviors begin in the home, where we can make an enormous difference, easily and effectively.