This weekend, when Binghamton University students across the Tri-Cities area struggle to fit half a dozen people into a car, drive to campus and successfully pre-game before getting to the Events Center, few of the inebriated, green-tinted Bearcats fans will realize that they’re doing a great thing.
And, though the homemade “I’m a Broadus Guy” posters and pizza boxes will (hopefully) make their way into recycling bins across campus, none of this is done with purpose, and the Will Brown and Mike Trimboli-haters out there may not notice how environmentally-friendly their waste will become.
Environmentalism, as important a philosophy as it is for our generation, often seems to be approached from one of two perspectives.
There are two camps: Those who make pillows out of their own hair and only buy recycled shoelaces, and those who — with mocking disdain for the whale-hugging crowd — make paper out of the blubber of endangered manatees.
Seldom is environmental consciousness a tacit part of our lives.
As a generation of consumers (and, as with this election, an emerging source of political potential energy) we are presumably the ones who will be tasked with the variable and unpredictable effects of the phenomenon known as global warming.
It’s no secret that a green movement is spreading like a wave across popular culture, hitting everything from tote bags to concerts, but being aware of the impact we have as a generation goes beyond the products we can buy and the green companies we can support. It’s about a subtle consciousness which dictates how we think about ourselves as college students in a time when we are an influential and coveted age group.
In this issue, Release has “gone green” with ways to make you a little more aware of the impact you make every day (decisions like making Jell-O stars instead of shots that waste disposable cups and remembering, compulsively, to unplug your cell phone chargers when they aren’t being used).
Luckily, a different philosophy will last us our whole lifetime — far longer than the complimentary rally towels from Senior Night.
They’re not life-changing choices and they’re not even expensive. As college students with depleted wallets, a different frame of mind can be the cheapest way to save energy.
And, this weekend, remember to recycle those empties.