Give back to Earth with saved time
As the semester draws to an end and finals week is slowly approaching, time becomes short. Most of us would love to travel around the world and help in projects to save the planet but might lack the time and funding to do so. Here are some things you can do that will only take a few minutes and won’t break your bank account.
Recycling
It doesn’t sound like much, but taking the extra walk around campus to recycle paper, plastic and aluminum cans can go a long way. Most trash that is thrown away will end up in a landfill somewhere, but if we recycle our trash, it can be reused.
An article posted by PW, a California company that specializes in waste management, posted statistics that showed recycling one ton of recycled newsprint and paper saves over 463 gallons of oil and 4.6 cubic yards of landfill space; and one ton of plastic saves 1,136 gallons of oil and 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
4Ocean
Founded by two surfers, 4Ocean is a non-profit organization that works to clean up waste in oceans and beaches worldwide. Volunteers from around the world can sign up to help in the organization’s clean ups. Since we live in Utah, that is much harder for us to do. However, 4Ocean sells bracelets made from recycled plastics and for every bracelet that is purchased, a pound of waste will be picked up.
Friends of the Earth
Similar to change.org, Friends of the Earth is your main source to signing petitions related to planet saving initiatives. Their motto, “Friends of the Earth is a bold voice for justice and the planet,” focuses on building awareness and gaining voices for various causes. You can subscribe to receive emails when topics you are interested come up such as climate and energy, food and agriculture, forests, oceans and much more.
Wild Utah Project
Utah is known for its wildlife and attracts tourists from around the world. Utah tourism pulled in $8.4 million from visitor spending in 2016. To keep visitors coming to Utah, Wild Utah Project organization focuses on “providing conservation science research and mapping services with the aim of improving wildlife and habitat management in Utah.”
For those who want to help, the organization offers trips to become a citizen scientist so you can be more involved in earth saving projects locally. There are also many job opportunities and internships where you can possibly gain internship credit over the summer. You can also donate financially to continue their efforts of saving Utah wildlife.