Reducing CO2 emissions - a student guide

The stereotype of the student has moved on from the days of political activism and dreadlocks but there are still many students who are concerned with more than where their next pint is coming from or getting top grades.

So if you’re concerned about the environment and are looking for a few tips for doing your little bit then read on.

The three R’s of environmentalism are

• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle

These are the fundamentals of living an eco-friendly lifestyle and basically revolve around reducing waste and being efficient. You’ll be happy to know that this also helps you save money for the obvious reason that you are using less.

Anyway, here are a list of things you can try to assist you with the 3 R’s:

• Get rid of your car – you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to use public transport and even though the price of public transport is going up you need to think about how much your car actually costs you with insurance, tax, petrol, MOT, etc. Cars are one of the big issues with regards to carbon emissions so if you can get rid of yours then do.
• Wear your clothes more than once before washing them – Unless they’re visibly dirty or noticeably smelly then why wash your clothes after one wear? You can save an awful lot of energy by washing less often and you’ll also save cash on detergent and electricity.
• Buy a water filter and make your own bottled water – plastic bottles are being used more and more by people and bottles of water sales are up massively. Not only is it a complete waste of money but it’s also creating massive amounts of plastic waste. Using a water filter, a reusable bottle and your fridge you’ll be able to save money and the environment.
• Grow your own vegetables – this isn’t as hard as it sounds and is beneficial in 3 ways. Firstly it will save you money, secondly it will reduce carbon emissions created from transporting food and thirdly fresh vegetables are considerably nicer, not just a bit nicer, but a lot.
• Wash and reuse plastic bags – simple really!
• Buy as much as you can second hand – ebay really is great for second hand anything, from furniture to clothes to technology. It’s cheap, it’s safe and if people buy less new items then production decreases and so do CO2 emissions.
• Use a clothes line to dry clothes – even if you don’t have outdoor space you can use a clothes horse. Tumble dryers use a lot of electricity.
• Regularly clean the coils on the back of your fridge – this will make the fridge much more efficient with it’s electricity consumption.
• Keep your freezer full – the more you have in your freezer the less energy it will require to keep it cold.
• Turn off appliances when you’re not using them and unplug them from the wall – up to 25% of the average electricity bill for a household can be accredited to electrical items left pulled in when they are not in use. You’re wasting your money and energy.
• Turn off lights when you leave the room – sounds obvious but do you do it?
• In the winter leave the oven on after you cook to help heat the house.

These are some good examples but you can always think of more so just sit down with a pen and paper and make a note of everything you can think of.