Today was a discouraging day for the environmentalist in me. It all started when I woke up late. As I was speed-walking the mile or so to my first class, I realized I couldn’t possibly make it another step without a cup of coffee. I ran into the nearest café, where I ordered a large cup of Hazelnut brew, served in a Styrofoam cup. Though I know better than to purchase a Styrofoam cup, my caffeine addiction and delirious state had the best of me, and I decided to purchase it anyway. Strike one. As I handed the cashier my Visa, she informed me that I could not use a card for a purchase under $5. I didn’t know what to do! My class was starting in ten minutes and I still had quite a ways to get there. “Buy a bottle of water,” she told me. I did it. Strike two.

 

I finally made it to my class and sat down with the coffee and water in front of me on my desk. As I unscrewed the cap to the water it slipped through my hands, rolled a foot or two on the ground, and finally stopped as it hit the bottom of a worn Birkenstock. I looked longingly at the cap and then up to see who the owner of the shoe was. I was met with one of the most terrifying death stares I have ever seen. It was the star student of my “sustainable living” class. The same kid who sat in front of me the day before as we spent an hour learning why we should never buy Styrofoam, plastic bottles or bleached coffee filters. He silently bent down to pick up the cap, looked at the beverages in front of me, and turned away. I was so filled with shame that I couldn’t even say “thank you.”

 

One of my homework assignments tonight was to take the footprint quiz on footprintnetwork.org to determine my personal ecological impact on the world. The result was that it would take approximately 4.8 planet Earths to sustain enough resources for everyone in the world to live a life like mine. Strike three.

 

I feel like such a hypocrite. For someone who preaches environmentalism, writes for a nature website and majors in an eco-based field, I realized that I am not taking a close enough look at my own impact on the environment. I use my busy college lifestyle as an excuse for not taking more strides to protect the resources around me.

 

Today I am swearing to stop choosing practicality over sustainability. I want to do more to practice what I preach, and stop using my poor college student status as a defense mechanism. I apologize for writing such a dramatic blog, but I know there are people out there who are in the same boat. So here's to all the other college students who know that a serious environmentalist lies within them, but have been avoiding letting it escape full force! Tomorrow is a new day. Let’s start getting serious.