10 Steps to Going Green

Katy Deardorff is a Peninsula Pulse intern entering her sophomore year at Indiana University. This summer she was assigned the task of collecting information for the Green Page, but there was one problem – she didn’t know much about going green. Here, she details her ongoing education.

Nearly 963 million of the world’s 6.7 billion people go hungry on a daily basis, according to http://www.bread.org. It’s a startling statistic that brings me to step number two in becoming a greener human being:  waste less.

It’s estimated that as much as 30 percent of food in the U.S. gets wasted, or $48 billion worth.

Seems astounding, but if you think about it, it’s not that hard to accumulate all of that wasted food. There’s the stuff you left in your fridge too long, the food that you just didn’t think tasted good, and of course the food you couldn’t finish that went in the trash after meals. All of that goes right down the disposal or into the garbage.

One way to waste less is simple:  don’t bite off more than you can chew, figuratively speaking. When eating, start small and add more to your plate or save leftovers for tomorrow.

Another way to reduce waste is to start a compost pile. For details on getting started, check out http://www.howtocompost.org, or visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s comprehensive guide at http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve.

Some may wonder how throwing your garbage in your yard instead of in your trash is benefitting this planet, but the impact can be significant.

This seemingly disgusting rotting goo can actually help to clean your soil and reduce erosion in a variety of different places, according to http://www.compostingbenefits.com. A compost pile also makes use of things that are not generally used (yes, such as your trash, look how we’ve come full circle).

Keep in mind that going green is a life-long marathon not a sprint. You don’t have to go out and start your compost pile right after reading this (but this paper is, in fact, something that can be added to it after you have finished reading it). Just remember this:  the next time you pick up that serving spoon, be mindful of what you are taking and what you may be wasting.