It is that easy being green!

There is actually a surprising amount you can do to help cut down your carbon footprint. If, like me, you think ‘Saviour of Planet Earth’ is a pretty cool title, then here are a few things you can do to really earn it.

It’s a well known fact that student houses are cold, and until landlords learn about proper insulation, this isn’t likely to change. But resisting the urge to have the heating on all the time (be honest, can you actually afford it anyway?) is a great way to help the environment. Reducing the duration and temperature is a neat way to help save the planet, and it effectively costs nothing. If you’re really that cold, put a jumper on and invest in fluffy socks. They will become invaluable to you. It goes without saying that you should also ban personal room heaters where possible. They will only cause grief in later arguments, when a disagreement over washing-up escalates into a war over whether Bob should be the only one allowed to be toasty warm when you all pay the electricity bill.

Food wastage is a huge problem, and one that is so easy to solve…

Cutting down on your water usage is another great way to reduce your environmental impact. Take shorter showers (sharing a shower is good for the environment- stay safe kids), turn taps off when not in use and wash up as much as you can with the same water. It’s totally not gross because you’re saving the planet, right? Maybe not, but price of your first water bill after moving out of halls should be enough of an incentive.

Food wastage is a huge problem, and one that is so easy to solve. Eat everything you buy. Food is incredibly resource intensive to produce, so using all of it is essential to get the most output from the input. Meat especially is infamous for its heavy spend – low reward production, so cutting down on your burgers and steaks is a very viable option. You don’t have to go full-blown vegan, but reducing your intake of animal produce would massively help lower your impact on the environment. It’s really important to shop efficiently (look at when things are going to go out of date!) freeze food if you’re not going to eat it in time, and portion correctly. Yes, we know that it’s near impossible to get the right amount of pasta everytime, but we believe in you. Plus, you might save some money too!

If you’re sat there thinking that climate change doesn’t really exist, then it’s a wonder you ever made it to university…

Obviously we can’t tell you to walk to university all the way from Leamington Spa, but reducing the amount you travel can make a big difference. The bus is a necessity for travelling in, and does have a smaller carbon footprint than a car, considering the amount of people cram onto the U1 each morning.  But why not try cycling in? Even if it’s just once a week, every little helps. If you can’t bear to sell your soul to Stagecoach, using a car-share service, (there are lots of apps you can find for this) and only making necessary journeys, will start to make up for the pollution your car produces. Even on nights out, getting the bus or UniExpress is better than taking a last minute taxi. There’s an excuse for a trip to Kasbah if ever you needed one.

If you’re worried that you won’t make a difference on your own, then talk to your friends, flatmates, families, even your fish, about doing these little things to help reduce your carbon footprint. All these tips are so easy, we should really already be doing them. And if you’re sat there thinking that climate change doesn’t really exist, then it’s a wonder you ever made it to university. Don’t be a silly goose, help save the planet!