It starts small.
A bottle in the recycling bin here and there, turning off the water while brushing your teeth, cutting off the lights when you leave the room.
Then next thing you know, you’ve got a volunteer position at the Museum of Natural Sciences, a job at an environmental consulting firm, and you’re majoring in natural resources.
Or at least, that’s how it went for Hannah Litzenberger, a junior in natural resources specializing in ecosystem assessment.
“I’ve always been interested in the environment, and sustainability as well,” Litzenberger said.
She said her volunteer work at the museum was what initially interested her in preserving the environment, and that interest is what led her to major in a relevant field.
Jon Harris, a grad student in geology, said he took a different route to his interest in sustainable living.
“A lot of it was my parents, they were the same way,” he said. “I just kind of absorbed a lot of that mentality.”
Director of the N.C. Solar Center Alex Hobbs said conservation is a case in which students should listen to what their parents say.
“Don’t throw everything away … turn the lights off … do all the things your parents told you,” he said. “It’s the one place where you probably ought to listen. If you’re going to pick one thing, let this be the one.”
The N.C. Solar Center, serves as an educational tool for the N.C. State community, as well as the rest of the state and beyond. According to Hobbs, the center specializes in researching renewable methods of energy and educating the community about sustainable living.
The center boasts a solar house, which is furnished with recycled building materials and partly powered by solar energy. Carole Coble, the solar house manager, said she works to be sure every recycled material used in the house could be easily purchased by someone interested in sustainable living.
“I try not to put anything in the house someone else couldn’t have access to,” she said.
According to Coble, conservation and the recycling and reuse of products are the key elements of sustainable living for her.
“And of course, being kind to Mother Earth is really important,” she said.
According to Litzenberger, it’s important for people to recycle not only bottles and cans but also cardboard and white paper. Harris said he makes sure to recycle everything he can, and he said he also tries to conserve energy by using energy efficient light bulbs.
“Obviously … you can always do more. Every step, everything you do … you feel that you’re making things better [rather] than making them worse,” Harris said.
Litzenberger also said conserving energy is a huge step toward sustainable living. She said the small things she does to contribute are things anyone could easily do.
“Just doing simple things like turning out the lights, keeping your air conditioner just a little bit higher — all of those contribute to saving energy,” she said. “With that little effort, you can make the biggest difference.”
Interested in giving green a try?
Light green leanings
Check out idealbite.com, where you can sign up for daily tips sent straight to your inbox. The beauty of this site? It doesn’t require huge, life-changing commitments. As the site itself says, it’s interested in helping busy people leave slightly greener lives, one bit — or bite — at a time. From eco-friendly tips to a blog in which those tips are discussed and elaborated on, ideal bite offers all sorts of ways to dip your feet in the green pool without having to dive right in.
Green is go
For those ready to immerse themselves in all that is green, there are plenty of sites to get you on your way. Check out conservation.org, hosted by Conservation International, where you can find news and updates. The site is broken down into sections titled: Explore, Learn, Act and Donate in which visitors can learn more about CI and going green.
In Explore, an interactive map is tagged with buttons highlighting species discovery, conservation in action and threatened species, as well as CI offices. By clicking on the tags, you can learn more about what’s going on in that area.
In Act, visitors are challenged to see going green as more than just a trend, and the site gives tips on going green, provides a carbon calculator and even invites visitors to size up their eco-footprint.
Treehugger.com is another site chock-full of information, with sections such as Get Informed, which features green news and tips from around the globe in areas like science and technology, design and architecture, and food and health. There is also an interactive section, with comments and forums, and a section called Take Action, with eco-minded job postings, how-to-go-green guides and tips in areas ranging in everything from pets to coffee and tea to electricity to wardrobes.
