Recycling
this newspaper is a start
Daniel
Mcgrath
The
ideal attitude toward protecting the
environment has always been, “Each
of us can make a difference.” But
the general attitude is more like, “What’s
the difference?”
As human beings, none of us will live long enough to see the effects of our
actions on the environment, so where’s the pressure to be environmentally
friendly?
Tomorrow I’ll get out of bed, breathe the air, drink the water
and walk in the sunlight, regardless of whether or not I drive my car, recycle
a bottle or just sit in a lawn chair spraying aerosol cans all day.
My biggest problem when it comes to helping the environment is intimidation.
It’s overwhelming, not to mention difficult, to think of my actions in
a world perspective. And because I can’t imagine the effects of my actions,
I confuse myself into not doing anything at all.
But lately I got to thinking about that attitude. I decided that even if I
don’t actively pursue issues of environmental change, I should at the
very least be aware of what the issues are.
Imagine what a difference it would make if everyone were simply conscious of
how society and industry affected the natural world.
Therefore, I am of the opinion that the most important environmental issue
is awareness. No one needs to rush out in a recycled plastic cape and save
the planet. I’m not even asking people to feel obligated to make a difference.
What I am saying is get educated.
The next time you go online to look at pictures of some naked college kid covered
in marker, take 10 minutes to look up an article about alternative energy or
sustainable agriculture.
That way, when the opportunity to be environmentally
conscious presents itself, you’ll have some clue of what to do.
So what should we be aware of here? The other day while I was swearing out
loud to myself about the price of gasoline, I started thinking about how lucky
we are to be living in an area with free, convenient public transportation.
Then I remembered a story I’d heard about some hippie driving cross-country
in a school bus that ran on vegetable oil, and suddenly I had an idea: Why
not convert all the PVTA buses to run on vegetable oil?
I got on the Internet and started researching the idea, only to find out that
I’m not the first person to make that connection. A plan is already underway
to run all the PVTA buses, or at least those operating in the five-college
area, on locally produced biodiesel fuel.
For those of you who don’t know, biodiesel is a clean burning fuel that
runs in any unmodified diesel engine. Its only byproducts are glycerin and
water, and it can be made from used cooking oil, an abundant waste product
of all the dining facilities at each of the five colleges.
The project that I found is called “PVTA Veggie Bus” and is being
organized out of Mount Holyoke College. Their goal is to take used cooking
oil from dining commons and local restaurants and convert it to biodiesel through
the Pioneer Valley Biodiesel Cooperative.
In doing so, the PVTA would no longer need to rely on foreign fossil fuels,
the local colleges and restaurants would no longer have to pay to dispose of
their grease, and the world would be a cleaner place. You can find out more
about this project by going online and searching for “PVTA Veggie Bus.”
This is only one of many projects underway in the Pioneer Valley, and it only
took about 10 minutes to read up on it. So tomorrow when you’re out there
in the world, keep your eyes and ears open.
The next time you see a sign or an ad about keeping nature clean, don’t
shut it out. Let the idea swirl around in your head for a while. Who knows,
you might even find yourself making a difference one of these days.
But for now, breathe in the fresh air, be grateful for what we’ve still
got, and be sure to recycle this newspaper when you’re done reading.
This article originally appeared in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
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