Earth Day isn't a holiday where most UW-Madison students come from, but it should serve as an annual reminder of the precious resources we consume each day. We think about how lucky we are to live with the luxuries we have, then we finish our beer, and, on this special day, we certainly remember to recycle the can.
The original Earth Day, which took place in 1970, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement, eventually ushering in today's green movement and becoming a day of global activism. The events spread across the world as organizations looked for a day to convey their message.
As a result, institutions like UW-Madison are responsible for continuing efforts to avoid falling behind advancements in green technology. Three years ago, We Conserve was established to fund the creation of a more energy-efficient campus. Since then, annual energy cost reductions of $5 million have paid for most of the original bill, and other efforts continue around campus, including a recent proposal to purchase 15 more hybrid buses.
Thanks to consistent green efforts, Earth Day needs little publicity anymore but has become a yearly reminder of every individual's duty to value and protect the world they live in. And as students, it is important to remember that we can conserve energy in ways the university and activist organizations cannot and that we can save money doing good.
For example, homes across campus become black holes for energy consumption, as landlords rarely give the time and money needed to maintain a house's insulation. This causes heating and cooling costs to soar unnecessarily while wasting resources at the same time. Students can prevent this waste by demanding a well-insulated house and undertaking other logical practices such as recycling, washing dishes instead of resorting to paper plates and turning off computers or other appliances while not in use.
By taking these proactive yet simple steps, students can save money while positively contributing to energy conservation on campus, something we are all responsible for. If we protect our environment now, we will continue to benefit from it in the future.
