{"id":13131,"date":"2019-04-18T20:06:22","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T02:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/?p=13131"},"modified":"2019-05-02T18:39:48","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T00:39:48","slug":"reduce-reuse-recycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/2019\/04\/18\/reduce-reuse-recycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce, reuse, recycle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While society in recent decades has reflected a streamline of worry about climate change and its potential effects on the world\u2019s future, some students have taken it upon themselves to focus on everyday environmental issues and how they\u00a0can resolve them in their personal lives rather than stress about\u00a0the long-term effects.<\/p>\n

Senior medical humanities major Rebecca Johnson\u00a0championed for students who want to save the earth through their daily habits last semester when she sought out better recycling opportunities for students in Legacy Park housing as part of a\u00a0class project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are individuals that are very\u00a0passionate about [recycling], but I don\u2019t think widespread there\u2019s a lot of motivation to translate that into action,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Through her research, Johnson found that, although there is not currently a way provided by the university to recycle in privileged housing, residents can easily establish recycling habits on their own. The Searcy Recycling Center offers free bins that can be picked up and returned as well as a drop-off area where employees will assist in unloading any recyclable material from vehicles.<\/p>\n

Rachel Greer, another senior living in Legacy, and her roommates have started using the Searcy Recycling Center as well.<\/p>\n

Greer said paying attention to the environment has\u00a0always been important to her, but since coming to college,\u00a0she has realized that being \u201cgreen\u201d is not as convenient as it was\u00a0where she grew up. Greer points out that small swaps like getting\u00a0a reusable water bottle or bringing your own cup to Starbucks add up to create a bigger impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really easy for us to just grab like an individual yogurt, but each one of those is so much plastic,\u201d Greer said. \u201cIf you were to get one of the big yogurt containers and used your own bowls, that alone saves plastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other students and campus organizations are also encouraging a rise in reducing, recycling and reusing, including the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honors Society.<\/p>\n

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In a two-fold outreach campaign, the honors society is asking students to donate shoes that will in turn be donated to support small businesses in developing countries. As a direct effect, the fundraiser provides an Earth-friendly solution for students who are seeking to get rid of their used shoes, which might otherwise be discarded\u00a0and shipped to a landfill.<\/p>\n

Greer is currently enrolled in an ecology class with Nathan Mills, associate professor of biology, as part of her biology\u00a0degree\u2019s curriculum and is learning how to better understand and take care of the environment. Greer said Mills not only teaches scientific facts but also applies it to the\u00a0university\u2019s foundational Christian beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like it is a Christian responsibility to take care of the creation,\u201d Mills said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of what we were created to do as human beings, and\u00a0to not do so is to disrespect the creator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills said part of taking responsibility for these environmental issues comes in not politicizing them but instead acknowledging them as the facts of science and as an active problem that\u00a0needs to be solved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be very thoughtful about our\u00a0transportation and the types of vehicles that we use, that is a major source of a wide variety of pollution,\u201d Mills said. \u201cAlong with that, I think we need to be just very conscious of the energy efficiency of our houses\u00a0and how we heat and cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although climate change is a big issue in today\u2019s society,\u00a0Mills said the environmental issues we are conscious of change periodically. In the late \u201860s and early \u201870s, many changes were made to environmental law. For example, acts for endangered species, clean air, clean water and the regulation of pesticides were all\u00a0passed because those were the issues that were most pressing at the time. As changes to environmental law became staple to the late \u201860s and early \u201870s, society took note. Earth Day was established in America in 1970 and globally in 1990. As students celebrate Earth Day this year on Monday, April 22, it provides an opportunity to\u00a0celebrate the Earth through projects that promote recycling and green living.<\/p>\n

According to Earthday.org, the 2019 Earth Day theme is \u201cProtect Our Species\u201d with the goal of educating the public about the rapid extinction of various species as a result of\u00a0human activity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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