This year, my New Year’s resolution was to not buy a single bottle of water all year. I’ve broken it already (isn’t that what New Year’s resolutions are for anyways?), and I have no doubt that I’ll break it again and again as the year progresses. But no matter what, I won’t give up on it. I feel like it’s a good sacrifice that I’m making. I mean, technically all other beverages are fair game, so it’s not like I’m suddenly going green in everything that I do, but it’s still a difference. I figure a small change like this might not make an impact in the big picture, but our environment can do with a few less bottles of water being thrown away each year.
I’ve always been into preserving the environment. I recycle my plastic, I don’t litter, and I try not to be excessive with my use of water. But I’ve never really considered how to reduce the amount of waste I produce until now. My contributions have always been relatively half-hearted, and that is something I want to change this year. Cutting out water bottles is the first step, but eventually I want to do more. And my New Year’s resolution has helped me figure out what “more” entails.
My resolution has made me realize the amount of plastic I use on a day-to-day basis. To start, if I grab hot coffee, I use a plastic lid to cover my cup. If I get iced coffee, the lid, the cup, and the straw are all plastic. Plus I get coffee several times a day. Then there’s the plastic utensils I use if I feel too lazy to clean up after myself, the plastic containers if I get food at Wisey’s or Epi, the plastic water cups I ask for when I eat out (except for Chipotle, because they use paper cups, god bless them), and the countless Solo cups that my friends and I use throughout the weekend. And those are just the things that come to mind at the moment—I’m sure that in reality, I use so much more.
It’s insane how we use these products once, throw them away, forget about them, and then they last for centuries. They don’t decompose. They make their way into the ocean, and then some poor baby turtle gets stuck in them, or a whale tries to eat them and suffocates. Fish and birds eat our trash, and eventually this makes its way back to us to the point where we’re eating the very fish that ate our garbage. It’s an awful cycle, and we all end up suffering.
While it does makes a big difference to recycle the plastic we use, we still should not be using it so much in the first place. It’s easy to forget how often we use it, because plastic is literally everywhere. But we have to try to be more conscious about our use and abuse of it. Simple things like buying a reusable water bottle or using metal utensils can go a long way and reduce a lot of waste.
After the election last year, many students at Georgetown were worried about what Donald Trump’s presidency would bode for the environment. From what we’ve seen thus far, I think it’s safe to say that for the next four years, preserving our environment is up to us. We probably won’t be seeing any changes for the better—probably the opposite. I know that there’s only so much we can do as students, but whatever we can do, we must. This is about more than just cutting down on plastic. This is about doing what we can to fight back against the measures that will harm our planet. First, let’s stop generating so much waste. It adds up. Let’s also save energy and water. Let’s keep our surroundings clean. Let’s care about the future of our planet and the well-being of our animals. Let’s raise awareness.
And let’s protest the hell out of the next four years.
Susana is a sophomore in the College.
