Not everyone has to be a bona fide tree hugger like me (I take military-style showers and routinely unplug every appliance in the house); there are a few simple things you can do in and out of school that will not only help the environment, but may also boost your grades! Follow these ten tips and mention them to an environmental science teacher for much love and possible bonus.
1. Take the bus, walk, or carpool.
2. If you use study tools like flashcards or Sparknotes, make or print out one set to share with several people.
3. Whenever possible, read Sparknotes instead of printing it out. Print on both sides of the paper if you must print.
4. Instead of putting your lunch in a brown bag every day, get a really cool lunchbox, or use the same bag every day (why not decorate one?)
5. Recycle your 20-ounce drink bottles or fill a water bottle with juice, energy drinks, soda, etc. (they're not just for water!)
6. Don't throw away food! If you can't finish your lunch, someone else can. Great friendships have been built on free food.
7. Recycle old papers or use the backs of them for notes and flashcards. If your school doesn't have recycle bins in each room, ask the head of the community service club or ecology club about it or recycle them at home.
8. Pass along your old notes and folders to your younger siblings or younger friends and neighbors. They can learn from your notes and if you don't need binders or folders anymore, don't throw them away. If you don't know any younger schoolkids, leave them with your teachers, who will probably be happy to offer them out next year.
9. Don't leave the water running in the bathrooms. Not only is it wasteful but if teachers or janitors catch you doing it, they'll be mad--and you do NOT want to start a feud with a janitor.
10. Write on both sides of every piece of paper and in the margins unless a teacher doesn't like that. This leads to less bulky folders and more condensed notes, and in a notebook check that makes your folder look easier to grade than everyone else's.
