As School Strikers and Extinction Rebellion decorate their posters, sing their chants and take to the streets across the world, we are becoming more conscious of climate change. It’s all over the news and social media. Environmentalist activism is taking over the world and this movement led by young people is encouraging their governments to combat the climate crisis. 

Heatwaves, floods, and hurricanes are impacting hundreds of people worldwide. It’s already a deadly reality. Governments are meeting for the UN climate talks, but climate scientists that say we have only twelve years to reverse the course, and politicians are ignoring it.                     

Within the past year, a heroic 16-year-old girl became the face of the #FridaysForFuture movement. Greta Thunberg has been walking out of school to teach all the politicians a lesson in leadership.

She once said, "We need to get angry and understand what is at stake. And then we need to transform that anger into action and to stand together united and just never give up."

I’m doing a master’s titled ‘Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society’ in DCU and I’ve already learned so much from my lecturers and my peers. Climate change is gradually getting more attention, but it needs more. More money needs to be invested in creating solutions and new rules and regulations are needed both for industry and civilians.

It seems impossible to adapt to climate change, but there are 7.7 billion people on the planet and if every single one of us attempted to make a difference, it would show. If every person made a positive adjustment within their lifestyle to try and solve climate change, it could make the world much healthier and with an emergency like this, it’s important to stay positive.

What is a carbon footprint?

It’s the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of an individual, organisation, or community.

You can calculate your carbon footprint here. Things like flying and farming can impact it severely. The website also gives you information on how you can lower your carbon footprint.

It all starts with each person making a positive contribution, whether it’s just by putting a lid on our pots, unplugging chargers and washing our clothes at 30 rather than 40. Here are a few small steps you can do as a college student to make a big difference.

What you can do:

Use public transport

There’s a limited amount of parking in college and with rush hour traffic is driving into college worth it? Having your licence is great as it gives you so much independence but with the price of tax, insurance, NCT, a car and fuel, you might just be better off using public transport.

If you’re using your student leapcard within Dublin it caps at €20 a week if you’re just using the bus and €25 if you’re commuting via DART. It also gives you student discounts in places such as McDonalds, Boots and DID Electrical. And if you’re lucky enough to be under 19 years old, you can claim for a child’s leapcard which caps at €10 per week.

Cycle

Buying a bike can be expensive, but in Dublin, there’s a Bleeperbike system that allows you to rent a bike by simply downloading an app. It’s 80 cents per hour to rent a bike between the hours of 5am and midnight.

Make your lunch (and don’t use disposable products)

Although getting a chicken fillet roll for lunch is tempting, they aren’t that cheap, so why not bring your own lunch to college? You could make a salad or bring pasta in a lunchbox.

Keep a few things in your bag (cutlery, keep cup, water bottle, metal straw) because there is a charge on plastic cutlery, and you get discounts in many coffee shops for having your own cup. Plus, you’ll be helping the environment.

Meatless Mondays

Going vegan or vegetarian isn’t always possible, but it is possible to try to eat less meat.

According to a United Nations report: “cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation, and smarter production methods, including improved animal diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions, are urgently needed.”

Eating less meat or even abstaining from it one day a week can positively influence change. When you do eat meat, look for labels that specify free-range, organic and hormone and antibiotic-free.

There are a lot of vegetarian foods that are easily available and, surprisingly, really nice. The Linda McCartney range is my personal favourite. As a student, it’s affordable, stays in date for longer and there’s a lot to choose from.

Stop the shop

This is a tough one, but it can be done. Don’t buy things unless you absolutely need them!

Clothing production and online deliveries have such an impact on the environment, and it does put a lot of pressure on the bank account too to ‘stay on trend’.

College is all about finding yourself, so develop your own sense of style and stick to it.

There are a lot of second-hand shops in Dublin and a lot of universities run regular swap shops – plus it’s another way to save money (and wardrobe space).

Put pressure on people in power

The all-powerful internet means that the emails and office numbers of TDs and other important politicians are easily available online.

If you’re registered to vote, you should make it count and find out more about your local politicians and their policies.

Their job is to help you. Students have a vote which means they have a voice. We can make small steps, but they need to make big steps and to listen to what the people want.

What's On This Month:

#FridaysForFuture Global School Strike – 29 November 

Groups like Friends of the Earth and Extinction Rebellion have ongoing events on in Dublin and other counties, and the next #FridaysForFuture Global School Strike is on the 29 November, so make sure to rearrange classes with your lecturers or even skip them, because every voice makes a difference.