Earth Day fell this past Saturday April 22. While many students enjoyed the weather and the nature La Crosse has to offer, some posted pictures reminding others to “Love your Mother.” 

While many posts flooded Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook of our coveted photos of Mother Nature herself, have we forgotten that we are to appreciate our planet more than once a year?   

This awareness should be highlighted more than once every 365 days. By Monday the newsfeeds went back to selfies, the car in front of you having thrown something out the window, and you will probably forget to recycle your water bottle. Yet, we were preaching of our love for this planet all day Sunday.  

I’m not saying everyone reverted back to non-eco-friendly practices on Monday, but many did. There are many small changes that even college students can make in their everyday lifestyle to live an eco-friendlier life.  

Many can eat less meat, use non-disposable dishes, and/or take smaller portions, just to name a few ways that begin in the cafeteria.  

Many forests have been cut down to farm meat, and often this results in more carbon emissions present in the air. By eating less meat, this can be cut down. By cutting down portion sizes, you are less apt to throw away food and less likely to create unnecessary food waste.    

You’ve heard this before, since you were a kid, but turn your faucet down lower and off in between washing dishes and brushing your teeth. This saves a lot of resources like water. The same goes for taking shorter showers. “Shaving one minute off the daily shower will save nearly a thousand gallons of water every year” (greatist.com).  

Going to grab some coffee? Bring your own mug. Many companies are very welcoming to making your drink in your own mug- Starbucks included. Use reusable containers when you can, or even pack a lunch.  

Consider double checking your drafty windows come winter or summer. Keeping the heating or cooling in the house efficient helps cut back on the utility bill, but also lessens how much energy is being wasted. You might even think about air drying your clothes too to cut back on energy bills.  

As students, we often are assigned a lot of handwritten work. In order to reduce paper, ask your professors to reduce their carbon footprint. Request electronic copies of your pdfs, take notes on your tablet or laptop, power your electronics down when you’re finished with them in lab, and reuse your water bottles.  

These all seem like very obvious opportunities to celebrate Mother Earth year-round. Yet we are all guilty of forgetting to keep up with these eco-friendly habits (myself included).  

Even if you can remember to engage in one or two of these steps daily or weekly you are making steps to love your Mother Earth. We only have one planet and Earth Day should be celebrated every day.