You Said it!
What are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint?
Interviews & Photographs by Crisanthy Carvouniaris
One of the most damaging ways the environment gets further destroyed is by us humans.
The carbon footprint, which is a measurement of the amount of carbon dioxide released
into the atmosphere by any individual or company, can be reduced if only more people
were aware of the disastrous effects it has on the atmosphere, and which leads to
problems we are facing, like global warming. Industry threatens the ozone layer,
as do cars, and cattle emissions. It may seem like those things are out of the individual's
control, but there is actually a lot we can do, if only every single person could
commit to making a few simple changes their daily routine, and therefore creating
an effective collective initiative. Here are a few examples of students here at Kingsborough
who are making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.
I turn off the water when I m brushing my teeth, and I have a separate cup to use,
because you waste a lot of water just by having it open.
-Fatima Younus, Biology Major
I recycle plastic bottles, use them for water, or any other drink.
-Nezky Franco, Criminal Justice Major
I like to reuse water bottles. I turn off the faucet when I don t need the water,
I turn off the light when I m in my room and volunteer in a school clean-up to clean-up
the campus for Kingsborough Community College.
-Delia Calix, Liberal Arts Major
I tend to put things in the garbage every time I happen to walk by an area and it's
filthy [trash receptacle]. I turn off the water, [and] dim down the lights so we don
t waste any type of heat and stuff like that.
-Charles Cunny, Criminal Justice Major
I always buy a bottle of water and after I finish with it, I always fill it up and
use it for the rest of the day. I also like to buy energy lamp[s] to save some energy.
-Salimata Toure, Liberal Arts Major
I shut off water whenever I can. I reuse plastic containers; sometimes I put pens
in them. When I get a mailing with a blank reverse side, I recycle it. I don t have
a car, you can say I m saving gasoline. This gets about 10,000 miles with dropped
gasoline. [The device he uses: He says it's called a walker. ] Actually, it's called
a roll-aider. I got this one from the Veteran's Administration Hospital. When I gave
back my other one, I said, what are you going to do with it? They said they're
going to throw it away. I said, that's ridiculous, why don t you give it to someone
who needs it? I have a feeling they threw it away. Some people don t care at all
about waste. My mother taught me not to waste.
-David Rapaport, Majors in Life
