This week, as Pepperdine’s Center for Sustainability launches its “Commit to Conserve” campaign, I turned to people of our community and asked: “What do you do to stay green?” I have some solid answers to share — and ways you can commit to a “green” lifestyle.
“It takes around 3,500 gallons of water to grow the grain necessary to produce two pounds of beef. Taking red meat out of your diet for a meal or two each week can make a big difference,” said Peter Duby, Pepperdine alumnus and coordinator of Pepperdine’s Center for Sustainability.
Thus, no need to go all veggie: Go meatless one day per week and release your inner-chef to cook up some exciting — and cheap — meals. Check out quinoa, lentils, wheat berries and green peas as recipe starters for meals like wheat berry stew with potatoes, kale and broccoli, or green pea tacos with feta cheese and thin-sliced pears.
Before you throw down the newspaper and go in search of food, let me dampen your appetite with another life-sustaining habit: drinking water. Juan Godinez, college senior and co-president of Pepperdine’s Green Team, stays green with his reusable water bottle.
“I fill it up anywhere there’s a drinking fountain or water cooler. And it helps me drink more water throughout the day,” Godinez said.
As I need not remind you, there are lots of water fountains around campus, where water flows freely.
Emily Rose Schiller, recent Pepperdine graduate and past president of the Green Team, lives by a holistic approach to sustainable living. She probes us to consider:
“What do you eat, what air do you breathe, what water do you drink, what activities do you enjoy, what magazines do you read, what things do you recycle, what things do you buy, what things do you throw away? What things in our lives can we do away with, what things can we keep and what things can we do better?
I challenge you to consider your lifestyle and what it means to be ‘green’ in our world, as a whole body, mind and spiritual endeavor.”
She reminds us to seriously consider our consumer purchasing power. From gossip magazines to online news sources to organic foods what will you choose to engage yourself in?
Finally, I turned to the person I trust most on practical matters: my father. I’ve seen his stink eye dart my way every summer when I reach to flip on the air conditioning. He refuses to rely on it, opting for open windows instead, utilizing blinds to block out light in summer and let in warm sunshine in winter. That trick saves a lot of money, and so do these driving tips:
“Avoid racing takeoffs from lights or stop signs. Keep all tires properly inflated. Reduce your car’s drag factor by keeping windows closed when driving fast on a highway.”
His advice saves gasoline in the short term, while maintaining your car’s long-term integrity, which translates into less money spent at the mechanic.
