Student Essays, Opinions & Other Insights on a Sustainable UMD 2013-2014 Academic Year | Page 22

Carolyn Kowalski

Major: Dietetics and Kinesiology
Class of 2017
As a dietetics and kinesiology double major hoping to pursue a
career in sports nutrition in the future, I know the importance of
people treating their bodies right by regulating what they put into
them through their diets so that they can get the most out of them.
Similarly, in order to get the most out of the environment we live in,
we must control what we put into it. This is where sustainability
comes in. Just like how the excessive consumption of unhealthy
foods and inadequate exercise can lead to complications in an
individual’s body, the excessive use of fossil fuels and other harmful
materials and inadequate use of sustainable practices can and will
lead to the deterioration of the world we live in.
I know I, among many others, hope to one day have a family full of
healthy and happy children and in order for that to be possible,
there has to be fresh air for them to breathe and clean water for
them to drink. On the path we’re heading in, this will not be feasible
for future generations if our wasteful and indulgent actions. With
the world population expected to not only reach, but to exceed nine
billion, it is crucial for sustainability to be practiced. Even the
smallest of changes in peoples’ daily routines can make an enormous difference from turning the lights off
after leaving a room to drinking from a reusable water bottle rather than from disposable ones.
I like to think that I lead an environmentally friendly life but I know that I’m not perfect and that there is
plenty of room for improvement. Taking this pledge required me to stay conscious of every decision I made
during the course of the weeks the pledge took place and how these choices impacted the environment around
me. By signing the sustainability pledge, I vowed to take actions to save resources by recycling, not using
single-stream plastic or products, as well as to use less water by shortening my showers, only running water
when absolutely necessary, and waiting until my laundry basket was completely full before washing my dirty
clothes, and to unplug electronics and turn the lights off when I’m not using them. Going into no impact
week, I hope combine all of the habits I’ve started to create over the last few weeks to lead a more sustainable
live than I previously had.
This pledge aided in raising awareness around campus about how crucial practicing sustainability is to the
present and in the future. However, there are measures that can be take at the university can take to make
campus greener. Small-scale examples of this include, having the hallway lights in dorms being dimmer in the
late night hours when they are less traveled and during the day when the natural light can be utilized.
Additionally, reusable cups, like an Ozzi box but for a drink, should be available on a coin return system for
people who want to take their drinks to go without using a paper cup.

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