“Green” change #1.

Use one paper towel in the bathroom after washing my hands instead of three or four.

As the hilarious YouTube video tells us (if you don’t know what I’m talking about click this link because you’ll pee yourself with laughter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYkjLUMx19I) , paper towels are oh so useful and convenient. However, they are just another component in our throw away lifestyle, severely harming the environment. If each home simply replaced one roll of their traditional paper towels with paper towels made from recycled paper, we could avoid wasting 3.4 million cubic feet of landfill space and prevent 864,000 trees from being cut down. Let’s be honest here: paper towels are something we use for point five seconds to half dry our hands before finishing to wipe them on our jeans. In reality, it’s not worth it. However, I am guilty as charged for using way too many after washing my hands. So it’s time to change that.

The beginning of this week, using only a single paper towel, has gone well overall. Breaking the habit of taking excessive amounts was the tricky part of this change. I had to stop myself as I went to grab a second one. Even so, this is one majorly minor lifestyle adjustment that no one should have a problem doing.

What has been brought to my attention over this week is our desperate need for more electric hand dryers. Though these hand dryers use electricity and can be more costly for maintenance, overall they are more efficient and environmentally friendly then paper towels. Ithaca College declares themselves to be green and devoted to sustainability. If so, I think bringing this green technology into the residence halls and academic buildings for students and faculty would be a great advancement and way to stay true to their promise of an eco friendly college.