Getting ready to launch in Ireland
Article by Darcy Lonergan (Dormitory Coordinator, Union of Students in Ireland)
The new academic year is coming upon us which means USI are getting prepared. Our first group of Ambassadors were trained up as we took a trip to the ‘Cool Planet Experience’. This interactive experience brought us through a journey of discovery about climate change, its causes and innovations and solutions we can embrace to solve it.
Our ambassadors filled out a questionnaire which calculated their carbon footprint, some had the equivalent of 178 baby elephants! But that was still 45% smaller than most people our age! The ambassadors learnt all about the three main polluting sectors; waste, transport & energy.
After the journey our Ambassadors made pledges to reduce their energy and waste consumption by making both small & larger changes in their lives.
Maire said “it was interesting to see how small changes in the house e.g. having energy efficient light bulbs, washing clothes at 30oC and investing in appliances with a good BER rating, can reduce my energy consumption”
Darren noted “I never realised how much energy plays a part in my everyday actions. Everything that we eat, anything that we put on to wear or every time that we decide to travel somewhere, we use so much energy. I am definitely more conscious of my actions now and I have made more of an effort to not leave my TV on standby, I went and changed my lightbulb in my bedroom to an LED bulb and I am going to try to use public transport more often. All of these little changes will go a long way in reducing my overall energy consumption”
With our Ambassadors inspired and geared up to go, we went back to the office to plan for the year ahead, so stay tuned for a great tips and initiatives on how you too can help save the planet!
