In the midst of our time as University of Wisconsin students, it has become apparent that the fight to lower tuition and textbook costs is a losing battle. There is, however, a monthly bill students have the power to lower, and it has the potential to help the environment in the process.

Tree-hugger, left-wing, eco-geek, call it what you will, but becoming environmentally aware could save the earth and your bank account from their potential demises. With summer and Earth Day just around the corner there is no better time to alter your routine, and levels of involvement can vary from joining university organizations to simply turning off unnecessary household lights.

Through Madison Gas & Electric, students can find the easiest way to help the environment. By signing up through the mail or online for what their website describes as “clean, renewable electricity,” students can take responsibility for their own carbon dioxide emissions.

The cost for my own three-bedroom, four-person apartment is about four dollars each month. If that $1 per person is absolutely impossible to fit in your monthly budget, the cost can be easily negated through simple, energy-saving household tasks — in fact, you will probably end up saving money.

A simple way for students to understand UW’s energy initiatives and get involved directly is to visit the “We Conserve” website through the UW homepage, whose stated goal is “To reduce campus energy consumption per square foot by 20 percent by the year 2010.” On the website, not only can students engage in campuswide goals, but they can also set their own personal goals. Personally, I have made a pledge on the website agreeing to effortless tasks such as turning off unnecessary lights and enabling the power-save mode on my PC.

Students need to understand that, by declining or even ignoring the expanding initiatives of our university and energy cooperative, they are essentially placing every personal luxury they have above the wellbeing of our planet. Hundreds, dare I say thousands, of red plastic cups are utilized every weekend on this campus and, if recycled, could be a huge step in forming environmentally healthy habits.

Additionally, every home Badger game subjects the streets near Camp Randall Stadium to the destruction of fans and tailgaters alike, who litter the area without hesitation. Although football season is still five months away, outdoor festivities will undoubtedly resume in full force when the annual Mifflin Street Block Party takes place the first week of May.

The day before the block party is an eco party put on by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group and sponsored by MTV in celebration of Earth Month. WISPRIG is working together with the Wisconsin Union Directorate for their campaign “Big Red, Go Green.” These are wonderful opportunities for students to springboard into a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

The greatest advantage to becoming environmentally aware is that there are virtually no drawbacks to a student’s lifestyle. Most would be happy and surprised to know that washing a load of dishes by hand actually uses five times more water than running a load of dishes in the dishwasher.

The shower is another way that students can conserve water, especially if the showerhead is old. After 1995, almost all showerheads were made to produce no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, and many showerheads — averaging about $10 — use just one gallon of water per minute.

Becoming eco-friendly does not mean doing homework by candlelight or bathing in Lake Mendota. Most things like switching off lights and turning down the heat won’t affect daily routines. Also, being environmentally sensible is too often correlated with far left-wing politics. But a core conservative value is to be self-supporting, and what better way than to take responsibility for the environment? Republicans and Democrats alike can care about preserving the environment, and overall everyone can agree that household recycling and energy-saving measures are a step in the right direction.

Reducing energy, recycling and using less water saves the consumer loads of money and, surprisingly, a lot of undesired work as well.

The moral of the story? Save water, drink beer — and then recycle the beer can.

Julia Chapman ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and Spanish.