Live green, save green

Although many measures to help the environment are rather expensive or unfeasible for college students - such as buying a hybrid, installing solar panels, or starting your own organic dairy farm - there are plenty of other green practices that will help keep your wallet happy.

The first, and most obvious one, is to save electricity. Turn off unneeded lights, unused computers, replace you light bulbs with CFL bulbs (they are more expensive initially, but the reduced energy usage and longer life pays off in the long run), and wash your clothes with cold water. The second most obvious one is to adjust your driving habits; switching to a bike can save tons of money, but accelerating slower, using properly inflated tires, and driving the speed limit can make your car more fuel efficient and thus save you quite a bit in gas money. Other general frugal practices, such as using some cheap metal spoons from a place like Goodwill instead of using plastic or making your own coffee in a reusable mug instead of getting a daily styrofoam cup or drinking tap water instead of bottled, can help keep your wallet full and landfills emptier. If you start making your own coffee, avoid buying bottled water, and so on, it’s easy to save at least $5 a week, $5 that can be invested in an environmentally aware company, or put into a green mutual fund (there’s more and more of those these days).

So buy used clothing, wrap presents in shoebox tissue paper, and borrow carpet from the dumpster outside the carpet store. It isn’t being cheap, it’s being noble, and you grandchildren will thank you for it.