The following is a story submitted by senior Willow Volkert. Want to share a story of your own? Send an op-ed to [email protected].

People aren’t leaving their houses. There are less cars on the highways than ever before and less planes in the sky. Animals are returning to their natural habitats: boars in South America, swans in Venice (the water is finally clear!), and turtles in Indonesia, as humans clear out of the way.

It seems as if, from an entirely environmental perspective, COVID-19 has been both a blessing and a curse. The drastic decline in our global presence has allowed animals to come out of hiding, and to live as they did before we took over the world. Furthermore, our global decline in production has lowered global pollution levels.

As great as it is to see some positive impacts of humans going into hiding, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The EPA has eliminated any pollution regulations for factories within the US indefinitely in order to spur production. This, combined with the increased use of electricity and natural gas within our homes, has almost leveled out the playing field. We are using almost as much energy as we normally do, just in different ways.

This goes to show that, although the warm fuzzy feeling you get at seeing swans in Venice is great, we still have work to do. Despite being locked in our homes, there is still more that we can do.

Working to influence policy in this time of crisis is just about impossible, so for the remainder of quarantine, I call on you to make your way of living a little more sustainable.

I’m sure you have a lot of time on your hands, so focus on making these small changes every day, in order to create a better, cleaner world. 

1) Turn off the lights in rooms you are not in

As easy as this sounds, you would be surprised at how often people forget to do this, including me. Turning off your lights will not only lower your carbon footprint, but will also lower your electric bill.

2) If it’s hot in your house, open a window instead of turning on the AC

Again, an easy tip that most people don’t even think of. This also applies in your car — if it gets a little too warm, crack your window for a minute. It’ll not only cool you down, but will lower your carbon footprint while giving you some nice fresh air!

3) Go on walks, and pick up trash while you’re at it

In order to stay sane, walks are an essential during quarantine. Before you leave, grab a plastic (or reusable!) bags and pick up any trash you see while you’re walking — you’ll be surprised at how much you will find. You’ll feel super satisfied when you throw out a full bag of trash afterwards, knowing you helped clean your community. Make sure to wash your hands afterwards!

4) Stop ordering takeout

Now that you’re stuck at home, it can be easy to make that call and get plastic bags filled with food delivered to your doorstep, but take advantage of the extra time to make some home-cooked meals. You can hit a couple birds with this stone — spend quality time with your family, make a healthy meal, avoid unnecessary plastic and trash, learn to cook, and find a quality way to waste time! I promise, homemade meals taste better than takeout!

5) Make a compost or start a garden

Now is finally the time that you have no excuse to put off these tasks. A compost is super easy to make. All I did was get a big bin, poke a few holes in the top, then dig up some dirt from your backyard (try to get worms if you can find them!), and put it in the bin. Voila, compost! Now throw all your food waste in there whenever, just make sure to bury the waste in the dirt to make it decompose faster. Within a few months, you’ll have fresh fertilizer to use in your garden! If you need more help with this, feel free to look up “how to” videos online.

6) Don’t forget the 50th celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd

Honor the planet we live on and help the movement to fight climate change! Whether this is by working a little harder to be eco-friendly, reaching a sustainable goal, sharing the message, or simply supporting the movement, get involved!