How can we make Vermillion a more eco-friendly place to live on Earth Day?

How can one college student living in Vermillion, South Dakota impact the Earth? On Earth Day —April 22—that may be the daunting question you ask yourself. It seems like everyday news coverage is filled with words flashing ‘climate change,’ ‘fire,’ or ‘the oceans are rising.’ If you’re like us, these problems seem huge, yet what can one individual 20-something do about it?

Earth Day looks different now than it did in elementary school when teachers read books about the Earth and did paintings of cartoon flowers, Earths and other outdoor scenes. However, now is the time when we can take what we learned to help make a small change to impact the larger world

During Earth Day, try walking to classes instead of driving. Use your reusable shopping bags at Walmart instead of carrying out 10 plastic bags. Even though there may not be sea turtles here, using a reusable straw helps keep plastic from being littered in the community around us.

While impacting the environment and Earth as a whole may seem like a stressful challenge, it doesn’t have to be. Focus on your own personal lifestyle and encourage your friends to help the Vermillion community.

We can make a difference in Vermillion by simply choosing to make environmentally friendly choices every day—it doesn’t just have to be Earth Day. 

Start by putting a recycling bin in your apartment or house and challenge your roommates to take part in recycling. Then, take it to the recycling dumpster by ACE Hardware. Instead of throwing away the leftovers from last weekend’s case race, collect those empty beer cans and take them to Sioux City to the recycling plant to receive some quick cash. Actions like these can benefit you and the planet around you. 

It doesn’t have to be all on you to save Earth from flooding due to the melting ice caps, but it can be on you to switch to reusable products when you shop, rideshare with your friends or walk to class more frequently than driving.

Use Earth Day to reimagine your lifestyle and become more eco-friendly to make Vermillion a beautiful place to live as college students and as people in the town. Together we can take a stand to make a change to protect Vermillion from harmful habits that can destroy its beautiful landscape.