I conducted an environmental consciousness survey to measure the awareness levels of students in my school. The survey was answered by a random sample of thirty students from various classes.
I tabulated the results of the survey in the form of graphs and pie diagrams. Here is a report highlighting the salient findings from the survey, and my opinion about them:
Energy
Every classroom has 2-3 tubelights (40 watts each) and 2-4 fans (60 watts each). 63% of the students surveyed belong to classes that do not switch off lights and fans before leaving their classrooms at least once a week. This means a minimum of 173 watts of electricity is wasted by each of these classes every week!
18 out of 30 students have noticed plasma screens in their classrooms left on even when not in use. Research shows that at the global level, standby power is roughly responsible for 1% of global carbon dioxide emissions!
Paper
60% of the students surveyed do not reuse school notebooks from the previous year on a regular basis. From my own observations, I have found that unused pages from old notebooks amounts to atleast two notebooks per year. That would mean buying two notebooks less the next year, saving paper in the process.
Only 40% use the blank side of circulars given in school. 43% don’t even take them home, and this adds to the litter in the classroom.
Nearly 4 billion trees or 35% of the total trees cut around the world are used in paper industries on every continent. Saving paper is very important.
Travel
Half the students surveyed commute to school by car. Out of the 15 students who come to school by car, 10 (~66%) are part of a carpool system. The figures are quite heartening.
Although there is scope for improvement, modes of transport to and from school also depends on a number of other factors, such as individual class timings, extra classes for co-curricular activities etc.
Efforts have been taken by the school over the years to encourage car-pooling. This has resulted in some improvement. Personally, I don’t think I can bring about a drastic change in this through my project.
Food and drink
47% of the students surveyed finish their lunch completely everyday.
Although 34% said that they eat organically grown foods everyday, I later found that some of these students did not know the actual meaning of organic food (which is “food grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides”). Many thought that organically grown food was all non-junk food. So awareness has to be created about the meaning of organically grown food and its advantages.
Only 16% of the students waste unfinished water from their school bottles. Quite a large number (84%) drink the water or use it for other purposes.
Water
16 out of 30 students are aware of leaking taps or flushes in the bathrooms. Alarmingly, 36% are okay letting them leak.
I used http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sc4.html and made a calculation: 10 litres of water are wasted in one day by one leaky tap (at 30 drips per minute, i.e., 1 drip every 2 seconds)!
In light of this figure, a change of attitude among the students is very necessary.
Plastic
Only 17% of the students surveyed carry no plastic items to school. Shockingly, 19 out of the 30 students knew about eco-friendly substitutes available in the market. Awareness exists, but implementation is absent.
Studies show that one plastic bag takes 1000 years or more to degrade! Immediate sensitization of students is required.
Waste management
18 out of 30 students follow the colour-coded bins outside the canteen. 29 of the 30 respondents knew what colour coded bins meant and were aware of their existence outside the canteen. So, students need to be encouraged to throw their trash properly.
30% of the students surveyed said they would throw their garbage on the floor if there were no dustbins in sight. Again, a change in attitudes is necessary.
Only 5 students of 30 belonged to classes that had a monitor to check cleanliness. A “Clean Class Award” is in place in the school. However, some classes do not take it seriously and this issue has to be addressed.
Volunteering and projects
9 students of the 30 surveyed had previously been involved in an environmental project. It was heartening to note that 24 of the 30 said that they would be interested in participating in such a project in the future. This has given me the confidence that my project will be well received.
Voice your views
23 students out of the 30 surveyed believe that they can make a difference towards curtailing global warming as individuals. I think showing them how they can do this is what my project should be aimed at.
27 students of the 30 felt that the school could be a more eco-friendly place!
Using these results, I plan to implement a number of green initiatives to change my peers' attitudes towards the environment.
Go green!
No comments:
Post a Comment