Physical Geog: Radiator on, windows opens

That warm snug feeling you get when you’re tucked up in bed next to the radiator, all cosy, but windows open too, getting that cool breeze on your face – stopping it getting too stuffy. That’s what my housemate… Sonya, I’ll call her Sonya to protect her identity from any eco warriors out there, likes to do. I walked into Sonya’s room the other day, and that was exactly the scene I saw, she was snuggling up in bed with the radiator on full blast and windows fully open, I was horrified.

I can’t claim to be the most green earth-loving girl out there, but having said that – I’m conservative with my energy use, I take care – I turn lights off, I put an extra jumper on if it’s chilly, I often take the bus or cycle and I actively recycle. I was shocked that as a 21^st century student, who understands all about climate change, that she would have such a laissez-faire, it’s not my fault attitude. When I asked her about it, she told me she often leaves lights on, didn’t really care about how much energy she was using and wasn’t too bothered ‘because the ice-caps are going to melt anyway’. Maybe it’s just coming from a geography department where most of my course mates care about these kinds of things, but it was surprising.

In contrast to Sonya’s attitude, is that of my exchange university; not only am I living in the third most bike-friendly city in the world (Cathcart-Keays, 2016), needless to say that breeds a culture adverse to cars and pro bikes – but furthermore the University of Utrecht itself is committing to astonishing sustainability and pro-environment endeavours. With commitments to fair-trade, sourcing food from local producers, recycling bike parts and cutting down on all of the universities waste paper – eco-friendly is the word on the street. Everywhere I am on campus I can see small efforts being made to make being environment-conscious a social norm amongst students (Utrecht University, 2016).

I suppose this is more of an observational post, although I am aware the that many universities prioritise sustainability in this day and age, Utrecht seems to be able to disseminate the message especially well. Maybe it is the fact that bikes are rushing around you constantly and it is more convenient, cheaper and quicker to cycle into town than to take the bus or a car. When I think of my old second year house, living in central London where EU pollution limits were breached in just one week in 2016, the contrast to my current situation is incredible – almost hard to believe (Vaughan, 2016). Having said that, it’s clearly not all as green as it seems, especially not when there are people whom still harbour an attitude like Sonya’s – but it’s okay, I’m working on her.

References:

Cathcart-Keays, A. (2016). Where is the most cycle-friendly city in the world?. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jan/05/where-world-most-cycle-friendly-city-amsterdam-copenhagen [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].

Utrecht University. (2016). Campaigns. [online] Available at: http://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/green-office-utrecht/campaigns [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].

Vaughan, A. (2016). London takes just one week to breach annual air pollution limits. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/08/london-takes-just-one-week-to-breach-annual-air-pollution-limits [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].