By Lane Smith
Do What?
Throughout the typical writing process, writers create numerous drafts and test prints designed to check for errors in grammar and formatting. This creates a massive problem in regards to paper waste. I decided to try to do something about this two years ago. So what did I do? I started composting.
Low Maintenance
Landfills are overflowing and recycling centers are not popping up quickly enough, but why rely on someone else to recycle my waste? I can recycle right at home with composting. If you are not known as a person with a green thumb, don’t worry; you have a chance to be the person known to have a brown thumb. Composting is a low-maintenance activity and once it is set up it will more often than not give you great results.
Are you wondering why I am talking to a group of writers about the environment? It is primarily because writers produce massive amounts of paper waste every year. We all know about the local recycling center and pick up, and some of us actually use those systems. Composting will provide you with some of the richest soil you have ever seen, and it can be made right in your backyard. You never have to leave your house to take care of the earth and your garden.
Drafting Some Dirt
So, if you are getting the itch to start drafting some awesome dirt, check out some of these great articles and tutorials at Earth Easy. I should not forget to mention that UAB has new programs for sustainable futures. They have added over ninety classes regarding sustainability, and have developed both majors and minors for the subject. They are also encouraging professors to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum of any classroom, as talked about in the UAB Reporter, and even offer a stipend for participants in the workshop.
Being sustainable and writing about sustainable causes is becoming a very large part of the public rhetoric. Start composting your drafts and prints, and take part in making the future a greener place, one compost heap at a time.
