Admit it, you hate the heat. I do. I hate driving to campus with my legs sticky and stuck to the upholstery of my car.  I have the hugest pet peeve of seeing the pools of sweat that are visible on the backs of t-shirts. I hate the fact that walking from class to class, I’m sweating like I just did an hour on the treadmill.

I hate this 100+ degree weather. I hate this heat. So go on and admit that you do too.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen more students rush into a building to get to their class. But I know that it is only for one reason that consists of two glorious words, air conditioning.

But the thing that we love because of the unbearable heat uses so much energy that hurts the planet, which in the end is one of the major causes of this heat that we hate.

Oh global warming, you’re a cycle that we need to break.

I’m not going to become a professor and talk to you about CO2 emissions and how they are killing our planet, even though they are, but I do want to help you out in this heat, by saving you money and also from heat exhaustion.

The average American produces about 40,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year, according to powerscorecard.org, a website dedicated to advising those in energy and planet saving techniques.

According to them, collectively we are spending about a million dollars almost every minute of everyday. I’m a struggling college student just like you and I could use that extra cash.

So why not save the planet and keep that money in your wallet, by simply finding other ways to cool down.

I’m not saying to go and suffocate in a stuffy classroom with 40 other students. Nor am I saying that the world should turn off the air conditioning (please don’t!) but what I am suggesting is that students take it upon themselves to find other methods of cooling down.

One method in particular would be drinking more water. Staying hydrated helps keep your body able to regulate its temperature, but please use eco-friendly plastic bottles- we are trying to save the world here.

Another thing would be to use a fan instead of air conditioner at your apartments and homes. Although it isn’t the refreshing cold blast of Arctic air, it will still serve its purpose and gives you the slight breeze you need to feel comfortable.

I know this maybe a stretch, but plant a tree. I know you think I’m crazy but planting more trees will give you some shade from the scorching sun. If the world had more trees we could cut out about 2.4 tons of CO2 emissions just by using the shade factor as the sole purpose.

The plus factor being that the average tree absorbs about 25 pounds of CO2, thus making you not feel so guilty about those days, like today (that we hate), when you’re dealing with this 100+ degree heat and blasting that good old air conditioner.