Everyone wants to save the environment. Or at least, everyone who believes our world climate is changing wants to save the environment. We’ve stopped using straws. We’ve turned to composting and secondhand clothes shopping. And we’ve read countless articles about how none of that is the true problem.

The problem is the overdone packages of online shopping, with everything wrapped and rewrapped in more plastic than you could ever imagine. The problem is the 87,000-plus flights that take place every day in the United States. The problem is the 100 companies responsible for more than 70 percent of global emissions.

But just because the climate problem seems to be bigger than us doesn’t mean we can’t change things. And it doesn’t mean we have to go far to start.

Start here. Attend discussions and teach-ins and debates. Educate yourself; educate your peers. The world will be more easily changed if you are able to support yourself with facts.

You don’t have to sail across the Atlantic to solve the world’s problems. Trinity has plenty of sustainability and environmental issues. Last spring, we reported that Mabee had cut down more than five percent of its weekly tonnage of waste. But our dining hall still produces four tons of waste a week.

And sure, there are recycling bins all around campus, but the recycling process Trinity has doesn’t have secondary sorting. So, if there’s too much trash mixed in with recyclables, it gets sent to the landfill. Knowing about what can be recycled is important, but it’s more important to reduce your waste.

Don’t support businesses that over-package their products, like Amazon. Don’t drive to upper campus from your dorm. Don’t buy clothes first-hand from companies that ignore the cost of their production.

Be conscious of initiatives on campus, like Campus Sustainability’s annual Recyclemania. Talk to members of Student Government Association about your concerns about waste.

Think of all the Freshii bowl lids, the Einstein’s coffee cups and the paper bowls at Nacho Hour. Think of the plastic your packages come in and think of the microbeads in your favorite face wash. And even though the climate crisis is a huge deal, you can start small. Repurpose this copy of the Trinitonian (our issues make great wrapping paper and packing material).

Climate change is real, and it’s happening. This isn’t a partisan issue; it doesn’t matter if you lean left or if you lean right. This is about our planet and our future and the future of generations after us. Change doesn’t need to be big. It just needs to happen.