Yassou! Time has really flown since my last blog post. I have finally settled into a routine and my courses are almost halfway done. Midterms are coming up for everyone, but that means spring break is too. Many people will travel during our two-week break which makes me think of my travel from Boston to Cyprus. Using the carbon footprint calculator, I discovered that my roundtrip flight emitted 2.54 metric tons of CO2. Cyprus, as a member of the EU, has committed itself to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050. From 2005 to 2019, Cyprus decreased its carbon intensity by close to 25%. Further emissions reductions are expected as electricity production shifts from heavy fuel oil to natural gas. Locally, carbon emissions could be reduced by the decreased use of cars and increased use of buses. Cyprus has a well-developed public transport system, however, they don’t have any railways. This makes sense for Cyprus, as it takes roughly 3 hours to get from corner to corner via bus. While in Cyprus, my primary form of transportation will be buses. For example, when attending Carnival with friends two weeks ago, we rode a bus from Nicosia to Limassol. Since then, I’ve also used the bus to visit the beach. These buses are always at capacity which shows just how much the community relies on them. The area surrounding campus is also very walkable and many residential buildings mean that fewer students have to commute every day. It is also very common for students to have courses that only meet once a week. In other words, if I were a commuter student, I would only make the commute 3 times a week and not 5. Although minimal, these transportation decisions will decrease my personal carbon emissions in the long run. The people of Cyprus are also expecting more environmental initiatives from the government, which gives me hope for the future of the island.