If you have a Yahoo! e-mail account or at least use their search engine, you probably saw this headline:
Least Eco-Minded City
Apparently, folks living in Tokyo, Japan- at least a large percentage of them- are not willing to make sacrifices to help in the fight against global warming. The populations of eight cities were surveyed. Paris and Milan boasted the highest environmentally conscious populations.
Interesting.
This doesn't really surprise me. The location does, but the amount of people who polled such an opinion does not. Lots of people think going green means eating cardboard and using Oak leaves for toilet paper. Tokyo may be a world leader in newer and cleaner technologies, but there's a lot of people living on that tiny island called Japan. I think that no matter where you go, many people are not willing to change their lifestyle to better the planet. With the misconception of green living being uncomfortable- a martyr's post, if you will- who can blame them.
Being greener can be virtually effortless. I'm struggling with the very office I work in- my boss thinks turning off computers overnight wears down their parts and makes them break easier. [I know, I know ... whaaaa?] Turning off all of our computers at the end of the work day makes our computers not only faster, but more energy efficient. Changing the light bulbs in you home or office helps, too.
Does anyone else find this effort to be an uphill battle? Why do so many people choose not to listen?
At any rate: bullocks to the nay-sayers. Leave a comment and tell me about your latest effort in protecting the planet.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Say
About Me
- GLOBE: Green, Leading Others By Example
- Concord, NH, United States
- I'm not an environmentalist. I'm an Earth warrior. ~Darryl Cherney, quoted in Smithsonian, April 1990
2 comments:
Say,
I, too, struggle to "convert" my friends and peers to a more sustainable lifestyle. I bicycle everywhere - 6 miles out to work through the industrial part of town - yet a few of my closest friends drive to work, not a mile from their house.
This has me thinking. Well, realizing, actually. Some people need the most dire form of incentive - grave monetary consequences - to adopt the simplest changes in their lives. Not a new concept, for sure, but perhaps more relevant today in our struggle than in the past. Until people have to pay $10 a gallon for gas, they will continue to drive everywhere and not even think of it. The memories of cheap oil still persist, and the hope reigns that it will return. I mean, why else would we be in Iraq if not to secure a source of affordable crude?...
So for now I dedicate myself to the daunting task of logical persuasion (until I earn a seat in Congress and have the power to slap people in the face with energy mandates). And it works. But, how to reach the illogical idiots (what I might call, "the masses") of McAmerica?
M. Ausman
Mike:
Amen to you, sir. Once the weather gets better I'm going to attempt to commute my 15 to 20 miles to work on days I don't have to do interviews. My commute is a tough one- I wish I could find gainful employment closer to home, but for now it just ain't happening. Damned recession.
I'm so pleased to hear all that you've been up to. I'm really impressed ... to be honest, it doesn't surprise me. I always knew you had a green leaning. Thanks for reading and I hope to see your comments on this thing again soon. You have some great insight!
best,
Say
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