Going Green

So I have a bone to pick with society. It's probably the same bone people have been picking on for ages...in fact, it's probably less a bone now than a fossil, and we're chipping away the rock around the edges. Either way - it kind of boils down to common sense.

The "Green Movement" seemed to hit hard recently. Don't get me wrong - it's been coming a long time, what with the oil crisis. But usually it tends to fluctuate - to come and go. It was "in" in the '70's. I learned about it in school in the '90's. And now it's back.

This is where the bone comes in. My environmental stance has never actually been something I'd brag about. And yet, I love the outdoors. My dad tells me from experience that America is cleaner and more beautiful than it was in the '70's, mostly because of movements that have not only slowed the pollution but have cleaned up the damage that was already done. I like national parks as well as city parks. I don't go to zoos very much anymore, but sometimes I sit in amazement at animals. In short - I love God's creation.

But the sudden onslaught of the Green movement confuses me. In my mind, it feels like it hit in December. Going through the longest, coldest winter of my life, I remember nonstop talk about "Global Warming."

Now we're into summer, and gas prices are on everyone's mind. They're on my mind for sure. For instance - I may get a raise soon, but the way things are going, that raise will barely cover the increased prices of gas for my commute. I know a guy who spends the equivalent of a month's rent on his montly commute (granted - he drives over an hour each way, which is neither something I recommend nor something I see as common).

So that's what my bone is - I don't have a problem with the Green Movement. In fact, as a business major, I tend to think very logically and financially about the whole thing - you know, preserve your resources and all. But there are things we could improve.

1) Paper.
At some point "going green" included not wasting paper. I've heard all the statistics about how much trash we use. However, one friend made a strking comment one day, and I really have to agree - "Doesn't matter how much paper we waste. It's a renewable resource. We can always grow more trees." Even though he's absolutely right (did you know there are actually more trees in America now than there were at the beginning of the century, and that laws are working well to keep the lumber industry repleneshing the resources it takes away) I'm really not advocating wastefulness.

What I'm advocating is recycling! You know, it doesn't matter how much paper you "waste" if you recycle what you do use. In the pharmacy and accounting firm I work for, there are a lot of sensitive documents that need to be shredded. Those shredded documents go straight to the paper mill to be recycled. Without paying anything extra for any extra service, these institutions can recycle basically all the paper they use if they try.

Also, places that harp on 'going green' and cutting down on usage often don't offer the bins to recycle other materials like plastic and aluminum. At my house the last few years I asked people to recycle - to save cardboard, aluminum, and plastic. It was a bit of a hassle to go to the recycling place every few weeks. But I also noticed the actual amount of trash we use decrease drastically. The same was the case in the pharmacy I worked for - the majority of our trash was plastic bottles and paper. When we started recycling both these items, it cut our daily chores down, as well as the amount of trash we created.

2) Gas
First of all, as a consumer, I believe there is more we can do, or could have been doing, to lower gas prices. Along with exploring other sources of energy, we could have been building more refineries to keep up with the demand, and increasing our total oil supplies by drilling in "new" places (I dare not say where - the topic seems so touchy). Simply - we are paying for our inability to change.

And I mean that in several ways. Gas has been steadily getting higher for years now. The high prices are something we may have to get used to. But what have we, as a mainstream, really been doing to work on our consumption? Public transportation - it's not always practical, and it doesn't really work in smaller cities. But what about people who have access to it but don't use it?

And walking? Americans are fat, too, so we could kill two birds with one stone. If I had a wagon or "stolen" shopping cart, I would have no problem actually walking to the store to do my grocery shopping. Unless I have more than two miles to go, I really hate to drive any more in a day than my already too-long commute. I'm not saving that much gas - but I am developing healthy habits.

You can cut down on traffic, exercise, and save gas money by exploring options other than driving.

Also, Green companies should focus on implementing telecommuting and four-day work weeks. When I was in business school, the books implied that this was going to be the new norm. Instead, I find that it rarely pans out in the real world. I admit, most of my work I have to do at the client. However, there are days when I go to the office and work on my computer that I really could be staying at home. (And I actually do get a lot done at home - maybe even more than at the office). Likewise, if I worked four days at the client, I'm sure I could pack myself up enough homework to, say, stay home on Wednesday or Friday. Not a day off, but a work-from-home day. And if we worked four 10-hour days we'd get just as much done and have the possibility of avoiding morning and evening rush hour.

3) Air Conditioning
This is a pet peeve mostly because I'm a girl. We girls have it hard. Look at this comparison we braistormed today:

Girls have estrogen, which makes them cold. Their clothes tend to be lighter and cover less of their bodies.

Men have testosterone, which makes them warm. Their clothes are heavier - long sleeved cotton shirts and slacks. They also have a higher risk for high blood pressure - which can cause them to be warm.

No matter where you go, the temperature of the room will lean towards a guy vs. girl argument.

That said, I think that so-called "green" companies could cut down on costs as well as wastefulness if they would turn the air conditioning up. I'm not advocating turning it off. But I'm saying that inside, especially with air circulation of some sorts, it's not unreasonable to leave the thermostat at 80, or even a cool 78.

If I could, I'd set my thermostat at a 75 or 77 year round. That's a good temperature for me. Of course, that wastes heat in the winter, so I add a layer and suffer at 70-ish (yay for me - my new house and loft really retains the heat, so we'll probably kick it down even lower this winter).

However, companies tend to set it at a straight 68 and leave it. You know, I've never done the studies, but I was always under the impression that air conditioning was less energy efficient and more costly than heating. Perhaps it's not. However, I'm proud to say that, despite my sauna upstairs, we're going to really try to make it to June (and hopefully past) without air conditioning in our house. I also plan to leave the thermostat high (82?) when we do cave, as well as creating breezes with open windows, and sleeping downstairs on the couch when I have to.

So that's my rant. I just wish people would put their money where their mouths are when it comes to being green. Essentially - "Help me help you!"