Friday, September 5, 2008

Green Culture Shock

After getting back to the States from almost eight months in Europe, I've experienced less culture shock that I expected, but it all tends to fit into a green theme. I miss, for example, not having to bring a sweatshirt and a blanket to movie theaters and classrooms, which are A/Ced down to the mid-60s here. I miss toilets with a splash of water in the bowl, rather than a family's daily water intake. I miss escalators that don't start until you get on them.

But most of all, I miss recycling. I miss being able to recycle almost EVERYTHING, and being able to buy everything recycled. (The "sustainable" notebooks in the GW Bookstore, for example, are a paltry 30% post-consumer.) I'm sure this isn't a typical feeling, but I've been watching my carbon footprint balloon over the past two weeks and felt so helpless to stop it.

Can someone point out where we're greener than Europe? Maybe that would help reduce my culture shock.