| I’ve never really been much of an environmentalist. I do believe in doing your best to not be destructive. I also believe in trying to be a good steward. But I also believe our mark is inevitable and we shouldn’t go to stupendous lengths to conserve for some arbitrary future. Is that rude or short sighted or conceited/self centered? Maybe so. Anyway, visiting Iceland perhaps moved me a little further toward being a better steward. They have recycling available EVERYWHERE. It is not an option, it is an expectation. But it is also not invasive. Cans go in one bin. Plastic goes in another, paper products in another, I’ve already mentioned compost, and then everything else in a final. 5 total. Publicly, it is one bin for cans and plastic, one for other. It works. There is no extra training, it is built in and part of just how they do it. I like that. It is easy. In addition, they are super conservation minded about landscape. You stick to paths. You get fined big time if you stray and damage something. Litter is non-existent. Not even cigarette butts. That preserves the landscape and natural resources for everyone. I am ok with this too. It is pristine and is a point of pride for everyone. I wonder if we did that if everyone would rebel just because “you can’t tell me what to do”. The last thing I noticed was the proliferation of electric and hybrid vehicles. They are EVERYWHERE. Gas is very, very expensive there. It was around $100 to fill up a Kia Sportage. But it was a plug in hybrid and got around 40 mpg. I’ll tell you, I like that people take care of the land. I like that there is enough pride in their home and themselves to not junk up the place. I like that they have made recycling into “just the way we do things”. I like that you can take significantly more measures there for the same amount of effort we make here. We really can do better. Let’s figure this out. I’ve never really been much of an environmentalist. I do believe in doing your best to not be destructive. I also believe in trying to be a good steward. But I also believe our mark is inevitable and we shouldn’t go to stupendous lengths to conserve for some arbitrary future. Is that rude or short sighted or conceited/self centered? Maybe so. Anyway, visiting Iceland perhaps moved me a little further toward being a better steward. They have recycling available EVERYWHERE. It is not an option, it is an expectation. But it is also not invasive. Cans go in one bin. Plastic goes in another, paper products in another, I’ve already mentioned compost, and then everything else in a final. 5 total. Publicly, it is one bin for cans and plastic, one for other. It works. There is no extra training, it is built in and part of just how they do it. I like that. It is easy. In addition, they are super conservation minded about landscape. You stick to paths. You get fined big time if you stray and damage something. Litter is non-existent. Not even cigarette butts. That preserves the landscape and natural resources for everyone. I am ok with this too. It is pristine and is a point of pride for everyone. I wonder if we did that if everyone would rebel just because “you can’t tell me what to do”. The last thing I noticed was the proliferation of electric and hybrid vehicles. They are EVERYWHERE. Gas is very, very expensive there. It was around $100 to fill up a Kia Sportage. But it was a plug in hybrid and got around 40 mpg. I’ll tell you, I like that people take care of the land. I like that there is enough pride in their home and themselves to not junk up the place. I like that they have made recycling into “just the way we do things”. I like that you can take significantly more measures there for the same amount of effort we make here. We really can do better. Let’s figure this out. |
