I read an article in the NYT today about “free electricity” and the hordes of renters who choose to leave their air conditioners on 24/7 throughout the hot summer. The jist: many property management companies offer free utilities, which result in super high electricity bills for their landlords due to rampant abuse (and detrimental environmental effects from the resulting burned coal). The article went on to talk about sub metering and how large rental companies are planning on curbing the abuse of electricity without a price tag.
This got me thinking about people who actually abuse their A/C and electricity use in general…and it’s not like it’s an uncommon phenomenon. Why do these people exist? What drives their mentality and lack of care for the world around them? Why do people believe they have a right to pollute and tame the wilderness?
My colleague talked about the notion of Manifest Destiny, that age old American concept that we have a God-given right to spread our ideas and technology throughout the New World. I think the abuse of the environment is tied inextricably to this American concept of “more is better.” Over consumption and a destructive attitude towards things we perceive as impediments to our destiny are traditional American values.
How do we change this mindset and attach a value to environmental preservation? Is federal or local regulation necessary, or is education and widespread behavior modification necessary? Sounds very 1984 of me…
Everybody's thinking about how to maximize their slice of the pie, they don't realize there is only one pie, of finite size...
ReplyDeletePerhaps local governments could provide incentives or resources to help cash-strapped property managers implement sub-metering. Honestly I think it should be outlawed to offer unlimited electricity, but that would be a little heavy handed.
The thing that puzzles me more is WHY people prefer to be freezing cold when it is hot outside, and roasting when it is freezing outside. The shock of moving between controlled climates cannot be good for the body, and is definitely strange for any mind that cares to consider the phenomenon. For this, I think everybody should just be thrown into a Peace Corps-esque situation for a couple weeks to readjust to normal environmental rhythms... i.e. SWEAT when it's HOT and SHIVER when it's COLD, that's how things ought to be.
Amen my brotha...and drink hot tea when it's hot as hell outside!
ReplyDeleteAs a proud American, I am pretty sure we can solve this problem--and most others--with one thing: more guns.
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, I agree with Derek in that people should be exposed to their environment. It always makes me laugh at how much people talk about the weather when, honestly, it doesn't really affect them in their refrigerated television-viewing chambers (myself included).