I can tell by the talk of "rubbish" and "trash taxes" and "light bulb certificates", that most of the people in the "Green Living" section of "Yahoo! Answers" who are trying to live a greener life are not Americans. Where are my fellow Americans, and why are we so slow to start making green living a priority? Why do other parts of the planet "get it", but the most wasteful part of the planet does not??
You’re joking right, guys?…. with the media so worried about the war in iraq and the "possibility" of nuclear war and a longer war… we’re too worried about whos going to die next to worry about the earth…. plus… its all just a bunch of tree huggers trying to get us to hug trees anyway…. (that was me sarcastically portraying what ive come to know as the typical american response). "living green" takes work… americans are used to immigrants doing all the work for cheap so they dont have to…. essentially, americans are lazy.
They are also spoiled and selfish. They would rather hide their heads in the sand and be completely oblivious to the *big impressive and slightly ominous voice*"impending doom"…. not to repeat anyone else anymore than i already have ill stop here
Green living is a priority all over the world. I am an American, and have seen scores of other Americans in this category. I have also seen what you have seen – and that’s a good thing -being green in only one country will not solve the problem.
Well Americans at a population are not terribly intereted in a greener living, with gas at the 4.00 usd mark in Chicago and excelon charging 20% more for eletricity in Chicago (ComEd), people are more concerned with saving money then the environment. In my commute to work I do see more people driving diesel cars, smaller cars, and motorcycles then before. Florcent bulbs are selling and there is less decrative lighning on private homes. Security lighning, been swiched from incadecent to florcent for private homes. Unfortunatly alot of poor and working class in the usa are going to suffer, as the usa awakes to this new relity.
It’s the Few Liberal States in the U.S. that are interested in Recycling. Most of America is Conservative Red States that don’t believe in Change. They just want to continue doing what they were doing using old tried and true methods that are not sustainable. All the while, while Liberals are actually striving for sustainable living. Conservatives will be the downfall of America, if not the world. Why you ask? Because if America goes under economically, so does the rest of the globe. It’s a global economy now.
Ouch! I wonder where some of these responders live. Our US children are being taught about conservation and eco living in school. Communities throughout the US have recycling programs. I live in Mexico and among the common people everything that can be reused is put into service: used tires make erosion walls, used clothing goes to the poorest, each Monday aluminum can collectors are out in force, our local Mexican school kids help clean the beaches and esturaries. Get a clue people, these small efforts are going on all over western America.
It’s because we Americans are arrogant and think that we are invincible to the world and think nothing of the sort should apply to us. It’s disgusting to think about,I know, but it’s the reality. I have many people that I know make fun of me and resort to calling me a hippie for recycling and trying to live "green". We live in a country that survives soley on greed and material things. Did you expect any less? It’s sad but reality.
Ah yes, the "Ugly American" syndrome strikes again. Americans in general don’t care or can’t be bothered with environmental concerns. I am not saying that all Americans feel that way – but look at how wasteful American society is. We have disposable everything from contact lenses to toilet bowl brushes. What happens after we thrown out our disposables? Do they really biodegrade or just sit in a landfill forever?
I am guilty as well of using convenience items more than a greener solution. I use paper towels for small messes when I could just as easily reach for a wash cloth and dish towel to clean it. I don’t know what can be done to get us out of our apathy. Suggestions?
Because Amercans are a lot more "spread out" and are used to having very cheap gasoline and electricity. Also, many of us Yanks live in the world of television, where everyone can have whatever they want, whenever they want and all they want….it’s OK to waste it….there’s always more where that comes from! It’s kind of too bad, but I think the rude awakening has already begun…
Because ignorance is bliss.
this is because im sorry to say amerians are ignorant and never want to tak ethe initiative until someone else does it.i hope and pray that we let go of such attitudes
Ouch! Some of these people are really nasty against their fellow Americans.
Americans are newer to the green game than our counterparts.
But I think the biggest thing is that many of us are not going outside of our easy zone, our comfort zone, to live green.
Many people here recycle, because it goes out with the trash (easy).
Many people have CFBs because they sell them at Ikea, Walmart and Target (easy) and they save $.
Lots of people buy clothes at vintage/thrift stores because they want a huge wardrobe cheap (easy)!
Most people take showers because they’re quicker (easy).
Lots of us are buying hybrid cars because they save on gas (easy).
Lots of us are combining errands to save on gas (easy)
Composting, going vegetarian, driving less, all of these things are much harder to do and take more research. Even switching from a car to a motorcycle takes a bit of work.
Americans aren’t stupid, we’re just a bit lazy and sometimes need a bit of prodding to get ourselves in gear. We’re going to get there though!
American consumerism will push through the green movement. Why? We buy a lot more! Simply put, we speak with our wallets and that’s what’s going to make the green movement succeed – when people buy green without even thinking about it, then the second push to get even greener will happen.