Anti-Green

i carpooled to work today. i was picked up at my front door this morning by another guy from work and will be dropped off again at my house this afternoon. total cost of fuel i consumed today: zero dollars! a couple days from now, we will switch roles, and he will be gas-free for the day. what a clever concept, when the world changes, change with it.

so, why is it so hard to change? why do so many people fight it? sitting around having a cup of coffee today, i heard 3 guys complain about so many things...but never offer a solution to fix it. in fact, most of their complaints were directed at the proposed solutions. below are some of their complaints.

problem: global warming. they sit around and complain about al gore and his desire to get the world to be less dependent on oil and other harmful chemicals being released into our atmosphere. their defense: "why should we change the way we live...do we really think mexico and china are planning on cleaning up their act?"

problem: gas prices: they laugh at the people buying compact cars and moped's and driving them to work each day. their defense: "sure, they'll save $1000 in gas, but they'll be paying $9000 in doctors bills when they get in a wreck with an suv."

problem: gas prices (again): they laugh at the stories on the news that shows people taking the bus to work each day. their defense: "i don't want to be riding on public transportation with 'those' people."

problem: recycling: they complain about how recycling just isn't convinent. "why can't others do the sorting?", they say. their defense: "if i have to rinse out all the plastic bottles and soda cans, my water bill will go up, and that will cause a water shortage."

their excuses went on and on. finally, i got up and left. sometimes the negativity of people really frustrates me. i just hope that i'm not around it for so long that it eventually starts to become me too. i'd like to think that i don't just take the easy way out of something, point out a flaw in the system (however ridiculious the flaw may be), and use it as an excuse to stay stuck in my ways. i hope that as the world changes, i change with it...