Her teacher was passing out plastic cups for kids to get water (b/c it's so freaking hot here right now). She mentioned that plastic cups are bad for the environment and we shouldn't use them. A boy in her class said, "You're such a hypocrite." She asked him why he said that, and he replied, "How did you get to school today?" She paused and said, "A hybrid." He shut up after that.
Its too late for most of us, but I think there is a great deal of hope for the coming generation. They get it. Rob
my daughter is going into 6th grade and she has a much better comprehension of environmentally responsible behavior than I ever had. Hopefully that will be a trend with kids as they grow up.
when I was a kid we walked. Schools seemed closer. But I guess in High School I had to ride the bus until I got my license. My daughter's school is about 4 miles away, but I don't like the idea of her out there riding alone...too many people with bad intentions. I'm sure that's 90% parental paranoia, but I'm not willing to take the chance.
I'm not sure they get the subtleties though. A hybrid still pollutes, just less. My 5+ year old boy was confused and disappointed I think when I corrected what my wife told him: "The Prius doesn't 'save' the planet, it just wrecks it slower, but Daddy needs one for work, etc. anyway." In fact, plenty of adults would be confused and disappointed with that explanation. Just dumb it down for the masses I guess...
Yeah, I am still working on getting both my kids (17 and almost 14) to see the big picture. Yes, the Prius uses less gas and has fewer emissions, but we still need to look for ways to drive less. The other thing I am really trying to drum into their heads is that in life we should look for things with multiple pay-offs instead of trade-offs...There are things that make us healthier, use less energy, AND cost less money, for example. Like walking somewhere, or using walking or bike riding as a form of exercise rather than buying a gym membership, etc. And it saves society money via the healthcare system money if we all control our weight, for example. I want them to have common sense and see how so many of these things are connected. It's hard because we are such a consumerist society, so even something like using less energy gets translated into "buy a new hybrid car," or a good impulse like losing weight somehow gets attached to a consumer message like "buy a $200 exercise machine from an infomercial," or whatever. There is definitely a perception that if something costs money it is better. I am a medical writer and do work for the evil empire (pharmaceuticals). I always tell people...There are no sales reps calling on your doctors to sell them diet and exercise. Or eating healthful foods. So that is not what your physician is passing on to you, the patient. You have to look out for your own best interests. Plus, it is just an American thing that we don't like to be told to deny ourselves. Sorry to ramble, but again, I feel like so much of this stuff is connected. If I were teaching school, one of the things I would want to teach is that you are being sold stuff constantly, even when you don't realize it, and you need to look out for it. Sorry, rant/ramble over.
I liked the rant. Now sneak it into an obscure paragraph of one of your pharmaceutical disclosure inserts, and maybe a few thousand heart patients will get the message.
In my day, I had to walk up hill, both to school, and back. Yes, you read that right. My house was at the top of this hill, and you would walk down the hill, through the valley, and up the hill to the school. Reverse on the way home. And yes, we walked to school in the snow. We had snow back in the day. Not anymore, so I hear.
My kids went through a lot of indocrination: reduce, reuse, recycle but roll their eyes at me when I tell them to turn off the lights, don't run the water, don't let your engines idles, don't use plastics bags. I tell them I'm trying to save the planet for THEIR kids!
I think it works better if you explain the money saved could be used to buy toys or candy... Seriously though, you could teach your family all the electricity savings tips, and promise to buy a special pizza dinner or something every week or month the electricity used is under so many KWH. That'll lern em real fast ! Heck you could do something daily if you can view your own electric meter anytime you want. Adjust as needed for seasons if you have electric heat or AC. BTW, this "trick" works just as well with adults. Gov't rebates, incentives etc. are nothing more than "toys and candy" for us. Worked for me: I get $4k back here in Quebec, Canada. ....
things must be diffrent back east. The kids out here just litter all day, bash windows in..dont really give a rats butt about anything. Our school system is one of the worst in the nation. Saw two teens today at a CAT bus stop eating fast food, with a trash bin nearby, they just threw the bags on the ground and got on the bus... Im not much of a busy body so i just got in my prius and drove off
I walked to school all by myself from age 6. Here is my walk, I measured the walk to high school so you can see how far it was. My home was the green dot, my high school the yellow dot and the red dot is primary school. I crossed a very busy road too going to primary school. In all the time I went to school I never once got a lift and never stayed home for bad weather. My son (15) walks to school about a mile away. Some days his mom picks him up because she goes past the school on her way home from work when he is coming out. Thing is I would walk my dog for miles each day and spend my days riding my bike in my teens. Now kids spend their days playing X-Box 360.
