With both McCain and Obama talking about the price of gas, oil, off shore drilling, energy conservation, etc., Americans realize that the party may soon be over and life as we once knew it can no longer be maintained!
If you’re like me, however, and have spent half your life living in Europe, you get use to not wasting energy. When I first arrived in Paris years ago, and switched on the hall light to climb up six flights of stairs, you can imagine my surprise when half way up I was plunged into total darkness! Yes the lights have timers and they give you just enough time to climb those steps….if you’re use to climbing that is! They don’t take into account those who have to stop midway up to huff and puff, and catch their breath! I had to inch my way around feeling like a blind person, looking for the wall, and then for the light switch to continue my trek.
When you consider how much energy is conserved by not keeping the hall lights on in buildings when they’re not being used, it’s something that should have been implemented in the States years ago. 
One building might not make that much of a difference, but multiply that by thousands and hundreds of thousands throughout the country and very quickly you see what a difference that makes.
Another simple idea that’s been around concerns flushing the toilet. With a dual flush you can flush according to your needs. If you need a big flush (Need I say more?!) you push the larger button, if you need a small flush, you push the smaller button! What could be more simple than that?
There are so many ways of conserving energy that Americans have to begin thinking about. 
“Big” in America use to be better, but that’s no longer true. Katia just loved the small cars in Paris; she thought they looked like toys that you would buy for your kid, but when gas is over $9.50 a gallon in France, those “toy cars” start to look pretty good and those big SUV’s that everyone seems to drive in the States no longer seem that appealing!
Maya Muses: The party need not be over, it’s just a matter of making changes for the benefit of everyone. We are creatures of habit and it just takes time to adapt to anything. One thing for sure though, you can forget about carpooling!
Photo Credits: Flickr and Personal Photo
7 responses so far ↓
1 Mia // Aug 5, 2008 at 10:52 am
No,the party is not over,but I think we have to simplify our living habits..
I used to think that it was so cool when I visited America..Everything was bigger than in Sweden…
But,now…i don’t get it..
.Why not see the beauty in a more simple way of living..What do we really need to be happy?
Simple things!Like clean air,fresh water…
I started living after the motto:Less is more!And it sure works…
When you lost almost everything and have to start over again..you really see how much you take for granted and that you really don’t need..
We need to question our way of living more…Don’t we?
2 Lynn // Aug 5, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Mia, sometimes you scare me! You write things that I could very well be writing! I’m always telling my family that they should follow my motto of “Less is more”!
I love living a zen type of lifestyle, but sometimes it’s hard when Patrick loves to bring “things” home!
3 Mia // Aug 6, 2008 at 11:29 am
Tell me about it!
Living with a guy that can’t throw away his old worn out socks…without saying goodbye to them,hehe…
And as he/we have a bookshop..books somehow have the tendency to find their way into the strangest places!
A Sufimaster once said to Ulf; to see the big things in the small things….
That is a good motto too…
Wow..I could tell you some stories of people trying to live their life through “things”
Sad stories really…
4 Lynn // Aug 6, 2008 at 7:24 pm
LOL! Ulf sounds very much like Patrick! I told him fine with buying more cookbooks (as you know I love books regardless of what they are), but I told him, “No more pots and pans!” He has more than enough! Besides, how many can you use when cooking? All you really need is just two or three!
5 Mia // Aug 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
Yeah,it is amazing to see how fast you get more things than you need!
We had almost nothing 8 years ago..for different reasons…
Now,we have too much “things” again…even if we live after the motto:less is more…
And one thing we noticed;there is much more garbage to throw away and instead of less paper,there is more? How come? I don’t get it?
About the stories of people trying to fill their life with “things”…
Well,I tell them some other time..all I can say is it doesn’t work!
6 Lynn // Aug 7, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I wrote a post on my old blog that junk mail should be outlawed! It’s a shame how many trees are destroyed every year so companies can mail out ads that no one reads and just throws into the garbage!
(I’ll have to repost that article on this blog!)
7 Mia // Aug 8, 2008 at 10:47 am
Yeah…We have put up a sign on our mailbox..”No ads!”So we don’t get any…many have these kind of signs here in Sweden…A good thing!
But there are still too much junk mail….and other “stuff” too….
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