Sometimes
well-meaning efforts at conservation fall short, and sometimes they’re
downright absurd.
Most of us care about conservation, at least a little. But sometimes we miss the forest for the trees — or in this case, the AC.
Take
the hostel I recently stayed at in California.
All
the lights in the hostel were compact fluorescents — those energy-efficient
coils that use less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs. I paid for
a bed in the women’s dormitory and then walked up the outdoor staircase in the
blazing desert heat to reach it.
And
then?
Walking into the dorm was like entering a walk-in refrigerator. The air conditioner was set to 65 degrees. The room was empty.
So
my hostel saved a few watts on light bulbs only to waste far more by
over-cooling an empty room in the desert. That’s like going on a diet by
turning down a Tootsie Roll and then eating two pieces of cheesecake.
It’s
not just businesses or homeowners that make these mistakes. Every now and then,
experts who should know better give equally incongruous messages to the public.
I
recently visited Sequoia National Park, where several signs rightly point out
that air pollution obstructs the view of the mountains from the western side of
the park. Another sign on the park’s free shuttle bus notes that visitors can
help the pollution problem by taking the shuttle instead of their cars.
That’s
true. But like the compact fluorescent bulbs in the freezing empty room, it’s
missing the point.
Most
of the air pollution visible from the park doesn’t come from tourists
driving between campsites and groves of Giant Sequoias. It comes from
California’s nearby Central Valley, where much of the nation’s fruits, nuts,
and vegetables are grown.
The
valley has some of the worst air pollution in the country. Vehicle emissions
play a major role, and it’ll take more than just a national park shuttle bus to
clean those up.
However,
the biggest source of pollution in the Central Valley is agriculture — particularly the end-of-season fires that
some farmers set to clear out brush and plant trimmings. Although the state has
reduced the pollution over the last decade, the view from the mountains
reminded me of the smog in Beijing.
When
tourists see the smog over Sequoia and feel cheated out of a beautiful view of
the Western Divide, that would be an ideal time to educate them about the
pollution’s true causes and solutions.
Sometimes
well-meaning efforts at conservation fall short, and sometimes they’re
downright absurd. But with a little more reflection, we can all make smarter
choices.
OtherWords
columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our
Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It. OtherWords.org.