Ways to live green every day, by Continental

by Iva Skoch on

Paging through the Continental in-flight magazine last night, I stumbled upon a few “green living” tips.

For example, did you know that:

  • If Americans used one less package of non-recycled paper napkins, it would save one million trees?
  • Ninety percent of the energy used by your washing machine goes to hear the water? Using the cold cycle is much better.
  • Producing and disposing of all the junk mail distributed in the US each year releases as much CO2 as 2,8 million cars?

Continental gives the following easy tips to live green every day:

  1. When you are not traveling, get your morning coffee in a reusable cup. Americans throw away about 40 billion disposable coffee cups each year
  2. Unplug all chargers (cell phone, iPod, etc) when they are not charging their intended device. This reduces carbon emissions by about 100 pounds per year, per charger.
  3. Speed up your shower. Spending just two minutes less in the shower each day could prevent about 400 pounds of CO2 (in the form of energy used to heat and treat the water) from entering the atmosphere each year.
  4. Cut your air travel by half. Just kidding. These are, after all, tips from Continental Airlines.

DC launches a bike-sharing program

by Iva Skoch on

I am a big ZipCar fan. I can guarantee that I would like a similar service using bicycles instead of cars, as well.

DC is launching a first extensive bike-sharing initiative in the US. Registered participants can access 120 “smart bikes” at 10 different locations in the downtown area. Retrieving the bike is easy.

  • Go to any bike station (see photo)
  • Wave your SmartBike DC user card in front of the card reader
  • Follow instructions on screen
  • Retrieve assigned bike from rack

Bike-sharing has been popular throughout Europe, with cities like Paris, Barcelona or Stockholm using them. Will it work in car-infatuated America? That’s a good question.

There are problems with the idea translating into this market. The US is a litigious society. People will sue if something happens to them. Helmets are not provided, yet they are required in many states. There are other liability issues. If they bike gets stolen, the customer pays.

I sincerely hope they can figure out how to make it work. It’s a great idea.

How racist are you? Is it a gun or a cell phone?

by Jamie Rhein on

In Diversity Inc, there is an article about a pop psychology test from the University of Chicago. The test, self-administered on-line, runs through various photos of black and white men who are either holding a gun or something else. The test taker presses the “/ ” key to shoot the guy with the gun, or presses the “z” key to put the gun away.

The idea is for the test taker to see how racist he or she is in terms of who he or she thinks is more likely to be carrying a gun. I took the test and found out that I would have been shot dead several times over since my reaction time was so darned slow. I scored into the negative numbers. It didn’t matter if the shooter was black or white.

The test is pretty slick, even if, one is not prone to give much stock to this sort of study. The pondering about who is packing a gun reminds me of those discussions I had in college with friends of mine. We wondered what each of us would do if walking alone at night. If a man was coming, who crossed to the other side, and under what circumstances? Each of us admitted that our radar went up regardless of who the man was and how fast he was coming up behind us or towards us.

I don’t tend to think of people walking around with guns. I do notice the no guns stickers on signs since carrying a gun is legal in Ohio. As far as I can tell from my terrible score, when I look at a gun, I see a wallet or a cell phone. It doesn’t matter who is holding it.

Here is a link to the test to see how you do. Nicholas Kristof recently wrote an Op-Ed piece for the New York Times about this study where he expresses some dismay at his own results.

What I think is missing from the data is the background of the person taking the test. I wonder how much age, sex, and whether a person grew up in a city or in the country has any bearing on reactions? I also wonder if people who travel often are more likely to see a wallet? Or do our experiences have nothing to do with our trigger finger? I also wonder if, when we are traveling in a country where violent crime is rare, we react differently? I would guess yes.

Is it wrong for Westerners living in poor countries to hire local “servants”?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

A researcher on poverty and development and a professor at Yale, Chris Blattman is the man behind a terrific blog that focuses on the political, economic, and cultural goings-on in the poorest countries in the world.

Yesterday, Chris tackled an interesting ethical question from a reader: What are the ethical implications of Westerners who are living in a poor African country hiring domestic help? Are there negative culture or economic implications to employing locals to work around the house, and doesn’t it seem a tad “imperialistic” or exploitative?

Chris’ answer, sensible as always, is a resounding NO! Says Chris: “In my experience, the local job options are nasty, brutish and short. The chance to work indoors, at relatively light labor (cleaning, washing, guarding) is highly sought after.”

Exactly right. My advice on the matter would be this: If you view your household workers as essentially “servants,” you’ll probably feel as if you’re simply exploiting them for cheap labor. And if you treat them like servants, maybe you should. But a more sensible approach is to think of them as employees– which is exactly what they are. You’re paying them to provide a service, and more than likely, they are no less than thrilled to be in your employ. Treat them like employees– or better– and there’s nothing to worry about.

Rather than be paralyzed by guilt, splitting hairs over whether this is properly called employment or exploitation, put yourself in the position of your would-be worker. Now, do you want the wealthy Westerners to hire you, or don’t you?

Chris adds that “the bias against hiring help seems to be peculiarly Western. Why is that? Perhaps because the wage paid to domestic servants in the U.S. and Europe is often below the average unskilled wage. Not so in many poorer countries.”

Finally, not only is it permissible to hire help if you’re relatively wealthy, you may well be obligated: “What’s more, in most places I have worked, the wealthy (especially Westerners) are expected to hire help, principally as a means to share wealth. To not hire help is at best odd and at worst improper. Help often become part of the family circle, and employers may help them with children’s school fees, emergency loans, and health problems.”

Knitting public art

by Jamie Rhein on

I don’t knit. I’ve tried, but even when I’ve attempted a scarf, it ends up weird shaped. Anna knits. She’s waxed poetic about it in a post about the pleasures of knitting and travel. Here’s another reason to grab some knitting needles and yarn.

While leafing through a back copy of Reader’s Digest at my in-laws this weekend, I saw a snippet on women in Houston, Texas who are turning their scraps of unfinished scarves and other knitted items into public art. They are wrapping park benches, fire hydrants, bike racks–anything that can use a bit of color and dressing up. The group is called Knitta and has been doing their thing since 2005.

They aren’t the only ones. Knitters in the Midwest are also prettying up the world with their craft. There’s a woman in Yellow Springs, Ohio, one of those incredibly artsy, literary towns that I adore, who has dressed a tree with help from others. With as gloomy as Ohio can look in the winter, what a great idea for making folks smile.

If you happen to pass by some knitted art, and you might–the women in Houston have knitted art in El Salvador, Paris and at the Great Wall of China– maybe you’ll get some inspiration to knit some art yourself.