Why do the big Swiss supermarket chains COOP and Migros wrap their expensive organic vegetables in plastic packages, while their cheaper chemical-laden varieties remain unwrapped and dry? We pay a premium for the "bio" label, so why are we made to accept vegetables that have been sweating and decomposing at a faster rate in plastic?
Read More Scouring the web to find plain white flannel pajamas without silly bear motifs or goofy pink bunny patterns, I have come up empty handed.
In an effort to save energy, I've been gradually turning down thermostats. We're down to 16C (60.8F) at night. My goal is 13C-14C (55.4-57.2F). The nuclear catastrophe in Japan is reminding me that although we are lucky to be living in a time and place of plenty, things might not always stay like that.
Thriftiness doesn't have to mean inferior quality. On the contrary. How well I slept during my childhood holidays spent at my grandparents' chalet in the Swiss Alps! Under layers of thick cotton sheets, wool blankets, and a huge puffy down comforter, I roasted even though the room was frigid. My sinuses felt great, my skin remained soft, and I felt truly rested upon waking.
Today, Swiss landlords are required to provide a minimum of 18C (64.4F) at night, which was regarded as "sick room" temperature fifty years ago. People who think they are luxuriating in 25C (77F) bedrooms are in fact ruining their health.
Electricity is too cheap. We leave lights burning in rooms we don't use. We leave appliances on. We overheat rooms. We unnecessarily light facades of buildings, creating light pollution.
My grandfather, who was an electrician, reprimanded me if I left lights burning in my room. He limited hot water use to the equivalent of three inches of lukewarm bathwater once a week. He shook his head and called us wasteful, when we asked for deeper, warmer, more frequent baths. So, my two brothers and I trudged over to the public swimming pool to shower every day. We were thrilled to find the "secret red button" in the garage turning on the water heater.
My grandfather had lived through two world wars and two depressions. He grew up without electricity. As a child, he had hungered; he had scythed and raked hay for entire days under a blistering sun; he had shoveled manure and milked cows in the evenings after school; he had lost brothers, sisters, and both parents due to poverty and disease. As a grown man, he had worked as a linesman during the day, as a musician at night, and as a farmhand on weekends. I understand him. He had lived without so much we take for granted today. He had understood the value of energy.
Following the Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor meltdown, the need to conserve energy is made even more clear than before.
The true cost of nuclear power is unaffordable in both human and financial terms. Hopefully, politicians will discard the arguments of short-term profiteers who refuse to include the true cost of nuclear plant construction, safety precautions, waste storage, and plant decommissioning in their energy calculations.
I don't want to be wasteful. Nor do I want to look silly or frilly. So, I will persevere and find warm AND sexy pajamas. Then, I will sleep like a charm.
I had no idea that talking about "climate change" could make my friends become so... how can I say this... emotional.
A few days ago, I posted on Facebook that I had just watched Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" and that I was ashamed the USA wasn't doing more to curb its greenhouse gas emissions. Within one day, my post drew 13 reactions from both Switzerland and the USA. Opinions were mixed. Some got personal.
"Diana, don't believe everything you see in a movie! Climategate showed us something. And the claims of that movie are well… "
"If they [pro-oil lobbies and government officials] didn't have anything to hide, why would they have worked so hard to muddy the waters? Aren't their ridiculously vigorous denials and attacks proof perfect of their culpability?"
"Sorry, that film has been widely discredited. Al should have quit after he invented the Internet... "
The Swiss alpine folk don't even think about climate change, they just live this way.
Five easy green changes to live like the Swiss alpine folk
Walk everywhere: Walking burns calories. Your legs will gain muscle and definition. Your butt and thighs will get smaller. I meditate while I walk. Sometimes, I meet people and friends along the way. I get fresh air and sunlight on my face, helping with the 'winter blues.' Swiss alpine folk walk everywhere, and don't seem to need anti-depressants.
Lower the thermostat: I try to keep my house at under 18C (64F) but it's hard. Since I've done this, I haven't had one sinus infection and my skin seems smoother and less dry than before. I have to wear sweaters and long pants. So what? Swiss alpine folk didn't have fancy heating systems. They used wood stoves to heat their living room/kitchen areas. They slept in unheated spaces.
Vacation at home: My home is more comfortable than any five star hotel. There's no stress getting around. Swiss alpine folk didn't travel much, being content to stay in their villages. They loved their homes, their landscape and took care of their surroundings. Farmers contribute to the beauty of the landscape by maintaining the land.
Eat food in season: I try to forgo buying foods that are out of season and that had to be flown in. Such produce tastes like cardboard. Fresh from the vine tastes much better. I make exceptions for oranges, chocolate and coffee. Also, I sometimes can't wait to taste strawberries. So I will buy them earlier in Spring when they come from Spain. Swiss alpine folk didn't buy exotic foods. They were perfectly healthy eating canned vegetables, cheese, and vegetables grown in their own gardens.
Avoid plastic: Not only is plastic super ugly, it's made of oil. Plus, things made of plastic cannot be repaired as easily as things made out of wood, glass, or metal. Swiss Alpine folk fix everything. When they buy something, it's to last a lifetime.
I hope the scientists in Gore's film are wrong, but in case they're not, at least I am trying to do my little bit and not polluting the air, water and land... and I am doing something for myself in the process.