hankr’s Recent Comments

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  space, habits, etc.

  Greentrain, especially, leans on a few too many of the common stereotypes that many have in mind when describing the common American household.  Humorous though it may be to refer to gift wrapping rooms, there are millions of us who grew up in relatively small homes.  The large refrigerator my family had was certainly not very energy efficient, but we USED it.  We prepared a lot of food that subsequently had to be refrigerated.  We went out of our way to find the most energy-efficient fridge on the market when we needed a new one.  

  In addition to this, one must indeed admit that many Americans do not live a hop, skip, and a jump away from a farmers or supermarket.  Using a large refrigerator wisely is indeed necessary for many.  

  Now that I live in SW Germany, I of course know many people with small refrigerators.  I find the small fridge at my mother-in-law's house almost maddeningly small, and she rarely has anything around that is worth eating!  (And, as in quite a few German households, she also has a huge "Kühltruhe" [freezer or icebox] in her basement, something I would not say is widespread -- though perhaps common -- in many American households.)

  I actually do not believe that "many if not most" Europeans have different (meaning "better" or more eco-friendly) grocery shopping patterns/habits.  Many do shop for food differently than millions in the U.S., but the discussion is much more complex than the typical "Europe-America" focus that many of us fall back on.  It depends on the area and the person.  

  We live near and know many people -- many more than one would like to admit around here -- who drive to grocery stores, even if they are relatively close by.  Indeed, these are also often the stores I am reluctant to enter: Penny, Lidl, Aldi, Plus... It is actually fairly sad what is happening to the German retail landscape in some regions, but I see many around here wasting lots of fuel on what I would call unnecessary shopping trips...something I witnessed in America all the time.  Class and education are much more important to this discussion than "America" and "Europe"!  That being said, what I really admire about how things work here in Germany is that information about where/how/why/when to purchase such environmentally-friendly devices is easy to come by.  The state, at the local and national scale, is in many cases more of an active participant in the movement to help consumers reduce their carbon footprint.  This is something that I missed growing up in the States, at least to the extent that I see it here.On Umbra on refrigerator downsizing posted 2 years, 3 months ago 34 Responses