Lately there has been a resurgence in the U.S. of a desire to be eco-friendly. We buy fluorescent or LED lights, install Solar, and some of us even buy tiny pocket-sized cars, etc. But, we still have a long way to go. In Germany, going green is “die Lebensweise“, or the way of life.
Lights are on motion sensors, toilets have two levels of flushing… I’ll let you figure that one out, everyone recycles, and most cars have very efficient diesel motors. In fact our rental car, the same one that we drove on the Autobahn at almost 140 MPH, is a diesel.
After we picked up the car, we stopped at a petrol station to get some snacks, and when we came to a stop sign to turn in to the station, the car died. Every time we came to a stop the engine would just shut off. We would put it in park and restart it. It was very annoying. We called the rental company and they told us that this was the way the car was built. He explained that instead of shifting into park to restart the car, to just let off of the brake and the car would restart. He went on to say that this feature was common in many cars and that it saved fuel and reduced exhaust fumes.
When Lazer Mazers signed our contract to exhibit at the EAS Show in Berlin, we had to sign an agreement that we would remove our own trash to provided recycle containers. We also had to agree that any trash they deemed hazardous, we would take back with us to our country of origin or face huge fines.
With Germany being the strongest economy in the European Union, they are an example to follow as we make sustainable decisions at home.
Tom