I've been so impressed with the quotidian environmentalism here. Of course, there are gaps, but it's amazing how common many "green" approaches are here.
Our apartment is designed to get natural light during the day, and every single lightbulb - everywhere - is compact flourescent.
Everything is reused, from plastic grocery bags (as trash bags) to airplane tires (in the soles of my sandals). The crutches that we use in the US simply aren't available - you can't buy plastic wrap or throwaway sandwich bags here. Only reusable containers are in stores. Traditional holdovers - like a cloth to hold your tortillas - are even more environmental options - replacing the paper the tortilleria wraps their wares in.
I've long admired the way Mexicans repair anything mechanical. Whenever another blender breaks, I lament that I don't have a Mexican one from the 70s - and an hombre to repair it. This trend is reflected in our apartment. The microwave is from the 80s, the refrigerator from the 70s.
Also, cars here are so old - the kind you only see in California. Seriously, were Datsuns huge sellers here in the mid-70s? Or did all the old Datsuns migrate down here?
No comments:
Post a Comment