Do you ever have one of those moments where you realize just how unusual a certain part of life has become? Even though I've been writing the IGR for about 10 months now, I don't think I realized just how much it has warped my thinking about certain subjects. Just a few days ago and I had a really good idea for a Green Tip. But what happened was that I was actually afraid that my Green Tip was too practical to be put into the Impractical Green Resource.
Too practical??? What's happened to me? I have a good idea that will help the environment and I'm afraid to share it with you because it makes too much sense? Well no more I say! It's time to break the cycle and actually share with you a Green Tip that might actually be practical!
So I was recently inspired by a certain recent holiday that has a lot to do with going green but little to do with the environment. Or so I thought. I've always been a bit critical of a holiday that encourages people to search for four-leaf clovers and rip them out of the ground. Clovers are plants too! Leave them in the dirt where they belong!
But on Wednesday while I was driving past bar after bar and seeing all the cars that were in the parking lots, I suddenly saw a whole new side to St. Patty's Day. And environmental side! It seems from my experience that it's more or less impossible to get people to carpool or take public transportation. You just mention buses in this country and people immediately conjure up images of poor people and having to deal with a rigid schedule and the risk that there will be a bomb attached to the bottom of the bus that will explode if the bus drives slower than 50 miles per hour. Needless to say, Hollywood hasn't helped improve this image of buses and public transportation. Just look at what they've done with such movies as Taxi Driver (1976), Collateral (2004), Rain Man (1988) or Spider-Man 2 (2004).
But one (at least one) holiday a year, people find something inside themselves that makes them change their views on public transportation. And that something is alcohol. People have no reservations about riding a party bus all around town. These same people that want to ride the bus around town all night with a bunch of drunk people would never think of riding the bus around town all day with a bunch of drunk people.
Which brings me to my next point. Putting party before anything makes it much more fun. Party bus > city bus. Party City > Circuit City (who went bankrupt). Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus) > Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen). Well, the jury's still out on the last one. You still haven't gotten back to me about that celebrity endorsement, Miley!
So next time your friends make you the designated driver, don't be upset about it. Just think of it as an opportunity to finally be able to get them to start carpooling like you are always bothering them about.
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