This is my coffee, it cost twice as much as I wanted and produced twice as much waste. Here’s why.
I started using a new coffee shop this week and when I ordered a delicious coffee for €1, I received it in a paper (cardboard) cup and then saw someone getting a refill in their own container.
Monkey see, monkey do so I decided I could try the same whenever I had my travel mug with me. Today as I ordered coffee, I said, “Tengo una taza” and reached for my mug.
The server was all on her own but the place was very quiet and she looked at the large mug and said, “Full?” and I said sure but it’s not important realising that I didn’t need that much coffee to enjoy a sandwich.
She proceeded to make two coffees in two paper cups and poured the contents into my mug which she had just rinsed for me. She then threw both cups in the bin.
Should I feel smug about myself for saving the environment by using my own mug?
No, in an instance my instant coffee cost me twice as much and produced twice the waste despite having my own container.
How many mistakes will we make trying to turn green and how much waste will be produced along the way? We keep getting it wrong, we keep wasting resources we don’t need to use and we are spending a fortune on buying the same product we could have gotten cheaper.
Last week as I passed a shop that sells motorbikes, I saw an electric scooter which looked good and cost over a €1,000 less than the Vespa I looked at last year in the same shop.
I started to think, where would I charge this scooter if I bought it?
Before I had time to think about where I could charge the scooter as I don’t have a private garage for it, I started to think, how will I power it?
Electricity is clean energy provided it comes from clean renewable energy but we are not powering our homes with enough solar or wind power or hamsters spinning a wheel, we are expected to plug our electric bicycles, electric scooters and electric toothbrushes into the wall and never ask why we haven't embraced clean energy sooner.
We will blame our parents and grandparents for destroying the planet but never question, how did they power their electric bicycles and electric toothbrushes in the past?
How did they move from street to street without electric scooters under their feet?
We need to start consuming things the right way but every time I try, I fail.
There are lots of wind turbines all over Spain but can I plug directly into one of them or do I end up consuming more power driving hundreds of miles to get to one?
Will I find bald eagles at the bottom of the wind turbines like Donald Trump claims and how do you protect yourself from Windmill Cancer?
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