stanford disconnect

There was an interesting remark in yesterday's green economy version of the Wall Street Journal. According to a Stanford professor, who monitors these things, Stanford freshmen are now more aware of the environment than ever before. At the same time, electricity use in freshman dorms keeps going up year over year. The Journal asks the rhetorical question: are freshmen like Hollywood ?

One of the themes the Journal has highlighted over the past couple of years is that Americans like to talk green but don't like acting green. This theme has been presented from a number of angles and always boils down to the fact that Americans are not willing to make sacrifices or change their life-style. At the same time, any article about the environment illustrates how you can buy green solutions. How you can consume your way into being green.

It therefore occurred to me that something else may be at stake. Americans may not know how to act green. Because Americans have been very well conditioned to spend money. Spending money used to be a sign of well-being, but since 9/11 it has been elevated to patriotic duty. You shall spend to keep our economy going. To keep America strong.

Like everything else, being green has been equated with spending more. But to add insult to injury it has also been equated with getting less. You need to buy expensive CFL light bulbs and you get less or at least inferior light. Even if the article praises CFL's it will point out that they are "almost as good as" conventional bulbs. You need to buy expensive gas-saving cars but you get less or no performance. You need to install energy-efficient appliances but you won't get your money back for decades. Plus the appliances will have all kinds of annoying characteristics. Never once is going green presented as a win-win.

Of course, the whole discourse misses the point. Going green means NOT spending. It means using what you have for as long as you can use it. And then find a secondary use for it. You don't need to buy a green car. You need to drive less. You don't need CFL's. You need to turn off your lights.

No doubt the freshmen have a funny way of thinking about the environment. It may go something like this: I always put my garbage in the trash and I always recycle my soda cans. I will use CFL bulbs, and my screen saver. Later I will build a big house with solar panels and drive a hybrid SUV and a sports car. This sort of consumer-oriented, suburbia-friendly, environmentalism is anything but. It probably never occurs to the freshmen that they should use less power. That they should turn off their lights. That they should not buy the latest cell phone gadget. That they should drive less and use their bicycles.

In short, they should rein in their consumption. Opt for smaller houses, buy only one car and rip out the suburban lawns that are the number one environmental disaster in America today. Save water when they take showers and brush their teeth and use old furniture for their dorm room. Throw out the TV.

Unfortunately, today's freshmen were raised the wrong way. They were born and raised in luxury. They were driven to school and to their many after-school activities. They were driven to play-dates with their friends, where they played video-games instead of board games. They had a computer when they were four. They had their own room and bathroom; their own stereo and TV, their iPod. All the lights stayed on round the clock. All the TV's were on day and night. All the appliances were on or in standby mode, ready to jump into action. The fridge was stocked with food and cold soda. Everything was set for a big party, any day of the year.

Servants ran the laundry through the dryer on sunny days. Everything anyone touched once was washed immediately. Nobody ever thought of conserving water. The low-flow shower heads were quickly swapped out. Everyone took luxurious 30 minute hot showers and soaked in the tub at least once a week. The kids had a cellphone when they were 10, and they received a new model every year. At 16 they had their own wheels.

In short, these kids are professional consumers. They view the world as one giant super-mall. Being green is just another, more efficient way to consume. Efficiency is key. Technology is manna from heaven and it will solve all our problems. Our concept of history is one of a straight line upward. Getting better and better. Upward toward more consumption. Things never go bad. Sure, there are some "corrections" ever once in a while, but on the whole things just get better all the time. The party lasts forever.

Stanford's best and brightest are ill prepared for the world. They are the results of yesterday's parenting. And yesterday's parenting is no longer adapted to tomorrow's world. It is bloated and out of synch. Obese and out of shape.