Comments on The Art of Engineering: Breaks

Great post Duncan,I too was in the US recently, pr...

2008-10-06T19:28:00.000+02:00

Great post Duncan,

I too was in the US recently, pretty much my first extended stay, and it was surprising to experience their culture first-hand. Mostly it made me think that it is easy to level the same sustainability expectations at the US thinking that the culture is similar to our UK one, but the implications and need for change are much more significant there - made me appreciate the size of the challenge for the US. I hope I can incorporate these concerns into my designing in the future, using some first-hand experience of US culture (handy if I'm ever working on an international product). That's why travel is so great for us! I wish flying wasn't so darn bad for us, othetrwise I'd do more!

Hey Chris,We travelled to Niagara (stayed in Buffa...

2008-09-30T16:48:00.000+02:00

Hey Chris,

We travelled to Niagara (stayed in Buffalo), New York city, Versailles in Missouri, North Carolina and Atlanta. Mostly on the east coast, but quite a variety of people.

Obviously when you travel you tend to encounter more situations that easily lead to waste (like eating out), which is different to "normal". A lot of places seem to have modelled the way they serve food and drink on the McDonalds way, which generates a lot of unnecessary waste. Most places in the world (including SA) have those elements, they just seemed to be more pervasive in America, and seem to have filtered into people's homes and lifestyle.

Why should people drink a cup of coffee in a paper cup when they are sitting down in the shop? All it would take is one question, "To stay, or to go?" What would happen if all the Starbucks started asking that?

Hi Duncan,Sounds like you had an enlightening visi...

2008-09-30T14:07:00.000+02:00

Hi Duncan,

Sounds like you had an enlightening visit to the states. I am always interested in the opinions of people encountering American culture or at least the experience. Your take on it did not disappoint. I wonder what part of the country you traveled to, as there are definite discrepancies within the country (i.e. The mid-west vs. the east coast vs. the south vs. the west coast are all very different).

All in all though, I would agree with your assessment of peoples' wasteful nature in the US. If more people would take the time to be just a bit less wasteful we would all be much better off. I look forward to your future writings about engineering and process issues, especially as they relate to energy conservation.

~Chris Gammell