35 mpg, thank you very much

I'm getting 35 miles per gallon out of my good ole car. The thing is almost 12 years old, yet you gotta go HYBRID to beat that!(and I will, someday) Let me make it now be known, that I am energy efficient.*

Speaking of energy efficiency, I just heard about some interesting new measures taken by the Japanese government in that regard. Tokoyo, the world's most populous metropolian area, is seeking ways to increase energy efficiency. The government started a campaign this summer urging workers to 'dress down' at work so as to reduce the high demand for air conditioning in office buildings. Not only was this campaign successful in terms of the saving the city's energy, but it also boosted sales in the city's menswear market. The Japanese government is incorporating the same philosophy this winter by encouraging sweaters, and the like, in the workplace.

The story sounds awfully humorous until I stop to think about how many office buildings I've entered over the past summers, in which I wish I'd worn a parka. In Southern California especially, that sory of extreme climate control is a waste of energy as well as uncomfortable.

I guess I like to think in a slightly different way nowadays: Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur schlechte Kleidung. (There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.)


*broad definition of energy efficient is used here. this is based on american standards, which are like the worst standards to ever go by.