Overseas briefing When it comes to being green, Germans do it right

Author: Katie Flagg

MAINZ, GERMANY - Today, in a course I am taking about literary portrayals of America, our professor asked us to express our pre-existing ideas of the United States. For me, the exercise was strange. In my broken German, I identified myself as an American and then listened as the others discussed the images that come to mind when they think of our country.

The girl sitting next to me admitted without prompting, "I think of fat children who only eat hamburgers."

I chuckled, but the remark smarted - as did the following commentary on American politics, the religious right, creationism in school curriculums and rabid patriotism. And then there was, of course, still the issue of the environment.

"They travel everywhere in cars," offered another student, who professed to having once visited Orlando. "Not once did I see people walking around on the street."

Supermarkets without end, nonexistent public transportation, a nation of consumers - not a pretty picture.

Side-stepping any debate about politics, I could only agree with at least part of what my new peers had to say. Since landing in Germany three weeks ago, I've been struck by the bottom-up appreciation for environmentalism apparent in the t‰glich, or daily, lifestyle here. I purchased a bicycle right away and joined the ranks of merry Mainzers pedaling along the Rhine on their daily errands. I learned early on to bring along my own bag when grocery shopping. The soda machines dispense Coca Cola in reusable glass bottles, which can be returned for a significant refund. Even in my ever-faltering German, I can recognize all of the ingredients in most of the foods I purchase. And, after puzzling over color-coded garbage bins in my kitchen, I learned that German law mandates that I meticulously sort my garbage - something 90 percent of Germans are willing to do, according to BBC News.

As I rode home after class, the handlebars of my bicycle laden with groceries, I couldn't help but think: never would this happen at home. It's not possible, in the town were I live, to walk to a grocery store, let alone safely bicycle to one. The ubiquitous bicycle lanes, the pedestrian shopping districts and the compact neighborhood grocery stores that I've grown accustomed to here don't exist - at least not in suburban America.

Although the United States has made significant steps in the last 30 years to clean up its industrial practices, as a nation we're reluctant to make any changes to our daily lifestyle. We consider environmentalism at home a hassle to be avoided. But the ease and efficiency with which Germans approach recycling and the pedestrian lifestyle argues otherwise.

What this all means is that I'm left to blush when students here discuss America at large. As much as I will defend our hamburger-eating youngsters, on some counts I can only agree: when it comes to being green, we have some catching up to do.