One thing that I admire about Europeans is the general compassion that is expressed towards the environment and the attention that is paid to one’s own health in regards to what enters the body and where it comes from. Austrians in general are especially fanatics about this kind of thing and I have to say that I truly do like it.
Every time I visit the Austrian countryside and talk to people that are building houses everyone is often excited about the environmentally friendly technology that you can add to your house. Whether this technology come in the form of solar panels to help heat the water that runs through the house, extra-insulated walls and windows to cut down on heating costs or household appliances that are extremely energy efficient you will generally find that Austrians love this stuff. It’s like porn for them. What I also love is the fact that many of the state governments in Austria offer packages that help a homeowner pay for these things and take the pain away from laying out thousands of euros for a solar panel array. These “grants” are more often than not interest-free loans rather than simply free money, but at least it’s being offered. I hear all the time about how free-market enterprise will solve the world’S problems, but more often than not the exact opposite is what happens.
Then you have the fascination with all things organic. I think this stems from the fact that Austria is still very much agricultural and the majority of the country is used to being able to head over to the nearest farmer and get eggs at a cost that is laughably cheap when compared to what they sell for in a store. Fresh meat is also quite easy to find and often the same cost as in the store and in this case one actually knows where the meat is coming from and how the animals were fed and cared for up until their trip to the big farm in the sky. Another thing that I love is how almost everyone (and this even goes for many people in Vienna) also have a small home garden of their own. Let me tell you this, there are few things more delicious and satisfying than a tomato plucked directly from the vine and eaten with just a dash of salt. Delicious. Then you figure what produce costs in a store and what the cost of growing it yourself is and you finally begin to understand the whole debate in the United States about legalizing the home-growing of marijuana for explicit personal use - when you grow it yourself it’s cheaper and tastes so much better and you know exactly what is on, or rather in this case NOT on, your carrots and lettuce.
Let’s head back to the land I grew up in and see what the situation there is like in a similarly agricultural part of the South. I can honestly never remember in my life hearing from my friends or their parents the benefits of organic foods, seeing what a carrot looks like before it’s been taken out of the ground or what a fresh rack of beef looks like. You just don’t see it. The organic food craze is slowly taking grip in many parts of the United States but most people that buy these kinds of foods are doing very well for themselves because in all honesty, this shit ain’t cheap. Then you have the typical American ignorance of all things sensible and the derision that comes along with it. You get called a commie (I know, pathetic isn’t it?) for buying into the liberal prattle of the organic food industry, a “rich bitch” because you can afford quality food or some other nonsensical insult.
Now let’s check out American house-building. Oh wait, that industry has dried up and exists as pretty much only a used-car market at the moment. Damn.
Tweet