Save the Planet Savers

It has become a very aggressive operation to save the planet.  And while I believe the cause just and even the means justified, I am concerned that the in-your-face confrontations recently adopted by Amnesty Intentional, Save the Whales, Green Peace and the lot might be counterproductive.  Over the past few weeks I have been approached, accosted really, by bands of these vest-wearing, clipboard wielding supporters of all things green and sustainable.  The problem with this method is that it is so aggressive that I, and most of the people I have personally observed, literally cross the street before reaching the phalanx of proselytizers.  A reaction not that different than the one employed to avoid used car salesmen or door-to-door life insurance specialists. 

Clearly, the playbook has made its rounds.  Nearly every day for at least three months there has been a different cause hawking their wears on the sidewalks around my office.  And they are easy to spot.  There are generally teams of two people on each side of the street.  Each of them wearing brightly-colored vests reminiscent of the roadside crews of community-service servers.  Each carries a clipboard or similar paper displaying device.  On each side of the street, the two face each other.  This way they can capture all travelers coming from either direction.  When they see you they signal you over.  As you approach they step in front of you in an apparent attempt to block your passage.  They then greet you, usually with a big smile and a trite statement, like, “you must have a minute to save the planet?”  Setting aside for a moment the unfounded claim that they can save the plant, the whole process wreaks of challenge and confrontation.  Ultimately what these groups want is your money, your contact information and, importantly, more than a minute of your time. 

The entire experience is so off-putting that I am neither inclined to give - of my time or treasure, there on the sidewalk nor later online or when I am invariably solicited by mail.  It seems to me the exercise is inefficacious.  This old-school approach is having the ironic effect of actually making people care- and do less about the planet. 

I can only assume the soft-sell predecessor was not effective or that the “green management” decided to make a change in order to enhance their otherwise reasonably effective fund raising.  And their braining storming resulted in a retro approach of harassing, hassling and confrontational hawking.  A decision that, as far as I have observed, was ill advised.

Smokers' Alley

Smoking cigarettes is a disgusting act.  And smokers are, by definition, disgusting people.  I say this not only because I find it hard to believe that anyone in this day and age would actually smoke, given the uncontroverted health risks – to everyone, associated with smoking but because of what I see smokers doing with their used cigarettes and packaging everyday. 

Near my office there is a street that runs approximately eight blocks and is mostly  blocked-off to motorized traffic.  If it were not for the restaurants located on the street, it would be best described as an alley.  Most of the buildings that line the street face out onto another traffic laden street.  As a result, the smokers employed in those buildings come to the rear of their building to smoke.  This creates a alleyway of obnoxious and, quite literally, deadly fumes.  If you walk along the street at virtually any time during the weekday, there is haze of cigarette smoke that lingers until the breeze takes it away. 

What is amazing about this alley is early in the morning on my way to work the street is nearly clean.  After work, when I walk back up the street it is literally covered with cigarettes butts ground into the sidewalk and the street.  You can’t place your foot anywhere on the sidewalks on either side of the street or nearly all of the paved area of the street without stepping on a cigarette butt.  All the benches and flower pots that line the street are filled with cigarette butts and discarded cigarette packages.  Everywhere is littered with empty cigarettes packages or Cellophane wrappers all discarded by these delightful, ignorant and disgusting people. 

I often wonder what these fools think?  They, apparently, do not think this is disgusting behavior.  I can only assume they demonstrate this despicable behavior elsewhere.  They litter the streets, sidewalks, stores, parks, or whatever, where ever they live or travel.   And why is this tolerated?  If I and my friends routinely dumped our coffee cups out on the street everyday after we had our fix of coffee, we would, rightly, be given a ticket for littering or, better yet, arrested.  Yet, here in San Francisco and no doubt everywhere else in this country, these inconsiderate slobs are allowed to deface public property and destroy the beauty of everyday places that the rest of use might want to enjoy. 

When the City ultimately bands smoking on any city street, as has been lately discussed, I will be the first the sing their praises.