Annoyances

One of the most admirable efforts of the University of Michigan is its attempt to gear students toward a more energy-conserving lifestyle. The hybrid buses are amazing, the dual function flushes on many toilets is great, the solar panels are brilliant…but that one dryer in a bathroom full of girls rushing to get to Great Books lecture in the morning? Not so wonderful.

Who has the time to stand in a line to dry their hands by air dryer? It’s very inefficient (in terms of time conservation in relation to drying capability) and quite the annoyance, especially when the bathroom has a few people in it. I know most of the girls in my hall just simply walk out of the bathroom, hands dripping wet all over the door handles, rather than wait by the dryer until the girl before her is finished.

Having only one dryer in the bathrooms is inconvenient – but that’s just what it is, an inconvenience. It’s no major problem, merely an annoyance that we have to deal with. Compared to the countless squares of paper towel this dryer eliminates (as well as the energy saved when we are discouraged from drying our hands at all), this annoyance is perhaps a small price to pay for a greater, global good.

On a related note, here’s an article that explains why we prefer small luxuries now instead of prolonged environmental well-being for the future. It’s an interesting read; check it out if you have time! http://science.time.com/2013/10/21/why-we-dont-care-about-saving-our-grandchildren-from-climate-change/

Note: Picture displays about two more dryers than we actually have in our residential halls.