Green Barcelona

As much as one may be able to argue that Europeans are lagging behind the US in terms of technological advancements, they surely have us beat when it comes to environmental consciousness. Sure, people in the states are becoming more cognizant of "Global Warming" after all the hoop-la sparked by An Inconvenient Truth, but we aren't really going to great lengths to do anything about it, and neither is our government (we've gotta spare the economy, right? Being "green" doesn't earn us "green"). That being said, it's extremely refreshing to see the extent to which Europeans are willing to go to be more environmentally friendly. Here are a few examples:
Recycling bins

It makes sense for city blocks to have dumpsters, right? Well how about recycling bins on each block? Not only are they there, but they also detail what can and cannot be put in them. For every two dumpsters on a block, there are three equal sized bins for recycling. A blue one for paper blue, a yellow one for plastics, and a green one for glass (I'm sure one of them takes aluminum, but I don't know how to translate it). With these so easily accessible and easy to understand, there's no reason for people not to recycle.

"Organics" Bins
In addition to the presence of recycling bins, many of the dumpsters also have a separate partition inside that is solely for compostable, organic trash (food scraps, leaves, etc.). In some cases you'll even find separate bins (pictured) for this type of stuff, often accompanied by small bins for batteries and other potentially toxic waste.

Motion-activated Escalators
A lot of the metro stations have escalators that only turn on once you step on the platform right in front of them. this ensures that energy isn't being wasted when they aren't in use.

Timed Lighting in Stairwells
Getting into/out of one's flat almost invariably requires that one trek up/down a few flights of stairs first. As stairwells generally lack windows, all tend to have light switches at their entrances and outside each door to make sure that people are able to see where they are going. To make sure that these lights don't get left on when not in use, the switches are timed to shut off briefly after being pushed (roughly 1-2 minutes).

Timed Lighting of Buildings and Monuments
Though Barcelona has its share of lit-up buildings, fountains, and other sites, the lights tend to shut off as the midnight hour approaches. This makes sense based on the fact that anyone who's out past midnight (nearly all of Barcelona) isn't looking to visit the sites, and likely couldn't care less whether or not they were lit up. Just imagine if the folks in New York decided to follow suit with Times Square!

Natural Gas
Like some cities in the US, most of the buses in Barcelona run on Natural Gas rather than regular petrol. Being much cleaner from an emissions standpoint, this is a logical "green" move.

Hang Drying
I doubt this can be attributed to environmental concerns, but I think it's worth mentioning that everyone in Barcelona hang-dries their clothes. While I find this to be a pain in some instances (its no fun hang drying something small, like socks), I'm growing accustomed to it. Whether intended or not, this likely goes a long way toward reducing energy consumption as high-powered dryers are not being used.

There's No Such Thing as Free Water

So my crusade against purchasing bottled water came to a screeching halt upon my arrival in Barcelona, as the tap water here doesn't seem to be clean (it has a distinct smell and taste to it, even after heating/boiling it), and Brita-esque filters are difficult, if not impossible, to find. While the public authorities claim the water is completely safe for drinking, if the locals aren't even drinking it, I figure I'm much better off shelling out some Euro for the added peace of mind.

Thankfully since the demand for clean water is high (4 million+ people in the city and surrounding metropolitan area), there's a huge market for it, which leads to a ton of competition, which means prices that are, in most cases, much lower than in the US (man, I miss introductory Microeconomics). Basically, one can purchase an 8 liter jug of water here for €1,15-2,50 depending on the brand and where it's purchased from. Translate that to dollars (€1 = ~$1.48), and you're paying $1.70-3.70 for 8 liters, whereas a 25 pack (0.5 liter each x 25 = 12.5 liters) of Deer Park water bottles costs about $5 at Costco. Assuming people drank solely bottled water in the States (common on college campuses, at least), I'd be saving quite a bit of cash (in addition to plastic), so I shouldn't be complaining too much.

Unfortunately, paying for clean water in grocery stores means paying for clean water at restaurants and cafes also, which certainly is not as cheap. While I haven't been to any really posh restaurants, the cost of a half liter bottle of water seems to range anywhere from €1-1,50 in most places. Ridiculous, no?

Well, leave it to my Sigg to save the day. Back home I pretty much don't go anywhere without my trusty, non-chemical-leeching water bottle, so why should things be any different in Barcelona? While originally I would only take it with me to class, since the days are long and predictably unpredictable, I've recently begun taking it everywhere in my gym bag (one of those small, lightweight drawstring pouches you wear like a backpack). Since it doesn't outwardly look like a water bottle, I'm able to sneak in a few sips while dining, saving me some cash and the guilt of having contributed to the ecological dent caused by the production and transportation of an additional bottle.

Side note:
Spain's been in a drought for the past few years, and as the desertification of the Iberian Peninsula continues (currently at 1/3, according to Toni, one of my professors), matters seem to only be getting worse. Since I've been here, there have only been three days of rain, which, albeit nice from a pedestrian's perspective, should definitely be a cause for concern. When speaking of the looming drought, Toni is always quick to mention (not an exact quote):

"People always ask 'Aren't you worried about terrorism?' 'No, no, no! That's something that I cannot control' , it's unpredictable. I'm more worried about the drought, because we know that's happening. How the hell is a city that can barely provide water to its 4 million inhabitants (metropolitan area) going to be able to provide for them and the 20 million tourists that come here annually?"

Thank you, Global Warming.

That's enough ranting for now...

Adéu!