I hate it the girls at my work don't recycle...

I can't stand it when people use electricity.

I feel like I need to do twice as much to compensate. And what makes me mad is that people here in Quebec complained so much this winter because we got + 500 cm of snow and they're sure that global warming isn't happening because of that. Well, I think this is a great example of global warming. Warmer temperatures = more evaporation = more precipitations. Oh, and another thing I hate. Countries that don't do anything because it could hurt the economy. I applaud the Europe Union and especially the Scandinavian countries for doing so much.

i think my biggest pet peeve is educating the public about environmental issues. i hope our next president will bring the environment into the spotlight. i would like to think that the more people know about these issues, the more they'll want to do their part.

I cannot stand when people do not recycle I do not care where it takes place. My company recently started a program where we have to seperate our own garbage (it is a multi billion dollar company so it can be done) they even have bins for compost. So with a little thought everyone can do it!

big SUV's..

i wouldn't care AS MUCH..if the people that owned them learned how to park them.

Wasting electricity! I hate when people leave a ton of lights on. My SIL will leave EVERY light on and go to bed. It is ridiculous. Once when i was watching her daughter she turned on the hall light, laundry room light and both bathroom lights on to use the bathroom and when she was done she left all the lights on and when i asked her to turn them off she said "my mom doesn't make me" in a real snotty voice! I was so mad i just wanted to scream.

I agree runnergeek,

Attention SUV owners you are not a compact car.

I can't stand it when people don't recycle and when people litter.

Paper coffee cups drive me crazy. My coworker uses 3-4 a day. It's called a mug, people!!

I don't think there is any reason for a person to own an SUV...unless you are hauling things every day I think a regular car or mini van for those soccer moms will do just fine! Why do they even make SUVs!!!???

Big SUVs, litter, and smokers who throw their cigerette butts all over the sidewalk and streets

@ runnergeek's comment!

Big SUVs is also my gripe. I can't stand people who think that throwing their plastic water bottle is doing their part, when they are driving around in a huge SUV and living an hour from work in a huge house that takes lots of energy to keep heated.

These people will tell you "But I can't afford to live closer to my office" and as you probe them, you learn what they really mean is "I can't afford a humungous 2000 square foot plus, energy-consuming house closer to my office."

Here's the deal: most people in the past lived in smaller houses which were close enough to walk or bike or take public transpo to their office. These smaller houses came with a smaller overall footprint, used less gas, took up less green space with a perfectly manicured garden that wastes water.

I am in my 40s and I grew up in a small house, no more than 1200 sf (and that was considered large!!). As did everyone I knew. I bet your grandparents and great-grandparents did too. It's only been in the last 30 years that we've seen this sense of entitlement, and demand for bigger and bigger houses. Average home size has exploded. Nobody wants the 900 sf ranch houses anymore. A starter home these days is closer to 2400 sf.

My DH and I took one of those carbon footprint quizzes online, and did very well. We live in a small house that has energy efficient heating, use energy-efficient lightbulbs, recycle everything, or just buy less that needs recycling in the first place, own only one car which we use very sparingly (average of about 10 gallons of gas every 3 weeks), I telecommute, and he bikes to work. Our biggest hit was our airplane travel. I have to travel a few times a year for work.

We could afford two SUVs. We could afford to live out in the 'burbs in a huge honking house. We could afford to buy new t.v.'s and other electronics and drink bottled water instead of tap water. But we choose not to.

The sad reality, however, is that every bit of gas we don't use... only means that gas is *cheaper* for those who are driving those SUVs, and who aren't thinking about the ultimate cost, which is to the environment.

suvs def. i have no idea why you need them other than to guzzle gas! dya ever notice they're the first ones to complain bout how expensive gas is...of course bc your car gets like 8-9 miles to the gallon and is a 20+ gallon tank

Trucks/ SUV's in the city just because someone can afford it. Really, you don't need a 4x4 truck to drive from your house to Safeway. I'm pretty sure there aren't any giant mud holes you'll need to drive through to get there, or giant trailers you'll need to haul.
And the Styrofoam containers the caf uses for take-out. They don't break down, so why not find something a little more environmentally friendly?

Smokers (especially those who throw their cig butts on the ground - so many toxins in there!!)SUV's, people NOT PRINTING DOUBLE SIDED at work. i'm always yelling at them! im like the spokesperson for green in my office.
oh and my bf leaving the water on when he brushes his teeth...

Re: SUVs and soccer moms....

Growing up in a family of five, my mother did JUST FINE toting us all around in a VW bug, and later a Pinto.

We drive a Toyota Corolla and my teens and their friends do tease me all the time because they find it cramped compared to their friends' cars. But tough.

littering...I HATE it when I see paper, and cups, and mcdonalds bags on the side of the road!!! I agree with bengalspice about the cigarette butts on the sidewalks and stuff.

When people litter and leave the lights on.
And people with HUGE SUV's though alot of my family members and friends own one.

the huge`suv's. come on, why do you need that?

I grew up in a home that wasn't intentionally green, but looking backwards we were rather green. Oh, I live in Scandinavia, so bear that in mind.

Heating houses at wintertime is a big issue in here. I just don't understand why people have to heat their homes so hot that they can wear t-shirts inside in winter. I understand it is nice if you are used to do so, but actually it is healthier to live in a house which is not over-heated. At wintertime I wear two longsleeve shirts and stockings with pants while inside.

Recycling.. I could go on and on. I grew up on a farm and I guess it has been a custom to recycle on farms. Really, bio goes back to nature and plastic, paper and glass are recycled so that you can use their material for new purposes.. Of course it easy to dump everything in the same trashcan, but it sure is not hard to recycle either.

Smugness. And don't tell me nobody here saw that episode of South Park.

... or just don't buy certain things to begin with. Instead of plastic water bottles, use a glass and drink from the tap. Read newspapers and magazines online. Don't use those plastic bags when you buy veggies at the supermarket. Bring along canvas supermarket bag. Choose foods that have little packaging. Don't print things off, if you can simply edit online. Or double-side print if you absolutely must.

Big-ticket items: use them for longer and don't replace just because you want something new. We have not bought a new t.v. in over 20 years because people are ALWAYS throwing away perfectly good ones that work just fine. I guess they wanted a flat screen or something!

Same goes with DVD players - we find these in the trash all the time too, and there's nothing wrong with them.

Oh another peeve while I'm at it: don't throw your computer monitors in the trash!! They are toxic. Around here on trash day you'll see monitors sitting on the street forever, because the city won't pick them up.

People who are all about Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth and smug about their global warming awareness but don't actually recycle, conserve or do anything green!

petite42: I have to respectfully disagree with your first comment. I have worked very hard and put myself through years and years of school to be able to afford a very nice, very large home in the future. I look forward to buying the largest home I can. Just because someone lives in a large home or drives an SUV doesn't mean they do not care about the envirnment.

There are things EVERYONE can do to make our world better, but judging someone concern for the envirnment by their home or car is a little unfair.

Not recycling & littering. I was driving to work last week & I saw this older man throw his Mtn Dew bottle in the grass. It pissed me off so bad that I yelled at him to pick it up. He was definitely shocked that I yelled at him & he did pick it up although I turned the corner & couldn't see him after that so he could have thrown it right back down. It made me feel better, though.

My daughter's school is part of a program that pays the school for every pound of paper that is recycled. They have a big dumpster like container in the parking lot to collect the paper. I like it that they're using that to teach the kids about doing their part as well as raising needed funds for the school.

Definitely people who litter and don't recycle. Not littering and recycling are so easy! It's not like you have to make drastic changes to your lifestyle to help the environment. It amazes me that people don't even do the easy things like recycle.

i think that's the attitude she's referring to, that you somehow DESERVE to have more than you actually need (unlike everyone else i guess, lol). it's not just the earth of people who feel entilted, we all work hard and showing off with a big house doesn't have you come across as accomplished, it makes you come off as arrogant.

The only thing that really irritates me is littering. I can see that people might have reasons of their own for doing other things, but I just don't see any excuse to litter. The ground is not a trashcan! Treating it like one is rude.

Its not about DESERVING to own a big house. Its about being blessed and fortunate enough to provide a nice home and to me, that means a larger home. Sorry if that offends some of you, but being arrogant is something you DO and is not defined by your posessions

I live green myself and i try to inform people about living green. if they don't go for it maybe there children will. no pet peeves. live and let live.

Hummers. Tacky and completely unnecessary. Plus, they're not good for the environment or on gas mileage.

Also, I hate when people litter. I've seen people throw their trash on the ground when there's a trash can five feet away. Would it kill to take an extra 10 seconds out of your busy schedule to put your trash in its place?

Big SUVS and trucks - unless you have like 4 kids or you have to haul major stuff all the time, WHY??? Littering, just plain carelessness.

I hope no one takes this the wrong way but I may be just as annoyed when certain supergreen people pretty much condemn you over little things like buying regular light bulbs over the lousy flourecent ones. It's good, you want to save the earth, great, but don't go all holier than thou on me when I want good lighting to put make up on! If we're going to go THERE, then you can walk to work!

I do hate it when people litter. That is just rude and there is a trashcan somewhere near you pretty much all the time.
I really hate it more when green people scream at you for not doing something they think is right. (Although I fully admit I take very few steps to live green)

The overuse of plastic.

SUVs.

Over-sized, energy wasting, cookie-cutter, aluminum siding houses that were built by knocking every tree that was "in the way" down.

Leaving lights on.

Overuse of heat/AC.

Wasting food/water.

I totally agree with you citizenkane. littering irritates me but thats just about it. I try to do what I can to do my part but like AujahAcorn said, live and let live.

Junk mail, especially mail-order catalogs. I get at least two Pottery Barn/West Elm/Victoria's Secret catalogs a week, and they go straight into the garbage (recycling bin). Total waste of paper and trees simply for marketing purposes, which I find disgraceful, not to mention they clog up my tiny mailbox.

Also, on a related note, I hate whenever someone canvasses the neighborhood putting flyers for their store/sale/party under every windshield wiper. People seem to throw these straight onto the ground, which also causes a lot of littering.

I can't stand the selfishness of people who don't at least try to help. My sister in law is the biggest consumer in the world and it makes me want to puke. She subscribes to, honestly, 12 magazines and doesn't recycle at all, but then says she feels bad because she doesn't recycle. Hypocrite much???!

Littering, i see a ton of it and it bugs. These people actually throw the trash within feet of the receptacle. Extremely reprehensible.

The people who insist they're environmentalists then sit down to a steak dinner drive me mental. The meat industry forces more pollutants into the environment than the SUVs do (though walking to work like a good little city-dweller sucks when you can't breathe because of the exhaust).

We have curbside recycling for everything but glass, and I'd say only 5-10% of my neighborhood recycles. It's so easy!!!! What is wrong with them???

Oh and we don't even have to sort!

Wasting anything is a huge pet peeve of mine. Whether it's paper towels or shampoo or food. It's annoying and if it's already been made and you paid for it you should use it.

Obnoxious newly-interested environmentalists who get all sanctimonious about their practices and ideas. Gives a bad name to the whole movement.
And cigarette butts. Dispose of them properly. I hate having to dig them out my dog's mouth. I hate seeing giant piles of them along the road. I have having them flicked in my direction in traffic.

Litterbugs!

People who leave lights on! I had a former flatmate who did this and would get mad when I would turn the lights off in empty rooms. Even if it's not that much electricity being wasted, it just seems so careless.

1000 + sqft houses where only 2 adults live.

SUV's, meat-eaters, people not using the mugs I so kindly wash at work.

Citizenkane, I'm sorry, my intention was not to offend you! My intention was to raise awareness and get people thinking about the choices they make.

I don't like littering either but in the grand scheme of things it isn't the issue. Neither is recycling. Recycling and picking up litter just make us feel good. The real issue is that people in the U.S. consume way too much energy per household than anywhere else in the world. It's built into our consumer lifestyles.

That you feel entitled to a large house someday and are working towards that end, doesn't surprise me. It's a common way to feel. I felt the same way in my 20s and for about 7 years I did have the American Dream - a 2400 sf house on an acre lot in the 'burbs. (The biggest pain in the butt about it was having to clean all that, and being slave to the yard on the weekends.. but I digress!) After spending time in europe and Japan, and researching and thinking about it, I moved closer to the city and downsized.

Regarding big houses in the burbs... let's assume it's not even a new house:

1) It takes more energy to heat and cool. (Unless you equip with solar power or something like that and can manage to be self-sustaining and off the grid)

2) It takes more furniture to fill it. Which means more trees are cut down, more manufacturing is involved (toxins), and energy to transport the furniture to the store.

3) If the lawn is also large, and is kept manicured, then there's energy going into the lawnmowing and watering.

4) If it's out in the burbs, there is more energy to get to and from work.

5) If it's out in the burbs, there is more energy to transport your groceries to the grocery store. And virtually any goods.

The price of oil and gas is skyrocketing and will probably never come back down. This affects not just the gas you put in your tank, but heating and cooling, and the cost of transporting food and goods way out into the burbs. I hate to say this but... it very well be that no matter how much you save for your dream, you may find it is going to simply be out of your reach.

The single biggest impact we can make on the environment is to live a smaller footprint, and it starts with the size of our house, and how much we drive. Everything else is icing on the cake.

With that said, I fully admit that my air travel has a significant impact. It's all about trade-offs. I live a small footprint, and in return, I take a trip by plane here and there. This is how we need to look at our lifestyles. Maybe for you it is worth the trade-off to have a larger house, and in return you'll outfit it with solar panels and get off the grid, telecommute instead of drive, and you'll never fly anywhere.

Anyway... this is not just me being sanctimonious; this is me being a realist. There's only so much oil in the world, and it's going fast. We can't continue to live this way forever. Whether by choice or by force, the American Dream is going to die soon.

Is it depressing??? Heck, yeah!!!