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October 14, 2004
Some People
Today was long. But good. Long, but good.
I started the day with a lecture by Leif Johansson, the CEO of Volvo and former CEO of Electrolux (I mistakenlyidentified Christian Azar as the CEO of Volvo in a previous post). He had some very refreshing things to say, including an acknowledgement that industry associations usually pander to the lowest common demoninator and cannot be relied upon to promote sustainability objectives. Now, I knew this (having tried to communicate with America's homebuilders industry association and the mining industry association--but it was gratifying to hear it from a real industry insider--and a leader at that.
After the Q&A session, I went up to Villa Oscar for lunch with some classmates, and we had a delightful conversation about the internet's potential to convey the basic tenets of sustainability. It was interesting to see the divergent opinions--I think I fell somewhere closer to the technology optimist side of things. Perhaps it's because I think using the internet is a little like Christmas--every time you click "check mail" you might get a present. Or, I suppose, multiple ads for Viagra.
At 2 p.m. I went to a meeting of international students to discuss our experiences here in Karlskrona with a Blekinge municipality representative. I thought we did a great job of praising the Interntional Reception (which did a great job, all things considered) and offering up constructive criticism for next year. Towards the end, though, there were a couple comments made that took me completely by surprise. When discussing the problems of Kungsmarksvagen (overall quality of life, and safety), someone said that it shouldn't be surprising, as the complex was full of refugees, who hadn't been raised properly. Wow--there was a collective intake of breath and immediately people responded to the inference. Ironically, it wasn't a Swede who made the comment, but an African international student. So I suppose it wasn't racist, but classist. But ugh--it made me want to go take a shower and wash off the filth of the comment.
I went straight from that meeting to a class discussion of climate change. I slipped in late, and just caught the end of the talk. Basically, we agreed that the articles we were provided in preparation for Christian Azar's visit (several of them were written by him, too) took a reductionist view of the problem. Climate change is not about increasing energy efficiency or exploring new technologies. While driving a fuel cell car might alleviate greenhouse gas emissions, unless we fundamentally change our transportation infrastructure, we will all still be sitting in those cars for hours in traffic! The question we struggle with as a class is, how do we create such a complete paradigm shift and, moreover, how do we convince others (this is a Leadership program, after all) that this "new" world will be better?
Before we could solve this problem (ha, ha) it was time for another meeting--this time held by the International Office. For all intents and purposes, it was to inform us about exam regulations, which are completely different than any other school system I've experienced. Unfortunately, the meeting was disorganized, and people streamed in during the first 30 minutes, acting completely oblivious to the fact that there was a presentation going on. At one point, Jo actually stopped the procedings and confronted the group at the back, noting that it was rude and disrespectful to traipse in a half hour late and then proceed to have side conversations. I wanted to stand up and cheer, but decided that might be a little over the top. So I patiently sat through the rest of the presentation, all the while with freezing feet. Apparently, the Swedes don't think that October weather (about 40 degrees) should influence the decision to heat the buildings. Long story short, I left campus about 5:30 p.m. and biked home, stopping at Willy:s on the way to pick up some granola and yogurt for breakfast.
Now I'm home, completely engrossed in The Robber Bride. I'll try and finish it tonight, but I won't stay up too late, since I have to go check out an apartment before class tomorrow. Jess and I are meeting the landlord at the apartment (which is downtown) at 8 a.m., which means we'll have to leave the house around 7:30 a.m. (Yikes, I shudder even to type that.) So it will be an early night. And then...the weekend!
