Europe and the Environment

In my observation, it has become very clear that the environment is very important to the Swiss and to the rest of Europe. Why? Because as population continues to grow and as cities expand, less and less space for plants to flourish. I don’t even know if deer exist in the wild of Europe anymore. I saw domesticated deer an on a ranch near the highway between Broc and Leysin. I thought that the location for the pasture was particularly ironic because if a deer were to come that close to the highway in the United States, motorists would be slowing way down and would be ready to hit the brakes for fear that the deer would jump in front of the car.

Everywhere you went there were environmental messages in Europe. Electronics companies advertised that their TVs were eco-friendly. Product packaging in France especially highlighted recyclability. Bins for glass and plastic were everywhere alongside normal trash dumpsters. When we went to visit InBev, crates upon crates upon crates of used glass bottles and kegs were exposed, waiting to be used and reused again in the packaging and shipping of Stella Artois and other InBev brand beers. Recycling, the environment, and operating as a green company are priorities for consumers and for producers in Europe. That much is very clear. It has stopped being a public initiative in Europe, and it has become a part of daily life.