boomerangutang Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I walked in a 7-11 yesterday and counted the lamps. In a 50 sq.M room, there were about 60 florescent lamps. Most were on the ceiling and were the 1 meter long tubes. That's more than one meter of lamp per sq.M. Additionally, there were three super-sized air.con units bolted to the ceiling, all going full bore. This was 7 pm and it had been raining all day, so the outside temperature was cool (northernmost Thailand). No surprise, the inside temp was frigid. Then there are the large banks of refrigeration units. If you walk alongside or behind any 7-11, you'll see several large cooling units - all going full, 24/7. So that's one 50 sq.m room. Now multiply that by the # of 7-11's in Thailand (my guess; 25,000), and you get an idea of how wasteful they are with their electricity usage. I understand that bright lights are a key component to selling retail items. Companies spend billions of dollars to make their packaging as bright as possible, so the brighter the lights, the more alluring their products are = more purchases. Hypothetical: Let's say there are 3 dams on the Mekong. Suppose Thailand doubles its electricity needs every 5 years. That's 3 added dams needed in 5 years, and 12 additional in 10 years, and so on. You get the picture? So why should Bangkokians or any other Thais care what happens far away on the Mekong and Salween rivers? Or with additional fossil-fuel burning power plants? ...if it's not in their backyard, do Thai folks view it as insignificant? The more a people are out-of-touch with nature, the less they care about what happens outside the city where they reside. In contrast, people who are in touch with nature, like Native Americans, or Australian Aborigines, or Papua New Guineans, are very concerned about abuses to nature. They feel a kinship with all plants and animals. Thais love malls and hand-held devices, but perhaps they can find ways to tune in a bit with nature, and show some appreciation for species, other than this one with the complicated brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveAustin Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Mai pen rai. It's done like that--always bright, cold, well stocked and open--to keep em coming through the door. While power may be 2 or 3k a day, they easily make on that. Btw, there's more like 7000 units as opposed to 25000. The more the merrier, imo, Thailand would be lost without them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerangutang Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Mai pen rai. It's done like that--always bright, cold, well stocked and open--to keep em coming through the door. While power may be 2 or 3k a day, they easily make on that. Btw, there's more like 7000 units as opposed to 25000. The more the merrier, imo, Thailand would be lost without them We have different perspectives. One sees it as a convenience, the other as an electricity hog with environmental repercussions. still waiting to see whether anyone has any opinions related to the title of this thread: 'Which Thai Corporations are most Wasteful?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgrahmm Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Define wasteful - the categories are almost unlimited...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choochoo Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 subway uses at least a roll of scotch tape a day unnecessarily taping their sandwiches wrappers. i asked why? the girl said i wouldnt understand -im not thai..............lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannot Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 all Thai companies are wasteful, they have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many staff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A1Str8 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 all Thai companies are wasteful, they have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many staff Waaay too many staff is unfortunately required since most of them are so f....ing lazy, it's well known that in Thailand two people need to be hired to do the same job. Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai at Heart Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Has to be Home pro or Central. After all that effort to build the place, cool it and maintain in. Stock mai mee. Might as well move the entire business online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerangutang Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Define wasteful - the categories are almost unlimited......Yes, there are many ways to be wasteful. However, in the OP I focused on wasting electricity and singled out 7-11, though I'm sure many other Thai companies (yes, I know 7-11 is a US franchise) are at least as wasteful. There is a price to pay for electricity, and it's not just the monthly electric bill. Every power plant, every dam pays a price, usually in environmental degradation. Thai kids are taught all sorts of things, about manners and Sangha and royalty, but what are they taught about environmental husbandry? The evidence points to: NADA, niente, nothing, mai mee arai. Another angle: I reside in a Thai village of about 3,000 people. Guess how many community trash receptacles there are? ZERO. How often is there trash pick-up for my village? NEVER. Where do villagers dump their trash? DOWN SIDE ROADS. Now, multiply that by the number of small villages in Thailand, and you wind up with tens of thousands of tons of raw trash dumped along back roads throughout Thailand every month. Out of sight, perhaps, but not out of mind, .....for some of us, anyway. I, for one, will go to 7-11 as seldom as possible. I won't support abject wasting of electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thakkar Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 When it comes to avoiding wastefulness, Thailand has a high profile and persistent advocate: His Majesty the King. He is universally adored, but, sadly, on this issue, largely ignored. Especially by the elite, who profess to adore him the most. T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wow64 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Get a hobby.. Or a life I think they sell them at 7/11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerangutang Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Get a hobby.. Or a life I think they sell them at 7/11Did someone forget to take their witticism pills this morning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerangutang Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) When it comes to avoiding wastefulness, Thailand has a high profile and persistent advocate: His Majesty the King. He is universally adored, but, sadly, on this issue, largely ignored. Especially by the elite, who profess to adore him the most. T Like little kids listening to their parents' advice: They might hear the words, but they glean only what's convenient/comfortable, and disregard the rest. Here are two messages dished out to the Thai people. Guess which message will get people excited: message A: we will give all your kids little computers. You will get rich and be able to buy many of the prestigious things you see on TV. ...including air.con units throughout your house. You can afford to make yourself look whiter and prettier, like the paper-white ultra-slim beauties you see in glossy gossip magazines. message B: Please consume less electricity. It's better for riversheds and the environment. Less dams and power plants = more natural diversity, even if those rivers and power plants are hundreds of Km from your house. Edited July 31, 2014 by boomerangutang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thakkar Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 When it comes to avoiding wastefulness, Thailand has a high profile and persistent advocate: His Majesty the King. He is universally adored, but, sadly, on this issue, largely ignored. Especially by the elite, who profess to adore him the most. TLike little kids listening to their parents' advice: They might hear the words, but they glean only what's convenient/comfortable, and disregard the rest.Here are two messages dished out to the Thai people. Guess which message will get people excited: message A: we will give all your kids little computers. You will get rich and be able to buy many of the prestigious things you see on TV. ...including air.con units throughout your house. You can afford to make yourself look whiter and prettier, like the paper-white ultra-slim beauties you see in glossy gossip magazines. message B: Please consume less electricity. It's better for riversheds and the environment. Less dams and power plants = more natural diversity, even if those rivers and power plants are hundreds of Km from your house. That's not a fair assessment. On a per capita basis, Americans and Europeans continue to lead in the charts on wastefulness. Thais are nowhere near the top. A majority of Americans continue to vote for tax cuts while refusing to vote for spending cuts. Is that childish? Australian PM, Tony Abbot just abolished Australia's Climate Commission. During the campaign, he made no secret of his disdain for science. A majority of Australians voted for him. Are they childish? The fact is, humans are short-sighted. In Thailand's case, at least the advocate for environmental awareness has a large megaphone and is respected. America's biggest advocate, Al Gore, is routinely ridiculed by the right wing press. Perhaps he deserves it, perhaps he doesn't, but the cause he advocates is ridiculed alongside him. Jimmy Carter, probably the first American president to advocate reduced fossil fuel use, was virtually laughed out of office. I didn't mean for my post to be a magnet for Thai-bashing. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.bc523c85a8d558dbc282dca7a2e602c9.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now