More and more government entities are shifting to the four day work week to cut costs. Cities like El Paso and states like Utah and California are experimenting with the concept. And initial findings are promising; the financial savings are real, especially in the cost for energy.
Even automaker GM is exploring the idea of adopting the practice of a four day work week. But what if there was a widespread adoption of the four day work week? What would be the effect on our economy? Our society? The environment?
Here are some ideas to think about.
On a recent Memorial Day weekend, Home Depot was giving away a free compact flourescent lamp (CFL) to each customer who ventured into the store. It was a nationwide campaign that bought Home Depot a lot of environmental credibility and gave consumers of the traditional incandescent bulbs their first exposure to a “greener alternative.” Tens of millions of CFL bulbs were distributed that weekend and it was an publicity coupe for the chain whose slogan is ”you can do it and we can help.”
But if a thinking consumer sat down and actually analysed the factual consequences of Home Depot’s “greening of America” initiative, (doing the math as it were) one could only conclude that, in reality, this program was the “poisoning of America.”