August 15, 2003

Take Back Your Time

By Robert Bernstein, Special to the Voice

October 24 is the day Americans could stop working for the year if we worked the same hours per year as Europeans. From this year forward, this day will be called Take Back Your Time Day. Large events are planned for this day in a number of American cities. And, as this article goes to press, a companion book called "Take Back Your Time" is out.

Americans are the most overworked people in the industrialized world today, having surpassed even the Japanese in hours worked per year.

Worker productivity increases about two percent each year, yet the 40-hour official workweek is never adjusted for this. By simple supply and demand, this surplus of labor causes real wages to fall. Which in turn causes people to work longer hours to make ends meet in a vicious circle of overwork and falling real wages.

Overwork is not just a matter of quality of life. It affects every issue in our modern society, including the environment.

One measure of ecological impact is called the ecological footprint. This number represents the land area per person it takes to provide the resources consumed per person. This represents the land used for food, raw industrial materials, housing and transportation.

Americans have a footprint of over 25 acres per person. This is twice the footprint of Western Europeans who work nine fewer weeks per year. It is notable that if the six billion people on the planet had the U.S. footprint, it would take six Earths to accommodate them!

What increases the ecological footprint of those who work longer hours?

The most obvious fact is that those who work more earn more and therefore they spend and buy more. But European incomes are comparable to ours, yet they still have a far smaller footprint, so it isn't just about income.

Those who are overworked are more likely to use higher-speed and therefore higher-resource transportation of every type. They are less likely to walk, bike or use transit locally because they feel pressed for time. Ironically, driving is not really much faster than walking, when the time to earn the money for driving is included in the driving time. Bicycling is actually faster by this measure.

Use of cars as primary transportation creates sprawl that forces everyone to spend more time in transit and earning money for transit. The process is called "Time Pollution" which I explain in my chapter of the book. It is no coincidence that Europeans drive half as much and work far less.

The Europeans are famous for taking four to six week vacation excursions in a very different mode and mind set from Americans on vacation. Americans tend to take vacations where they try to jam in a city or a national park each day, flying or driving as fast as possible to get it all into two weeks or less.

The Europeans are seen spending weeks really exploring and getting to know each place. They travel with the locals on public transportation when they move to the next place of exploration. This is not only more rewarding and enjoyable; it also has a far smaller ecological impact.

Those who are overworked are less likely to have time even to think about the impacts of their behavior. Overworked people recycle less. They are more likely to eat frozen or fast food meals that consume more resources and create more waste than home-prepared or home-grown meals.

Overwork has many other social impacts: Less time for citizen participation in democratic institutions. A measurable reduction in health from stress and lack of exercise. Overwork by some often means lack of work for others, which results in more crime. Lack of family time means more stress on marriages and less time with children. Each of these impacts in turn has environmental impacts as well.

To learn more about Take Back Your Time Day, go to www.timeday.org . Get the book "Take Back Your Time" at Chaucer's, Borders or other local bookstores, at Amazon.com or from me at 685-1283. It is time to take back our time. Individually, together and by national policy. Not only for us, but for the good of the planet.

Robert Bernstein is Conservation Chair of the Sierra Club - Santa Barbara Group