Don't Become Deficient Be Energy Efficient, Carousel Mall (Destiny USA), Syracuse, NY, USA, 2007

I had surprisingly good luck with my Contina on my Carousel trip, and it was actually a good thing that I brought it, since I had originally not known about Destiny USA or any of the absurdities associated with it. Again, nothing against American Eagle, as I suspect the situation in Syracuse would coerce them into locating at Carousel regardless of their preference. I was just at Carousel to shop for Christmas, and I found the whole thing thoroughly amusing to boot. All of the greenwashing was so preposterously, transparently dishonest that it was like something out of The State, The Daily Show, The Onion, or Monty Python, except, it was real, which maybe made it far funnier. I think the only things that kept me from laughing insanely were that, first of all, it was all so depressing as well, and that second of all, when you're under constant surveillance and harrassment from security, even taking photos can be risky, so the combination of photography and laughing is sure to subject you to serious trouble. Human emotions aren't allowed in malls, you know. :-) In any case, to explain what I love about this photo.....First of all, I was amazed at how well the Contina was able to deal with the limited indoor light, but on the other hand there are those massive skylights overhead, which illustrate how natural light has a far stronger effect on film than artificial light. The whole mall is quite bright in the daytime, and I'm sure that if the power went out, it would only be a serious problem for the cash registers and the computer/electronics stores. A very hot or cold day might present problems for climate control, too, but not until the indoor temperature change, which could take awhile. Therefore....if Destiny USA were serious, first of all about the environment, and second of all about profit, they would only use the lighting after dark................. Look carefully. Right under one of their greenwash signs, in the upper left, is a light blazing in broad daylight, under the skylights. Look around the photo carefully and you'll see that all of the other lights are lit, too. This is no doubt costing Pyramid (and the other businesses involved) a fortune, in addition to wrecking the environment by raising demand for electricity, something that nearly every environmental group has been begging people to deal with since the 1970s. If you combine this with the cars, the lack of public transport, and so on...you get the picture. The whole thing was a living satire, and it reinforced the impression I get whenever I'm in the U.S., that ever I go back, the problems have gotten worse, with little action done except to make them worse.