So there I was, checking into a hotel right next to the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing by Shibuya railway station in Tokyo.
The porter proudly pointed out,
“There’s an ice machine on every floor.”
I smiled and said, “I don’t put ice in my drinks; it’s bad for your body.”
He smiled back, far too well brought up to contradict me.
Perhaps if enough of us say it, he’ll tell his boss, “Some of the guests don’t like the ice machines,” then one day the boss might ask, ”Why?” Then we’re getting somewhere.

My hotel had a green token scheme where I could win points for not using the free razor, comb, paper tissues and other plastic stuff in the bathroom.
How about awarding me for not using the ice machine?

There was a fridge in the room with cold drinks in it. It was winter. Yet there were 17 utterly pointless ice machines plugged into the mains, 24 hours a day, taking up spaces that could have had lovely, useful, oxygen-generating plants in them instead of energy-slurping metal boxes.

What can we do?

Take a piece of recycled paper and write on it: Think Twice About Ice. Say No to the Ice Cube.
Then tape it to the front of the ice machine.
No violence or vandalism necessary; just make people stop and think for a moment.
Or you could write on it with lipstick. (It’s a bit of a waste of lipstick but it’s the devil to wash off! )

Chilling can be a good thing.

Before electric fridges were invented ships sailed to the Arctic to collect icebergs, towed them south, where they were carved into big chunks, insulated in straw and used to make refrigerated storage spaces. The first ice boxes really were boxes with a big block of ice in them.

Chilling your food stops it going mouldy (except eggs and bread; don’t bother putting them in the fridge). This is obviously a good thing as wasting food is a senseless use of resources. The cold is nature’s best preservative. (Salt and honey aren’t bad either.)

Mind you, eating something fresh on the day that you buy it (or dig it out of the garden or pick it off your tree) is an even better idea. The fresher the food, the more vitamins and minerals it still has left in it. That option’s not open to all of us, but if you’ve a balcony, a terrace or a whole garden to call your own, grow some food and eat it fresh. It tastes better and it’s good for you. (But that’s another story.)