Excuse My Attire, I'm Saving The Planet

Two years ago the Japanese government urged businesses to ditch the suits customarily required for all businessmen. The result? Offices could increase the temperatures and ended up saving millions of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Cool Biz initiative asked businessmen to not wear suits, and asked the offices to maintain a temperature of at least 28 degrees Celsius, or about 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

So office workers are a little warmer these days, and look a little funny. For those feeling lost without a suit, the government published guidelines with suggestions for how to dress. And if they still felt they looked awkward, they could wear government-issued stickers stating something akin to "Excuse my attire, I'm doing Cool Biz."

Not a bad idea. Granted, business folks in the United States can get away without suits in many areas, but in big cities where suits are still the norm this may be something to look into. I'd bet almost every office in America could withstand increased temperatures of at least a few degrees.