When it comes to most polarizing issues, those on the extreme edges of the spectrum often feel that any proposed solution is a compromised half-measure. Hybrids could be fully electric; nuclear could be solar or windpower; most kinds of recycling are just stopovers on the way to the landfill. Indeed, more often than not I find myself on this side of the argument, clamouring for a more complete answer to the problem. But when you take a step back and look at the big picture, it is progress. And we, the resentful environmentalists (or anarchists, or whatever-ists…this applies to everything) end up heaping guilt on those who are at least trying to improve. Too frequently when trying to make something perfect, you forget that where you are now is actually pretty good. And trying to make something good into something perfect takes a hell of a lot more effort than trying to make something bad into something a lot better.

Maybe instead of more practical electric cars, we need more practical electric lawnmowers. A standard 2-stroke push mower puts out more hydrocarbon emissions in 7 hours than a modern car does in 160,000 km.

So the LA Auto Show held a design contest for creative new sustainable vehicles, and some of the entrants are pretty insane. The winning entry is a Hummer (crazy, eh?) filled with panels of algae to supposedly offset the carbon dioxide it produces. As much as I want to believe this to work, the biologist in me is pronouncedly unexcited. The algae in something like this is equivalent to a summer puddle, and obviously would never come close to offsetting production and use of a car like this, let alone the creation and maintenence of roads. Some smart people worked on this… now if only they could work on something practical. Check the ideas.

I have been a vegetarian for years now, not for animal rights reasons (not that these concerns are unimportant), but because the production of meat is terrible for the environment. Everyone who has been to elementary school knows of the food pyramid, that little graphic that shows how much energy is lost with every step along the food chain. If you can get the same high quality protein from soya as you can from meat (and you can), wouldn’t it make sense to cut out the middle man and save the energy?. Well, the guys over at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization have just released a study showing that 18% of greenhouse gases and up to 40% of methane produced by humans stems from meat production. While it admittedly makes me feel good about being a veggie, I know it would be useless to try to convert anyone. BUT, I think I’m well within my “preachy allowance” if I challenge all of you to cut out meat from one meal a week. You won’t notice, and the rest of the world will thank you. If you want, you can READ THE ACTUAL UN REPORT, or READ A SHORT ARTICLE EXPLAINING IT.