Blogs / Better Planet

Smog isn’t the only phenomenon slowly permeating the middle of the continent from its homeland in California. Our governor, a former actor noted for his understated performances, has expressed a desire to travel the land talking about the environment. Maybe even under an Obama presidency.

I think this is good. The nice thing about Schwarzenegger is that people think of him as a mute death-dealing golem on a motorcycle. This is the opposite of a self-aggrandizing sighing guy in a suit. If Arnold truly espouses policy solutions that break with those of the conservatives in his own party, directly criticizing his foot-dragging colleagues, as he has in the past, it will be that much harder for people to portray the green movement as a bunch of people with ponytails who cradle owls in their arms.

Image: flickr/provos@monkey

The G8 summit of the world’s richest nations plus Russia and some “developing” guests (India, China) just ended, and for the post-game show on what did and didn’t get accomplished, The Economist wins first prize. They agree with just about everybody else in saying the meetings didn’t produce anything faintly resembling a satisfying climate change solution—our leaders kept it vague—but they argue that Bush took a baby step forward.

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The Seattle Times has a good story about a mayoral proposal to impose fees on any business that distributes stuff in paper or plastic bags, and to ban Styrofoam containers. For every paper bag or plastic bag you put, say, groceries in, you get charged 20¢. Also, those plastic forks with which you enjoy your beef pho in front of Mad Men? Banned. Even that little plastic bucket of chili sauce is going to have to be replaced with something biodegradable.

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Last October, when a high-ranked Center for Disease Control official was writing her testimony for Congress on how climate change affects human health, some individual—still unnamed—from the Office of the Vice President called up and told her to cut six pages of it. Which, apparently, she did. At least that’s what an EPA official has written in a letter to California Senator Barbara Boxer.

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Toyota has yet to verify the story, but the Japanese financial daily Nikkei is reporting that we’re going to start seeing Priuses tricked out with solar panels at some point in 2009. The reported solar panels won’t drive the engine or anything, but they may power the AC, which does seem like a good idea because one would assume some there would be some kind of correspondence between the power of the sun in any given location and the need for air-conditioning. LA = engorged panels, strained AC.

An unnamed source inside the company is quoted saying the panels are largely symbolic; you can’t power much with a solar panel, and they’re expensive to make, in part due to the rising cost of silicon.

As far as symbolic gestures go, however, it’s a pretty sweet one, the opposite of Reagan tearing the solar panels off the White House when he moved in. Putting a solar panel on the absolute latest, possibly only-in-Japan model of the hot car is like holding up a big sign saying “Solar is High Status.” And that’s an important step toward making reduced emissions a central part of keeping up with the Joneses.

Image: flickr/Beth and Christian

It used to be that when Americans drove into Northern Mexico for a couple hours, it was to undergo ill-advised surgeries. Now, sometimes, it’s to fight with each other over Mexico’s cheaper, state-subsidized gas pumps. Mexican border towns are already problematic places to hang out. Drug-gang violence has been escalating to the point where the number of tourists and party people slipping over the border for fun is way down. But American gas-seekers have been making it worse, according to a story in Reuters. They’ve been competing with each other and the locals for places in line at gas stations, getting into brawls in two-hour lines, to the point where local Mexican authorities have started talking about rationing gas. It’s well worth their while from a financial standpoint — with fuel prices up to $4.50 per gallon in Southern California and Southern Arizona, they can save up to $100 per month.

Depressing? Sure! But also, perhaps, necessary. This is probably what needs to happen on a global scale before most consumers will choose to buy cars with better fuel efficiency, avoid driving so much, and otherwise reduce their fossil fuel consumption. Humiliation is a powerful instrument of change; maybe some of those border-crossers from LA will start to fantasize about an expanded subway system. In the long term, these high fuel prices are mostly a good thing.

This is my first post on the Better Planet blog, where I’ll be summarizing and commenting on the latest enviro news. I’m not going to pretend that you can buy rugs/houses/toys that will save the world, nor will I encourage you to tear your hair out, kill yourself, build a bunker, etc. The portents of disaster will be balanced with reflections on what various governments, organizations, and individuals are doing to prevent the worst. I’ll keep updated on the biggest problems—and the most interesting proposals for how to fix them.