Buying a car isn't just a personal choice anymore

I was at a technology conference last week in Boston, the high point of which was attending a Toyota Prius 'tear-down'. That's techno-geeky-speak for taking something apart and showing the audience the nitty-gritty that makes it work. In this case, CalCars (http://www.calcars.org), a non-profit group from California, was showing off - and discussing the engineering behind - their conversion of a Toyota Prius to plug-in mode. This is pretty cool, and you can check out the amazingly simple engineering behind the conversion on Cal Car's web site, but the point of this blog isn't so much the technological magic as the implications behind it.

The purpose of creating a hybrid that can recharge its batteries by plugging in to a home electrical wall socket is to give the car longer battery life by using a more powerful cell, and to minimize the overall carbon emissions (the reason our climate is in turmoil) of recharging it by plugging into the electrical grid (for an explanation of this concept, visit (http://www.calcars.org/faq.html#1). But in the words of the engineer from Cal Cars who presented the converted Prius' "guts" and the rationale behind its engineering, the project is also about the social and environmental implications of our driving choices. And that's a fundamental shift in our consumer-driven American mentality.

Thinking about our choice of automobile - or our choice of any consumer product - in terms of its implications for the rest of the world goes something like this: the car I drive, how much fuel it uses and how much CO2 and other pollutants it spews, impacts you, impacts the planet your children will inherit, and the environment children on the other side of the globe will inherit. For a long time many of us have been living a 'bubble mentality' that says, "as long as my little bubble of existence is protected, as long as I can afford to gas up my SUV, that's all I need to worry about." But of course, that's not how it works. Because our children and grandchildren (and their grandchildren) will be stuck with the state of the planet we create right now, and that starts with the car we choose. So the next time you're shopping for a new car, or thinking about ditching the gas-guzzling one in your driveway, do something good for your kids and the planet. Think about making the choice that will leave them - and the rest of the kids and animals - a happy, healthy planet.

Make the best choice...or at least the better choice

Environmentalists and sustainability advocates tend to advise consumers to "buy organic" when doing their food shopping. The idea is that organically produced food is more environmentally sustainable, since it eschews the use of pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified plants. The problem with telling people that the only right choice is the organic choice is many-fold.

First, if you've compared prices at your local supermarket, organic fruits, produce, meat and dairy tend to be more expensive than their commercially produced counterparts. The reasons for this could fill a dozen blog postings, but suffice it say that not everyone can afford to pay for organic milk or humanely raised free-range chicken. Furthermore, organic food isn't necessarily the most sustainable choice if it's trucked from the other side of the country. It may discourage pesticide use, but will do nothing to reduce your carbon footprint.

So what's a cash-strapped and environmentally conscious consumer to do? The better choice - compared to buying commercially produced, pesticide-laden food trucked from three thousand miles away - is to buy local. Many supermarket chains have started stocking fruit and produce from local farms, so keep an eye out at your local store. If you have the time, stop by one of the increasingly numerous farm stands featuring fruit and produce local to your town. You'll be supporting the local economy, in most cases paying less than supermarket prices, and you'll get a fresher, more nutritious product.

The idea of living a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle is to make better choices. Locally produced organic food is the best choice, but if that's not accessible to you, start making the better choice of locally grown food. You - and the planet - will be thrilled with the change!