It's Hard Being Green On A Budget

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday October 29, 2002

WE all ``tut, tut" at those ``smoky" vehicles we see in traffic, thinking that these polluting vehicles should be removed from our roads, for our health and our environment's sake. Maybe.

But let's look at alternatives for these owners. Mostly, like myself, they cannot afford to replace their vehicles, let alone with one newer and less polluting. We live with what we can only just afford to own and run. Does that make us environmentally unaware, or uncaring? No. And why not?

Let's look at the alternatives. We could be forced to scrap all our vehicles. That was easy ... now we only have to dispose of all these ``bodies". More pollution as we recycle what we can from them and the rest are burnt off. Not to make any mention of the pollution that may be created in the manufacture of new vehicles.

But these people still have to get to work and their children still have to get to school.

So we'll put on more public transport. It's greener, isn't it? Not usually. There's the pollution to create the buses, and when they are running with only a few passengers aboard it is again a terrible waste.

As petrol refinement, in itself, is so polluting our State Government should adopt a policy from our southern neighbours, offering interest-free loans for the conversion of vehicles to run on LPG.

- CHARLIE BOHACKYJ,

Towradgi.