Writing on the Guardian’s eco-blog – titled, somewhat presumptuously, Ethical Living – Adharanand Finn touches on another great moral conundrum of our time.
If you take a bicycle, one of the greenest forms of transport available, and put an electric motor on it, is it still green?
The answer, apparently, is yes.
In the battle to get commuters out of their cars, electric bikes are regularly cited as an eco-option, particularly for those who live too far away from work to cycle, or those with injuries or fitness problems, or those who are just too lazy to cycle. They also get rid of the excuse that you don’t cycle because you don’t want to arrive at work dripping with sweat. One enthusiast even suggested to me that the energy saved by not showering cancels out the energy used to power the bike, making it just as green as regular cycling.
A comforting thought for our cyclist’s friends and colleagues. Sadly, Mr Finn’s 13-mile test ride didn’t go terribly well.
After a while, however, as the motor began to lose its charge, the bike began to struggle. Hills needed pedalling up, and were almost as much effort as on a normal bike – the now feeble pull of the motor being virtually cancelled out by the added weight of the bike. I wouldn’t want to get caught out and about with a flat battery. By the end I was sweating.
Which brings us to the thorny matter of deodorant and the agonies of making the most Gaia-friendly choice. Thankfully, there are numerous eco-conscious personal hygiene products to fret over, including hemp seed oil and, perhaps surprisingly, bicarbonate of soda, which is applied either by hand or with a brush and can be bought by the kilo. However, the most remarkable product is almost certainly Dr Mist, which “flushes out toxins” while healing minor flesh wounds and is described by its makers as “a concept to respect human self-esteem.”
Mr Finn has previously wrestled with the cultivation of a green CV and such pressing moral questions as Are Ceramic Cups Really More Ethical Than Disposables?
LOL. “Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda). This is amazing stuff. Not only can you use it in cooking, and around the house for cleaning, it’s also a very effective, cheap and natural deodorant.” And it works on grease fires, carpets and drains.
“Can baking soda curb global warming?”
http://www.news.com/Can-baking-soda-curb-global-warming/2100-13838_3-6220127.html
Ah. From Norway, a partial solution to the whole uphill cycling and sweat thing…
http://www.oneplusoneequalsthree.com/2008/05/developments-in.html
I’m guessing it’s powered by love. That, or baking soda.
“Thankfully, there are numerous eco-conscious personal hygiene products to fret over…”
Luckily, there seems to be no Mrs Finn to contribute to this column, or we might have to face the horror of the ‘Mooncup’:
http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2003/09/mooncup
I’m now going to soak my eyes in bleach. It reminded me of this:
“Although family cloth discussions are a hot topic on green and eco-friendly chats lately, most people are not familiar with the family cloth or its use. Even among very green households the family cloth creates controversy. The purpose of the family cloth is to reduce the waste created by toilet paper.”
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/286627/the_family_cloth_vs_toilet_paper_how.html
This kind of eco-freakiness strikes me more as narcissistic need to feel good about yourself and be seen doing good than about actually doing good. Also, the mandatory super-dense communities they wish to mandate so we can all partake of the bicycle utopia look like the narcissist’s need to control others and make them more like themselves.
Speaking of narcissism…
https://thompsonblog.co.uk/2007/09/behold-my-virtu.html
That Mooncup link…
“It just makes so much sense.”
No. No it does not.
What’s interesting – insofar as such a thing can be – isn’t so much the actual, um, device, but the excuses made for using it despite its inefficiency. Thwarting those Evil Corporations™ is high on the list as a reason to persevere, along with being fearless about one’s personal odour. (I hadn’t realised that being whiffy downstairs is in fact a radical assertion of progressive womanhood.) This triumphant enthusiasm is immediately followed by an admission that although the item doesn’t exactly leak as such, a more conventional product may be needed at night and the empowering alternative may require, um, emptying every hour. Still, it’s the gesture that counts – right, ladies?
“Still, it’s the gesture that counts – right, ladies?”
Lol. No, it most certainly isn’t.
“Still, it’s the gesture that counts – right, ladies?”
Oh, hell no!!