The Streets of Kiev.

You see them quite often here on the streets of Kiev. The 20 year old Ladas, Zhigulis and Volgas. Along with 20 and 30 year old trucks and tractors of late Soviet origin. And one thing they mostly all have in common is smoke coming out the tailpipe. Often, lots of it. But what has changed most in the last two years is an explosion of other cars on the streets. And I wish I could say it's often the smaller cars people most associate with European travel. But you see the worst of the American excesses here, in spades; the Cadillac Escalades, the Toyota Land Cruisers, Prado Edition, bigger and more polluting than the regular version, and yes, even the Hummer. Gads, how did Toyota get this reputation as environmentally friendly?

I generally don't have a big problem with the people who own the old Soviet era cars. They are mostly owned by people who need some way to get around beyond mass transit, and can't afford a less polluting, more modern model. The government could implement programs to help them fix them up or replace them. But it hasn't. But the western and eastern imports of recent years are another problem. Everybody who buys one of these modern day monstrosities could certainly afford something less expensive and less polluting. And since each monstrosity takes up the same road and parking space as two Soviet era models, they are and will continue to be a driving force in bringing this city to a standstill.

So here's the central problem. When an economy goes into a recession or depression, who has the money to fix pollution problems? Not the government, and industry will certainly claim not to have it either. But then the economy comes back to life, so now's the time to do something, anything, about pollution. Right? Wrong. The government worries that even moderate pollution controls will send the economy back into recession and industry fuels those fears. Industry also sees a chance to make outsized profits, and fights any attempt, reasonable or otherwise, to implement sensible sustainability. And since the national culture here in Ukraine is based on not questioning things, there is little citizen pressure to bring change.

But soon, the city itself, not the politicians, may force a solution. This city was never designed for today's auto traffic, and gridlock may force people back to more sensitive alternatives. Or maybe, just maybe, people will become sick and tired of the noise and pollution and take back their city.

One can hope, yes??