It's been quite the environmental day for me today.

I had the distinct pleasure of covering a great resource care of The Guardian's online edition, its list of "50 people who could save [our] planet." Of course, I was shocked to discover that there were no Czechs or Slovaks to be found on that resume. Not only no Czechs or Slovaks, but also no Hungarians, Romanians, Estonians, nor Poles neither. Which, if you really want to get technical, that means no post-Communist, former-Bloc-istes on the list.

Which is a right pity, if you ask me...

Here we are, friends, the powerhouse of the middle, the firm bulge, the most successful trading economy of the post-Communist universe (despite the recent inflationary trends and the potential fallout from same), that nation where marketers love to come to trial their products and services -- because Czech people dig new things -- yet, bohuzel, one thing we can't boast of is our innovation in the environmental department.

Skoda...

Well, this shouldn't be the case. And allow me to bang out a number of reasons why:

1) We're only 10 million people, concentrated primarily in a handful of large cities: As such, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to simply mandate the reduction of Czech society's environmental footprint in the various big towns (egs. Prague, Pilsen, Brno, Ostrava, Liberec, Pardubice). An inspirational leader who doesn't have clandestine dealings with all manner of big power interests -- who likely won their contracts as part of the late-90s transitional shenanigans -- should likely have no trouble delivering the needed diktat from on-high.

2) We already have the required infrastructure to immediately reduce our fossil fuel consumption patterns: If we take the example of Prague's Inner District (Numbers 1, 2, and parts of 5, 7, and 9), it was never built to accommodate the astronomical number of flash cars which rocket across its cobbled lanes. I suspect it wouldn't be all that difficult -- especially given the recent spate of ODS financial reforms (or CSSD-inspired reforms, depending on which side of the partisan divide you're on, dear MPs) -- to enforce a zero-guff, no-car, no-lorry, no-gas-powered vehicle, no-niente...save for the drunks driving the municipal clean-up pods, in the immediate inner-city area.

Just imagine how many innocent lives will be saved without passive-aggressive cab drivers zooming through our tourist-filled streets, making a mockery of our hard-won progressive reputation in many Western European capitals.

Then we have the needlessly controversial Temelin nuclear reactor, and our second plant, Dukovany. For a family of four over a twenty-five year period, the end-waste product from the consumption of a similar amount of nuclear versus electrical power wouldn't as much as fill a small shot glass.

While this would take a massive bite out of the CEZ, E.ON, and PRE oligopoly, dependence on coal- and gas-fired electrical generating stations would make the miraculous act of breathing in certain Czech and Slovak cities scads easier.

But where is the courage to enforce this? We lost all our inspirational leadership at the same time we lost our industrial prowess when the Allies failed to keep their end of the bargain at the end of WWII...but that's a whole 'nother bag of roasted chestnuts...

3) We are a flexible nation of consumer trial: Marketers from across the Western economies have an industry-wide expression, which I'll share with you now: "What works in the Czech Republic, works further east." Have you ever trekked further east and noticed how many similar companies operate in the neighbouring countries (egs. Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine) merely because they were successful in Cesko?

It boggles even the low-IQ'd mind why we can't be equally as innovative when it comes to trying out new environmental projects.

Just consider how easy such initiative would be to manage in Prague, for example. Compare our inexcusable paltry efforts to the massive revamp the City of London's Ken Livingstone is spearheading for 2010 and beyond. He's eliminating nearly all vestiges of vehicular traffic in that capital city, utilizing more green spaces, and will be reclaiming the Thames artery as a regular means of transport by ferrying people all across London. Then come improvements to the rail network around the Greater London Area, then the airports and the the Underground...

If we're looking for new Foreign Direct Investment streams to the Czech Republic -- once all the light- and heavy-manufacturing concerns (read: Asian auto sector) decides to get the hell out of Cesko/Slovensko for greener pastures further east -- then why not look here? Every major Czech city and hamlet autorein in fifteen years? Not entirely inconceivable, if you ask me...

4) Environmental projects as a deft presidential snub: Fanciful scenario, this one is, since we all know Mr. Svejnar will win the behind-the-scenes-take-our-word-for-it-it's-100%-fair presidential election in a couple of weeks' time. But in the unlikely event Mr. Svejnar does not, illogically, win the head of state's nod, he might always use the environmental issue against Mr. Klaus as a political crowbar. That is, once he theoretically establishes his new political faction in Parliament.

What might begin as a wicked political dig might just work itself out into something which benefits the entire nation.

And lastly...

5) Continuing to differentiate ourselves from our neighbours: Fact: the Czech Republic is distinctly unlike Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine.

Fact: we are a highly-developed, highly-competent, highly-industrialized, neutral, violence-free (for the most part) nation which was pitifully hoovered into the post-War Communist vortex against our national will. Where the cards might have fallen had the Allies forged ahead at the tail end of the War to Prague, no one can guess.

All this to say that we can continue to reinforce our splendid isolation with increasing attempts at brilliance in the environmental portfolio.

Our "leaders," with lay-it-on-thick assistance from the grassroots/NGOs, could continue to hammer out cutting-edge environment legislation which positions us at the regional environmental vanguard. Not to mention making us the healthy envy of the CEE region.

In colloquial language, kids, this is definitely putting our money where our mouth is. Enough of this "talk tough" rubbish without actually doing something to back it up.

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Like I said, a distinctly Czech approach to reducing the environmental footprint? Definitely within our power.