It is not easy - given the hectic pace with which most of us live our lives - to really think of the environment. Yet there are those of us who do sometimes feel helpless at the sheer magnitude of environmental degradation taking place around us. And when the green lobby starts berating the losses to planet earth - one of the chief targets is usually the automobile.

Cars and bikes bring us convenience. They are modes of transport - ferrying us from home to work, to shop, to watch a movie, to meet friends and family - in short, they make our lives easier. They are no doubt polluting - and this has been a concern for the industry for some years now. So how does this affect us common folk? Well, there are simple ways in which we too can contribute to the environment's good.

The more well-to-do among us can hope to buy the pricy hybrids and perhaps even the hydrogen-powered vehicles in the future. But what about real people? What about all of us - those who have to worry about monthly budgets, or school fees - or heck, the ever rising prices of fuel?

There are simply ways to help cut your automotive carbon footprint. Cars and bikes produce CO2. Yes - that is a known fact. But if you choose a few simple tricks it could go a long way. Car-pooling is one effective way to help save fuel, and cut down pollution. Making sure your vehicle is not burning fuel inefficiently or producing excess emissions - is another way. This involves regular upkeep of your vehicle. Switching to alternate fuels like CNG or LPG is also a good idea for those who have access to the infrastructure. But these are all short-term remedies.

It will take some time before hydrogen fuel cell vehicles become cost-effective to make and use. This will require massive infrastructure. It will need concerted efforts from industry, governments, and the end users. And the environment will thank us for it - since the by-product of a fuel cell vehicle is pure water. But before we achieve that Love Story 2050, we need to wake up to some immediate possibilities.

Bio-fuel. Sounds like something out of a laboratory somewhere? Well it is indeed simpler than that. Ethanol is a sure shot way to cut down the use of petrol. Most modern combustion engines can be easily converted to ethanol - without much cost to the carmakers or users. It can also be blended into petrol - which the govt has finally started doing in India - but it can also be done at very high percentage levels - like we have seen in countries like Brazil. And this will bring down the cost of fuel to consumers. Ethanol can be extracted from sugarcane - and while this is abundant in India - its not dirt cheap to cultivate.

Which brings me to bio-diesel. India's a country on the go - with new highways, and mass transit becoming an urban and rural reality. In this scenario - clean burning diesel engines are very much the attractive option. And while its true that today's diesel engine is very clean, with emissions also being cut thanks to diesel particulate filters - imagine how much better it would be if we switched to bio-diesel. Or at least blended it into regular diesel. And the irony is that this can be procured from a plant like Jatropha - which grows on infertile, arid wasteland. It is a hardy crop, and doesn't need much maintenance or care. And the cost of producing the bio-diesel is not as high as ethanol. And here is the kicker - most diesel cars on the road today - from an Indica to a Mercedes Benz - can run on 100 per cent bio diesel with minor modifications - and on blended diesel with none.

So what is stopping us from adopting these no-brainer fuels? Will. Political, economic and personal will. The oil cos will not want to see their higher margin fossil fuels being replaced by such new age fuels. They will also need to upgrade their infrastructure, and in spite of a lot of global oil giants talking about the energy crisis and the need for alternate fuels, a number of them are secretly lobbying against just that. The politics of oil are enough to bring down governments in a democratic set-up like ours. Still we find that politics don't always follow sensible economics.