I mean, who doesn't love goats? @mutgoff certainly does and so do I - a topic we've chatted about over Twitter (twatted?). Whilst I admit that there's something deliciously nostalgic and reminiscent of childhood in the smell of a lawnmower, and freshly mown grass, albeit faintly tinged with mulched dog shit (enough to make you suspect, and therefore quietly confirm in your mind - but never out loud - that a turd, indeed, escaped the shovel and ended up splattered by the blade) - this is no time for nostalgia and childish attachments to such things. Mega-millions of litres (the rest of the world's measure, America, about 3 and 1/2 of those equal one of yours) of crude oil have pissed into the Gulf of Mexico yet again, and continue to do so on a daily basis, although we really haven't blinked an eye in most places. Oh we may complain and roil over the dinner table about "those a-holes at BP" but as long as we continue to blithely fill our tanks, and primarily worry about the price of gas, as opposed to the collective damage it causes; well I put it to you that we're not actually doing much at all.
So I thought of a goat-herd out here today. Imagine roving goat-herds going around the city, enjoining their bearded stock to quietly and pleasantly munch and fart their way through the long grass issues at Dolores, Duboce, and other neighbourhood parks. Imagine the delight of local kids getting to pet a goat and receive a sound butting upside the head for their troubles (it's a life lesson every child should have at least once). Imagine the useful, ahem, fertiliser applied directly to the resultant close-mown lawn (here's a hint: goat poo is safe for edible potagers. So it's also fine for your average water-wasting lawn). It was a fun little fantasy...until I realised it could certainly work. So that's my suggestion for our out going hunky god mayor. A little bit weird for you change-fearing city slickers perhaps. Too bad; change is upon us already. Why aren't more of us concerned with the business of making it one that's enjoyable, quiet, and environmentally useful?
(full disclosure: I have no car. I live in the city so I can get away with it. How? Walking (remember that?), bikes, Xootr, and Zipcar maybe twice a month. Oh, and I grew up with some goats. And one of my favourite ever films is Manon des sources - and it has goats.)