Wavepacket Blog displaying only one specific post |
| 2010 | |
| May | |
| Fri May 7 22:44:43 2010 Tree-Hugger Me |
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| Fri May 7 22:44:43 2010 Tree-Hugger Me I'm a die-hard environmentalist in spite of my SUV. |
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| Today I celebrated 6 weeks of commuting to and from work without driving!
This is all because I recently moved (see The Dream Tour), and I can bus to work and walk to almost everywhere I need to shop. I've been mostly commuting by public transit since December, but in March my parking pass ran out so I've been commuting 100% car-free since then. My gasoline consumption has dropped by around 50% or more compared to 2009, even though I often drive into the mountains on the weekends. However, I still drive a large black SUV that gets really crappy gas mileage. So I can't really call myself an environmentalist, can I? Well, actually I can and I do. I was inspired by this story, which pointed out that most people think about environmentally-friendly driving entirely wrong. Most people think that we can help the environment by buying cars with better gas mileage. But as the article noted:
So by moving and driving far less, I've actually reduced my carbon footprint much more than had I stayed where I was and bought a Prius. Don't get me wrong, eventually I'll get a greener car. But it won't be a Prius. It will be an SUV that has cleaner emissions. I need a truck with clearance, room for cargo and gear, and four wheel drive. That's another thing many people (including proclaimed environmentalists) get wrong, by the way. When it comes to the environment, gas mileage isn't important: emissions are important. The two are related, but they don't have to be. Car and truck manufacturers could be held to much stricter emissions than they are now. Paradoxically, better catalytic converters could slightly reduce gas mileage, but that would be overall worth it. So what is the responsible, green future for the planet? It won't be suburbia with hybrids. It will be people living much closer to where they work and shop, driving far less, in cars that have about the same gas mileage as now, but with lower emissions. That's going to be a big demographic shift, but it will be better for the atmosphere, and will also be forced by rising gasoline prices. Comments |
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