You left out an option, Chuck.

d) Think they're funny.

 

I was raised by depression era parents. Recycling was something they did for the war effort, and they never stopped. We also went hunting and fishing... so we could EAT. So keeping the water and forest clean gave us a lot of fish and game. And we wasted nothing. I have coffee cans full of bolts etc, and a pile of scrap steel because I toss nothing that might be re-used.

I laugh at the kid that tells me about being green and Recycling plastic bottles with a holier than thou, I'm saving the plannet attitude.
I say, why the heck are you drinking bottled water? Get a glass (re-usable and recycleable) and get a drink from the tap. Then no plastic bottle is even made to be recycled.

So it's just easier to make fun of them.
Though I have no problem with getting the message out there.

P.S.
I just bought a 27 year old American made car for comutting to work.
33 mpg city 40 mpg highway, Catalyst in place.
But I did it because I'm cheap, not "Green".
And 27 years ago I would have bet you anything that cars buiilt in 2010 would all get at least twice the mileage. Here we sit, and how many cars can even match it. (Oh, And I got the optional bigger motor cause I like to go FAST.)

Buy American!

 

I think there funny...............sad ain't it

 

I still haven't figured that one out!

Actually, the technology is there. It's the market that isn't.

Look at what got 40+ mpg 20 years ago (that's 1990 for those of you playing at home). Cars like the CRX-HF with 62hp hauling about 1900 lbs, or the Metro XFI with 49hp at about 1700 lbs. That's 30-35 pounds per HP... who's gonna buy that today? (Hell, who bought them then? Not too many people.)

Today, everybody thinks they need 200 hp and a big vehicle that weighs 3,500 pounds or more. That's 17.5 lbs/hp, it's what you find in most minivans, which is more than a lot of sports cars had 20 years ago!

Even my Yaris, one of the most economical cars on the US market, has 106 hp for its 2400 pounds... 22 lbs/hp. You won't find too many people in the US who don't think a car like the Yaris is too slow and underpowered. (not because it IS, really... but because they have the belief that they "need" more power for daily driving) Put it on par with the highly efficient cars of 20 years ago and it would have no more than 68-80 hp! With today's technology, that can easily be achieved 1.3 liters (the US Yaris has 1.5), and almost with a 1.0 liter.

Europe and Japan and other markets have it. The Yaris can be had with an 85hp 1.3 or a 65hp 1.0 in those places. (not to mention an even more efficient 1.4 direct-injected turbo-diesel that puts out 90hp and a whopping 150ft/lbs) These lower-powered cars get 25-50% better fuel economy... but they won't sell here. They just don't fit the typical American lifestyle. We're more interested in HP than MPG.

PS: Tod, I thought they were funny, too. Just pointing out that there likely wasn't any "political" motivation behind the responses, just people being goofy.

 

Excellent post Loren.

I saw a show a little while back that said oil went to $10 a barrel when we changed the speed limit to 55 mph. It blows me away that the fuel saving were so Huge that it Forced such a drop in oil prices.

Swapping SUVs for even fairly ordinary cars could create the same fuel savings.
So everyone does not need to get a Prius (as an aside, those batteries polute),
they just need to stop driving SUVs that get 12-16 mpg. (some get 6-8 mpg)
Though I think the masses should be driving little commuters to work like Loren discribed.

P.S.
Tod, I somehow managed 16.1 mpg towing the Omni and trailer to Byram's Speede Shoppe. Not as good as a diesel, but not that bad.
P.P.S.
Ladies and Gentlemen Congratulate Tod on making his 7th post. Go Tod!

 

I must be green, I have four catalytic converters on my car.

 

No offense rosko, but this was intended to be for fun.. But REALLY the whole darn thing is a gross misdirection. I'm registered republican SURE. but don't often Think or agree with the major parties. (all the lying cocksuckers hide their crap in a fake fight between each other.)

The whole "save the whales, Trees, Air, (insert cause of the moment). is really just people trying to make themselves feel better, while doing nothing.

want to make a difference? go restore a classic car, the energy and pollution used to create a new car is a tenfold of the energy and pollution that vehicle will use/produce in it's lifetime. moreso if that car is a hybrid.

 

Don't misunderstand. I know it's tongue in cheek type of humor. Although I don't doubt that there is a smidge of sincerity mixed in there somewhere.

I slapped option c on there because I have lots of Republican friends and family who crack these kinds of jokes. Again, I'm just curious about the mentality. Nothing more. I would certainly never throw stones from my glass house. My car has a rotary engine. I keep my house very cool all year long. My wife drives an SUV (because there is no regular car that holds two adults plus three car seats).

My company sent out a memo on "Earth Hour". I thought it was funny before I even read it. Are you sure you want to give Earh a whole hour? LOL. If the point is to get some kind of message across about energy conservation, make it a weekend where you flick off the main breaker in your house, and ride your bike instead of drive your car. I'm not saying it would be that big of a deal, but it would be more meaningful and more noticeable.

I was not raised to always be aware of the impact I make on the environment. I never thought twice about it until I had kids. I surely don't set a good standard for them. However, today the kids are taught about it. They are very aware of it. And the ones I know preach to their parents about it. I don't claim to be any type of steward for the environment, but I don't have contempt for those that do.

 

It's like anything else. A person can be an advocate for "living green" or anything else, I don't mind. But, they need to do it with their eyes open and not feed people bullshit in the process. As long as they know what they're talking about, more power to them!

I think they choose "an hour" because it's accessible to anyone who'd care to try it without making a big commitment. A whole day or an entire weekend is a big commitment for most people. And while an hour doesn't sound like much, I think the point of the whole thing is that if you can switch off for an hour on one day, you could do it every day.

Interesting side note, there were two hybrid vehicles at the BMW car control clinic yesterday. They happened to be the only 2-driver cars there, all the drivers were teens. I asked the Prius drivers what kind of MPG they got out of the Prius, expecting some sort of "I don't know" answer or a guess, but they said it usually gets around 42 in the city, and up to 50 when their mom uses it to commute on I-4 to Lakeland. In other words, they actually cared enough to know... and actually mentioned the concepts of coasting and regenerative braking.

The other hybrid was a Lexus SUV, and those kids understood that vehicles such as theres weren't really made to be green, just to give the "appearance" of green. They very well understood that it mostly just gave the car a big boost in torque, which they enjoyed. It's a shame it was such an understeering pig.

Kids are, indeed, learning about this stuff.

 

A good book to read on this is: Flat, Hot and Crowded, by Thomas Friendman.

There is allot of great data on this in the book. The thing I found interesting is that other countries like India and China that are now using huge amounts of Electricity and resources are consuming all the power we save per day in 3 hours. So yes its a checks and balances deal, but every one has to play to really matter.

Also you want to reduce your carbon footprint..? Dont have Kids. Then when you die thats it there is no more legacy that is using resources. In your lifetime you can use double the resources and still be ahead, figuring there would be X many more generations from your kids using resources.