Bloated American Pig Cars
A close friend of mine likes to pretend to himself and to others that he is a Buddhist. I guess in one part of his mind he is. In addition to owning a very wasteful, gigantic house complete with a pool he also has a Yurt. He has these fantasies of living out in the country in his Yurt and spending a lot of time sitting around in a trance like state.
He likes to think of himself as being progressive and environmentally aware. But he is now thinking about buying a Suburban, just because they have gotten so cheap. He actually has himself convinced that the poor fuel economy can be (financially) made up for by buying the car cheap. In other words overtly choosing profit and greed versus doing the proper thing ethically and morally. This is a copy of an e-mail I sent him today:
Dear XXXXX,
I’ve been visualizing the picture of you driving an enormous, wasteful hog of a car like a Suburban out to your Yurt. It just doesn’t fit. There is a vast logical disconnect.
The Yurt is about minimizing one’s footprint on this planet, reducing your environmental impact, decreasing your consumption of fossil fuels, etc.
The idea of making an overt decision to drive a Suburban or a big, heavy V6 or V8 sport utility vehicle just because they have gotten cheap doesn’t logically fit in the same mind set. These cars are even heavier and even more wasteful than the Pontiac that you are driving now. Getting one of these vehicles would unmistakably be moving in the wrong direction.
If the bozos from Detroit were giving these cars away (which they practically are) it would only make sense to drive one if you are only concerned with short term profits and greed. There is so much more to life than self-indulgence.
Doing what one can to protect and improve the environment, and reducing one’s output of pollutants which increase the rate of global warming are worthwhile goals in themselves. Making money is not worth it if one has to engage in unethical, immoral, or illegal behavior to do so.
The people who have their act together are driving small-engine, lightweight Hondas and Toyotas, not the bloated and inefficient cars like most of those being produced by the American manufacturers.
Very Best,
Paul
He likes to think of himself as being progressive and environmentally aware. But he is now thinking about buying a Suburban, just because they have gotten so cheap. He actually has himself convinced that the poor fuel economy can be (financially) made up for by buying the car cheap. In other words overtly choosing profit and greed versus doing the proper thing ethically and morally. This is a copy of an e-mail I sent him today:
Dear XXXXX,
I’ve been visualizing the picture of you driving an enormous, wasteful hog of a car like a Suburban out to your Yurt. It just doesn’t fit. There is a vast logical disconnect.
The Yurt is about minimizing one’s footprint on this planet, reducing your environmental impact, decreasing your consumption of fossil fuels, etc.
The idea of making an overt decision to drive a Suburban or a big, heavy V6 or V8 sport utility vehicle just because they have gotten cheap doesn’t logically fit in the same mind set. These cars are even heavier and even more wasteful than the Pontiac that you are driving now. Getting one of these vehicles would unmistakably be moving in the wrong direction.
If the bozos from Detroit were giving these cars away (which they practically are) it would only make sense to drive one if you are only concerned with short term profits and greed. There is so much more to life than self-indulgence.
Doing what one can to protect and improve the environment, and reducing one’s output of pollutants which increase the rate of global warming are worthwhile goals in themselves. Making money is not worth it if one has to engage in unethical, immoral, or illegal behavior to do so.
The people who have their act together are driving small-engine, lightweight Hondas and Toyotas, not the bloated and inefficient cars like most of those being produced by the American manufacturers.
Very Best,
Paul
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