10 responses for this post

1. Michael on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 9:40 am

   “It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.”

   I wonder how many people realize that? So, yeah, let’s send some more CO2 into the atmosphere, even though they’ve shown it’s higher than it’s ever been in the 800,000 years they’ve checked (an actual measurable thing, from deep ice cores).

2. freakgirl on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 9:42 am

   I’ve been writing an article about the CO2 problem and the more I learn, the more pissed off I become.

3. Rain on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 1:24 pm

   Man…I’ve been thinking about buying a car, but it’s things like that article that are making me question that decision big-time. I’ve lived almost all my adult life NOT owning a car (and the one I did own I never drove because it was big and scary and always breaking down and only got about 5 MPG) so do I really need one now? Especially with gas almost 5 dollars a gallon where I live? And the earth crumbling partially because of the damage cars can cause?

   But then I think that by not owning a car for such a long time, and knowing I won’t be using it to commute to work (I work at home part of the week, and my employer provides free shuttles for the days I do go to the office), and by getting a car that gets excellent mileage, doesn’t that mean I’ve built up enough carbon footprint points to justify driving to Target once or twice a month?

   *Sigh* I just keep going back and forth on it. Feeling guilty about it, and then feeling self-rightous that I shouldn’t have to feel guilty about it…

4. freakgirl on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 1:45 pm

   If you need a car, get a car. Get the most cost-effective and fuel-efficient one you can find, and if you feel weird about your carbon footprint, then just be environmentally frugal in other ways.

   And continue to urge the government to invest in clean fuel research and technologies.

   We saw a guy around here driving a SmartCar the other day. They’re so cool! But I guess you would never want to bring it on the highway.
   http://www.smartusa.com/

5. Rain on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 1:54 pm

   There are a lot of SmartCars around here (San Francisco) and I would have no problem driving it, if there weren’t huge SUVs all around me. If everyone had small cars, it would be a rad car to have (even though it apparently goes from 0 to 60 in about a minute).

   And yeah, I hear you. The car I’m looking at is one of the most fuel effecient (A Nissan Versa) but I still get stuck on the “need” aspect. I don’t technically “need” it, I WANT it, so therein lies the guilt…

   But let me lead into another enviro rant. Our apartment building recently got a green composting bin for food scraps and other things that can be composted, along with little individual plastic bins and a boxes of biodegradable bags and instructions on how to to use them. I was so excited, because I am completely anal when it comes to recycling, so having a bin to dump food in? Awesome. And easy.

   Well, everyone else in the building (of about 20 units) just took the bags and left the bins outside their apartment doors. I am the ONLY PERSON dumping stuff in the composting bin.

   Grrrrr. Makes me so mad!!!

6. Jayme on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 1:55 pm

   Has anyone used zipcar? I personally live in Denver, and I’ll take the heat for owning a car, but it’s nearly impossible to not have a car here. But I’ve lived in Boston and Chicago where I mostly found being carless a very doable thing. I know students at BC, where I used to work, used zipcar a lot. Perhaps not an option for all but I’m curious if anyone has had experience with that service.

7. Rain on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 2:00 pm

   I’ve been using Zipcar for a couple of years now, and it’s conveniant because they are parked very close to my apartment. But it is getting REALLY expensive because of gas prices (they pay for gas, but that cost is reflected in the cost of the rental). If you want a car for more than five hours (and to do anything productive with it, that’s basically how much time you need) it costs about 80 bucks.

8. freakgirl on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 2:01 pm

   Rain, people are so lazy. They’d get behind the composting if someone came into their house and did it FOR them, I guess.

   Although I wish our town would implement things like that.

9. Jayme on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 2:11 pm

   You know, my partner and I own a prius, and it’s true that it’s much easier on the pocketbook to fill up at $4/gallon and get to use a tank for two weeks, but I’d have to say it was more of a personal choice than it was practical. We probably could have bought a civic or something else that would do the trick without the cool hybrid engine. Cars do make some things possible. And $80 twice a month is probably a good investment towards something of your own.

10. Marjon on Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 7:51 am

    I traded in my very small, very fuel efficient car for a bigger, less efficient one for the reason Rain mentioned. I didn’t feel safe on the roads with so many bigger cars and vans driving around like mad people. Especially the vans. It’s mandatory for them (apparently) to drive 150 km/h (94 mph or so) and hit the brakes at the last minute and then swerve past you. I hate vans.
    The small car didn’t do well in the crash tests, the one I have now scores highest. I feel safer, and pay more for that. We have these efficiency labels, where A is the best and G is the worst. I went from an A to a B. SUV’s and the such are G.

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