It's not the car you drive, it's the gallons you burn

Environmental hypocrisy

Published on September 3, 2005 By Draginol In Politics

I cringe everytime I hear people yell about SUVs and their gas mileage. I was talking to a friend of mine in California who made some pretty...militant remarks about people who drive SUVs and their irresponsible behavior. To which I said, "Wait, don't you commute an hour per day to work?" To which he said, "Well sure, but I drive a Toyota Corolla." So what?

I don't care what kind of car you're driving, if you're driving over an hour (total) per day, you're burning a lot of gas. Some people have to drive that far and other people simply prefer to live out in the country. And I have no problem with that. But if you do live far away from work (or in the case of my friend simply have to drive through heavy traffic for long periods of time) then you can't go around condemning other people's car choices.

I don't have an SUV. But I do have a car that only gets 18 miles to the gallon. I also drive 6 miles to work and 6 miles home. I spend about 20 minutes per day on the road -- total.

The Corolla gets around 35MPG on average if you're driving it mostly in the city. My friend drives about 25 miles each way, 50 miles per day. So he burns 1.43 gallons of gas per day. I burn 0.67 gallons of gas per day. Over the course of the year, he uses over 500 gallons of gas. I use 243 gallons of gas -- less than half as much.

I don't care what kind of car other people drive. But if you're going to take on a holier-than-thou attitude on fuel standards, then you better be factoring in your commute distance.

Comments (Page 1)

Slanderer

on Sep 03, 2005

Good article. I'm in the same predicament. I've started walking to work as my car is 33 years old and not the most economical (though better than alot of SUVs!).

I guess in my own way I am trying to offset the amount of fuel I burn each weak but using public transportation and my bike. I look at it this way - what's the point of dropping down alot of money to save X dollars and gain a few extra miles per gallon if I INCREASE the distance driven and burn the exact same amount of fuel at the end of the week?

You get a cookie good job.

Evorg

on Sep 03, 2005

I got Dejavu reading this.

Also a factor is the amount of people being transported.

terpfan1980

on Sep 03, 2005

Excellent article Drag, but take it a bit further even. Add in the "how much gasoline you use per person" and then you are getting somewhere.

Go back to the example of your friend, how much does he use just for one person, vs. you for one person. If you put a second person into your vehicle, the economy gets much better for you. Same for your friend, yet your friend probably does as many in the country does - drives by themselves, and burns up all the more fuel.

Issues like per person fuel usage is part of why I greatly admire the "slug lines" that exist and work well for getting people into and out of the D.C. area. Total strangers hook rides with other total strangers every day. Into and out of the city, where they can go to work. It's a work of art really, and it does save fuel, it helps get people home faster as the added riders allow the driver to use the HOV "express lanes", and everyone is happier.

Yet today in the D.C. area we hear reports of people that are already bitchin' and moanin' that the ride is really gonna suck next week on the Metro (mass transit) because a lot of non-riders are gonna pile on and make the trains and buses more crowded than usual. Rather than being happy that they are saving fuel, saving money, and helping the environment, there's just griping that it's gonna suck, and grumbling that even with gas at $3.49 a gallon (or more) it's better to drive than ride on the Metro.

bakerstreet

on Sep 03, 2005

I differ on a couple of (meaningless) points.

a) City driving uses more gas than highway. That's why we have city/highway on the sticker. Most people in the country that I know do a lot less menial travelling, simply because it isn't convienent to go to the mall three times on the weekend.

People with SUVs in the city still use more gas than people with economy cars. Granted, they still use less than someone who drives 50 miles one way to work in an economy car. That doesn't change the fact that they'd be using much less with a more efficient vehicle.

The problem with this debate is that it doesn't mean a damn thing. Demand for gas went up in the US because of SUVs in the 90's, and the price of oil didn't react much. China's increase in demand, though, is right now. China and Venezuala have more to do with the price of oil than consumers in the US. If everyone in the US was driving a Geo Metro getting 50mpg, gas would still be this price.

Granted, it wouldn't have as big an impact on the consumer themselves. That's up to the consumer, though. There is no shortage of oil in the US. The problem is global. The market for oil has become so competitive that in order to get gas INTO the US we have to pay more. Once it is here, it doesn't matter if we use a little or a lot.

So people who drive inefficient cars aren't hurting anyone but themselves economically, and if they want to pay for it, let them. Let the environmentalists bitch about SUVs, because they don't impact the price of oil.

Stegasword

on Sep 03, 2005

This is a silly attempt at justification of ones own excess.

Imagine if you drove those 6 miles to and from work, and had a car that got 35+ miles per gallon.

Being wasteful is being wasteful, regardless of the extent you are being wasteful. That is something that cannot be justified.

Furry Canary

on Sep 03, 2005

' This is a silly attempt at justification of ones own excess.'
Definitely. He's posted a virtually indistinguishable article at least once before. I suspect it's a (repeated) attempt to assuage a secretly guilty conscience.

bakerstreet

on Sep 03, 2005

" I suspect it's a (repeated) attempt to assuage a secretly guilty conscience.

As opposed to busybody assholes who feel the need to micromanage people's lives and what kind of car they buy.

I suspect it is yet another sad attempt to feel superior.

re: wastefulness, SUVs haven't caused enough demand to effect a fraction of the hike in price of oil. If people prefer to pay the extra for gas, it's their business not yours. If you want to address the current price of oil, talk to China, and the oil peddlers around the world.

Chavez can afford to give away oil to Cuba. Do you really think these hateful regimes make China pay the same for oil that we do? If anything, I'm sure they delight in our own needless self-blame.

People who hate Bush jack up the price of oil, and other ignorant people use it as an excuse to hate Bush and blame other Americans.

eieio

on Sep 03, 2005

The problem with this debate is that it doesn't mean a damn thing. Demand for gas went up in the US because of SUVs in the 90's, and the price of oil didn't react much. China's increase in demand, though, is right now. China and Venezuala have more to do with the price of oil than consumers in the US. If everyone in the US was driving a Geo Metro getting 50mpg, gas would still be this price.

Not picking on you Baker ... just using the quote for a point.

I wonder if all those Chinese and Venezuelan drivers are driving fuel efficient vehicles? I'm guessing they are.

Kind of ironic isn't it? SUV sales increase in the 90's and the price of gas barely budges, then fuel efficient car sales in China and Venezuela increase this decade and gas prices go through the roof.

Draginol

on Sep 03, 2005

I don't feel guilty. Why should I feel guilty? I don't happen to be one of those people that think CO2 emmissions are causing problems for the environment. So whether was driving 6 miles or 100 miles a day, I don't think it's an issue.

However, for those people who do go around trying to make people who drive SUVs feel bad, their hypocricy is thus illustrated.

I don't want a car that gets 32 miles to the gallon. I like cars that go very fast and are luxurious. I also use an air conditioner in my home too. Having some lamer calling my car "Wasteful" means about as much to me as some guy who doesn't use air conditioning in their house saying how bad I am for the environment. Boo-hoo.

Draginol

on Sep 03, 2005

Being wasteful is being wasteful, regardless of the extent you are being wasteful. That is something that cannot be justified.

I can justify my "waste" -- I enjoy driving my car. That's all the justification I need.

citahellion

on Sep 03, 2005

Here's another way to look at it:

Let's suppose that Brad and his friend could both buy a hybrid vehicle that gets 60 MPG (not at all unreasonable, I'm told).

Brad would then use 0.2 gallons per day, or 73 gallons per year, saving the world 170 gallons.
His friend would use 0.83 gallons per day, or 303 gallons a year, saving the world 220 gallons. (Actual gas usage of "over 500" was 522.)

Clearly his friend is the more irresponsible of the two, for not buying a hybrid.

Slanderer

on Sep 04, 2005

If Brad is anything like myself - there is pride of ownership. Something of an dead concept in the leasing world.

There is pride in not making car payments.
There is pride in driving something that is pleasing to YOU
There is pride in enjoying the drive and not considering it an A to B commute like on a bus.

I will add the other big pollutor, turnover.

People who flip cars every 2 or 3 years consume far more energy than anyone else. It is one thing to drive a vehicle than consumes energy. Add the cost of manufacturing to the final energy usage. Since the manufacturing process is spent unrecoverable energy who is the bigger polluter now?

greywar

on Sep 04, 2005

Stegasord and FC are fine examples of how the enviornmental movement is being crippled by retards. Way to swing opinion away from your positions cornholes.

agrippa23

on Sep 04, 2005

Many people who drive an hour to work every day do it because they can not afford housing near their work. I know that is the case for many people at my work. None of us can comfortably absorb these gas prices, but housing in the city is frankly beyond us unless we stick three or four of us in one apartment.

Stegasword

on Sep 04, 2005

I'm no environmentalist. I'm just pointing out the guy seems to feel guilty and wants to post more about it so he can try to feel better about himself. I hate wasteful people, but I have a certain tickle now when I see people with gas hogs and SUV's filling their tanks for $90 at the station. But draginol is what most people call a evergy hog, he consumers more energy and is more wasteful than 10 combined families in the United Kingdom, and seems proud of this? This is an example of everything wrong with this country. The chest pounding about the excessive energy usage is even more disturbing. No wonder the world hates Americans. Sad.

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