Sometimes I think that the whole gas-guzzling thing is just a red-herring. Why are people really so pissed about SUVs? Is it because they feel jealous of people that own them? Because they feel unsafe driving in traffic with them? Or possibly because they once knew somebody they didn't like that drove one.

I think the biggest reason people hate SUVs is because they believe they are pretentious, a flagrant display of wealth in, what they believe to be, a ridiculous useless fashion. If it is for some reason besides gas mileage, get to the point. The extra money I spend on gas comes out of my pocket, not yours/

How many of the people complaining about SUVs drive the new hybrids? Always turn off the lights? Turn the thermostat way up in summer and way down in winter? Install a 3/4 gallon toilet? Watersavers on their sinks and showerheads?

Do you buy products that come in tons of packing material? Do you donate to greenpeace, the sierra club, or another environmental advocacy group? Do you recycle everything you can, even if it means going out of your way?

If you can't answer yes to all those questions, why not try to change your own environmentally-harmful behavior before trying to tell other people how to live their lives...
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I don't mean this as a personal attack on anybody here and do not want to start a flamewar. Everybody here has been civil at least. I am just getting fed up with all the BS I keep hearing.

Amen.


SUV's use a lot more gas than small economy cars. BUT SUV's can also carry a lot more people and tow a lot more than small economy cars. Some people need big trucks and some people don't, but either way they are paying for it. To consume a lot, you have to produce a lot. During the Great Depression, my great grand parents may have thought it to be wasteful to use more than one square of toilet paper to wipe their ass, but things are better now and I can afford all the toilet paper I need and half the time I even clog the pipes using too much paper. If Joe Bob American or Carl the frickin' bricklayer want to spend all their money on gasoline to just go set it on fire and watch it burn, that's fine with me. It's fine with me because they produced the goods or services to earn the money to buy that gas.

Yeah, let's take care of our environment. And not be wasteful. But to be honest, the only reason I (and most other people, including europeans who pay outrageous taxes on gas) would choose not to be wasteful as far as gas goes, is to save myself money. I (along with most other people) could care less if I waste .000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of the world's oil. In fact, if I was a millionaire, I would be driving gas guzzling cars, trucks, planes, boats, jet ski's, atv's all the live long day. Everyone ask yourself this question: "If I was a millionaire, would I still be driving this little piece of shit Geo Metro economy car? Am I driving this car because I want to save the world or am I driving this car because it's all I can afford?" Be honest. If you were rich, you wouldn't give a damn about the gas mileage on your yacht. And I think that's kind of how it should be (in a capitalist society). To get rich and consume, you have to produce. It's what makes the world go 'round. And let's not forget, that if it weren't for all these people producing goods and services (ie, the FedEx truck driver delivering the package that Acme Inc built and that was bought by Billy Joe who builds trucks in detroit that are driven by FedEx drivers, etc), then oil would be pretty much be useless. And if people stopped burning oil with their recreational machines(ie, atv's, jet ski's, RV's, big trucks, fast cars), then a lot of people would be out of work and a nice chunk of the economy would be gone.

Now, as far as running out of oil goes, I don't think it'll happen anytime soon, or prices would go up since there would be a diminishing supply, and usage would drop. If we ever run out of oil, I am willing to bet that by that time we will have many other options for sources of energy.

Driving an SUV is supporting terrorism? Give me a break. Smoking a joint is supporting terrorism? Smoking a joint is supporting some mexican farmer, and I would say is good for the economy. I don't think very much marijuana gets imported to the US from overseas, much less from the middle east, and even much less from a terrorist.