I was going to write a post on this, but I decided I’d rather post some links and quotes and hopefully generate some discussion on the topic. Here’s the quick summary. I want to be a environmental steward of my resources and I want to be a fair consumer of the earth’s resources. There’s all kinds of talk about global warming these days and choosing more sustainable and energy efficient lifestyle choices. There’s also criticism arising about those things. I want to hit two areas briefly. Global Warming and then more specifically, choice of vehicle.
First, global warming. Al Gore has brought to the forefront of conversation the issue of Global Warming through his movie an inconvenient truth.
The critics have returned not only with a critique that just says global warming is a scam, but with a whole response video that explains why the hype about global warming can actually be bad for society and the developing world. They also point out who stands to gain in the global warming frenzy. Definitely some interesting things I haven’t thought of before. The Great Global Warming Swindle:
Are you green? How
many flights have you taken in the last year? Feeling guilty about all
those unnecessary car journeys? Well, maybe there’s no need to feel bad.Wikipedia notes:
- Author and economist James Shikwati says in the programme that environmentalists campaign against Africa using its fossil fuels:
“there’s somebody keen to kill the African dream. And the African dream
is to develop.” He describes renewable power as “luxurious
experimentation” that might work for rich countries but will never work
for Africa: “I don’t see how a solar panel is going to power a steel
industry…We are being told, ‘Don’t touch your resources. Don’t touch
your Oil. Don’t touch your Coal. That is suicide.'”- An example is given in the film of a Kenyan health clinic which is
powered by solar panels which do not provide enough electricity for
both the medical refrigerator and the lights at the same time. The
programme describes the idea of restricting the world’s poorest people
to alternative energy sources as “the most morally repugnant aspect of
the Global Warming campaign.”
Second, vehicles. I’d still like to see the day very soon when the wife and I can do without a car, but until then I’m still trying to make the best environmental choices I can when it comes to those vehicles. In light of that we’ve considered buying a used hybrid sometime down the road when we have to purchase a new vehicle. It seemed to be the wisest financial decision. Yet, there has also been some criticism of the hype about fuel efficient cars.
There’s a study done by a research outfit called CNW Marketing Research which attempts to determine the total energy used by a vehicle from mining the metals to final disposal. Interestingly the Hummer H2 comes out ahead of a number of more fuel efficient vehicles including the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius. (Let it be said that the Focus and the Scion XP come out far ahead of the Hummer). There’s an interesting discussion of the results here and an audio interview with the researcher here. –a podcast
Going Private has an interesting take on hybrids:
Hybrids are such a horrible mess because they mix all the elements required to destroy the market forces. Subsidies, state and federal. Green investing. Substantial research and development to avoid spending money on gasoline, which the market has actually left quite cheap, at the expense of a more expensive product. (Hint: use cheap resources until they are not cheap anymore).
And more negative new about hybrids:
In reality, as put forward by auto-writer Richard Burr in the Weekly
Standard, hybrids don’t deliver anywhere close to the gas mileage that
the agency attributes to them. According to Spinella, hybrid sales
every month this year have reduced compared to the same time last year.
Reason being; people prefer to buy non-hybrid with the same mileage or
somewhere near that due to the lower price. Spinella’s customer
satisfaction surveys also reveal 62 percent of hybrid owners are
dissatisfied with the fuel-economy performance. Hybrids also have a
disastrous pollution and energy consumption record in Japan and other
Asian countries where these cars are manufactured.
And there’s this bit too:
The problem with Dalmia’s Op-ed, and many other irresponsible misrepresentations of the very ambitious CNW report: “Dust to Dust”, are that today’s costs, aren’t necessarily tomorrow’s costs, and Spinello himself admits
that hybrids will probably be more “dust to dust” energy efficient than
their non-hybrid counterparts in a relatively short time, as short as a
few years, as the technology is simplified and the manufacturing
process is streamlined. (Check out that podcast for a good overview of
the report’s conclusions.) New technology is always more costly early
in it’s development.
I just want to know the truth. I want to be fuel efficient, environmentally sound, a good steward, and I’ll drive a scion, a hybrid, or even a hummer if it’s the best decision for the world. But all this back and forth, biases and more leaves a person frustrated and confused. What’s the truth? Anyone have some thoughts on the matter?
As usual, you’ve raised some great points.
In terms of the global warming debate, I’d rather spend my time recycling and cutting my emissions rather than read a bunch of research. For me, it comes down to the fact that I’ve here a very short time and there will be a lot of folks who come after me that will need this planet. What’s the downside to keeping trash out of landfills and trying not to use natural resources? As long as we can do that without spending a ton of money or a lot of time, I think everyone can buy into that.
In terms of the hybrids, for me, it comes down to oil. Oil is a finite resource. As you point out, developing countries are needed more and more cars. For example, a company in India is making a $2,000 car that people over there can afford. As their middle class grows, there’s a potential for India to have more cars on the road than the US! Clearly, if the developing world develops and consumes at the rate America does, watch out.
We need to decrease our own consumption. Period. As you mention, not using a car is better for the planet than any hybrid ever will be.
Thanks for presenting several sides to this.
Are you sure that study wasn’t sponsored by your friendly local Hummer dealer? 🙂 I actually haven’t read though all of that yet, but I may see if I can find any holes in it later. The folks who want to sell their product will easily manipulate the data to mean whatever they want. For example, the disposable diaper companies twist data to make their product seem more environmentally correct than cloth.
One thing that I would suggest re: cars is to make sure your car is well maintained as much as possible. Cars that aren’t well maintained pollute more and use more gas. My grandma is driving a 19 year old car which she bought in 1988 to replace a 17 year old car. When she bought it the dealer said, “They don’t make these cars like they used to. This one isn’t going to last 17 years.” She proved him wrong. I know some older cars have bad gas mileage but hers is ok.
And if you’re trying to fit three across car seats in a smaller gas efficient car (or might be in the future), check out Sunshine Kids Radian 65. Its only 17 inches across, it folds for travel and can accommodate a child in a five point harness for much longer than a regular seat. Harnessed seats are safer than boosters so this seat allows you to keep your child safe longer and to fit the kids into a tiny car. Here’s the link: http://www.skjp.com/products/skjp_radian_65.php I tried this seat with my 95th percentile four year old and she has nearly four and a half inches of torso growth left before she would be too tall for the seat. So we’re going to buy one soon. We just bought a smaller car and are selling our van because I was able to find a seat that would fit.
Hmmm…Have you heard much about converting a diesel to run on veggie oil? Intriguing concept, which I’ve read a little about here and there…however I don’t know all the *specifics* yet. My husband and I are just now starting to really toy with the idea.
Interesting post!!
Peace,
Jamie
argh this is such a frustrating topic for me.
I really feel that everyone is missing the point about energy consumption. America has this obsessive love affair with the automobile.
“we MUST keep motoring at ALL COSTS” seems to be the general consciousness. “our advancements in technology will allow us to maintain our lifestyles” is yet another myth that people want to buy into.
no! the only solution to consuming less energy is to downsize your life. (for obvious reasons this is not a popular solution).
why is so much discussion about ‘green’ cars???
Has nobody considered that taking public transit, biking, and walking are the most responsible methods of transportation??? Why are we not lobbying for better transit systems in our cities and towns?
Why are our governments still investing in freeways and overpasses at the expense of transit systems?
Buses and light rail are infinitely more efficient than the personal automobile. For smaller trips, consider cycling and walking!
The reason this is difficult is because in the last 50 years our cities have been built in an increasingly sprawling decentralized method that makes public transit extremely difficult to implement.
Trying busing in the suburbs. Not fun.
The neighborhood you live in greatly affects your levels of consumption. Do you live somewhere where you can walk to the store? The bank? Your church?
Do you live somewhere that walking and cycling is even a pleasurable experience?
New housing subdivisions are not exactly friendly places to the pedestrian or cyclist.
Who wants to walk through a maze of cul-de-sacs and feeder routes along wide garage-fronted streets and high fences? There are rarely even sidewalks in these places!!!
This is why i maintain that the choice of neighborhood in which we live is also an environmental decision.
…does anyone agree with any of this, or am I way out in left field here????
The thing is jac, most of us don’t live in walkable cities. I do sometimes walk to a local restaurant with my two soon to be three children, but there is little else within walking distance (a gas station, but what’s the point of walking to a gas station). It is not safe for a pregnant woman and two kids to ride bikes in our neighborhood. I wish that it were, but it isn’t. We live where we live because it was the least expensive place that we could find that was relatively safe for children.
Most walkable cities are very expensive. I used to live in one, but we couldn’t afford it once we had children. So suggestions on how to change the planning of the infrastructure of our cities is helpful. But just saying “move” is really impossible for us at this point. It doesn’t make sense to get angry because we are trying to find the best solutions within the structure that we live in.
That said, when we do have enough to buy a home we hope to find something close enough for my husband to walk to work. Most of us have little influence on how our cities are structured but we can decide what kind of car to buy within our budget. So that’s why we’re talking about it.
The thing is, indie, is that when it comes to transportation, there ARE alternatives to the personal car. People just have to get creative and pro-active.
Community groups in many cities, even suburbs, have gotten together and lobbied for better transit service in their neighborhood. Other communities have done things like instead of buying a first or second family vehicle, co-invested in a large community van and shared a group carpool. While this only works for the Monday-Friday 9-5’ers, it saves a lot of money on the vehicle purchase/insurance, on gas, and on parking downtown.
This is just one form of semi-public transit.
With the rising cost of fuel, car-sharing has become an attractive option. This is essentially setting up your own rental-car co-op in your neighborhood. (each person contributes according how many miles they drive per week). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_sharing
As for “changing the planning of our infrastructure of our cities”, my field is city planning, so I’m working on it.
But I still maintain that people have a choice. Of course, families may not be able to afford to buy a 2500 square foot house with a big lawn in a walkable community, but that brings out a whole new aspect of consumption. Of course, the energy that a large home costs to build, furnish, heat, cool, etc is much greater than a small home.
For people who are over 50, they will recall that the culturally acceptable standard of living is a lot different now than it was less than half a century ago.
Who, exactly, told us that we NEED this much personal space?
If you don’t want to look at recent history, look at other cultures. Japan… Europe… the developing world… Surely they would visit our houses and wonder why on earth we need a dining room AND a breakfast nook, or a living room AND a family room, why each child has his/her own bedroom, and what we mean by a “master suite”.
Perhaps we could afford houses in walkable neighborhoods if we chose to sacrifice some space.
Other than downsizing, another source of affordable housing is in undesirable neighborhoods.
Why shouldn’t Christians move into low-income neighborhoods and share life with the ‘least of these’?
Should we really be motivated by fear?
I suppose this is getting too long and I should write my own post called something like “where would Jesus live?” and continue my rant there.
Sorry for offending you, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I guess I’m talking about our personal situation and realizing that there are others like me who do not have so many options. We have no illusions about the amount of space that we need. When we were a family of three we tried to rent a one bedroom so that we could save money because our children share our room anyway and we were financially quite constrained. But no one would let us rent one. So we rented the cheapest two bedroom even though we couldn’t afford it and actually had to lie about our income on the application in order to qualify. Recently we tried to find a place to rent closer to where my husband works (he was forced to find a different job because of impending lay offs so we had to commute a bit). Most things were more expensive, many were next door to the kind of rent by the day or week places that attract prostitution and drugs and we were told time and time again that the owners didn’t want to rent to a family of four. Maybe a family of three they said, but a family of four was too many for their two bedroom rentals. It is not my fault that our society is so backwards. We are saving up to buy a house and we plan to buy in a lower income neighborhood. Heck, that’s all that we can afford. I have no desire to ever own a 2500 square foot home nor could I afford the utilities even if I didn’t care about the waste.
When we lived in Boston I did a combination of riding public transportation and walking to get to work, to go to doctors appointments, the video store, restaurants, etc. It was very easy and I loved it. Unfortunately where we live now only has minimal public transportation with hours for 9-5 commuters only. I would have to walk with my children about two miles down a narrow busy road with no sidewalks. And then come back again.
If there are folks here who have the money to make better decisions, then please do. But understand that some of us don’t and yet we are doing everything within our means to make the best of the structures in which we exist.
We normally share one car in our family. We just downgraded to something smaller and more gas efficient and are looking to sell our van. People in our community already think that we’re crazy for only having one car. I once had someone stop me when I was walking with my children and offer to help buy me a car. Downgrading is so incomprehensible to people in our community. Until this year we were the biggest city in the U.S. with no commuter rail system and people were balking at the idea of putting one in. How do we change these totally ingrained attitudes? I have no idea. If you do please share. I take no offense and welcome ideas.
I said it was a discussion question, and WOW, we got some discussion going. Thanks everyone, and sorry I’ve been absent from the conversation. Here’s my quick take, one at a time:
Sam: agreed we should be taking action rather then reading research. However, the reason I’m inquiring into the research is I don’t want to jump on a bandwagon and find out it’s not accomplishing the goals we set out to accomplish. In other words, I don’t want to be cruising around in my honda when I should have been driving an H3 hummer baby!
Indie: I’d love for you to see if you find any holes in it. I did think it might have been “sponsored” by big business, but I think they would have then made a nicer website and done a bit more PR. Thanks for the carseat tip also.
Jamie: I’ve totally heard about the bio-desiel thing, in fact we almost bought a car to do that with and then decided not to at the last minute. If I get a chance I’d love to do it sometime.
Jac: thanks for your input and your questioning of the status quo. I think your absolutely right about us needing to step away from our assumptions and dependency on automobiles. We really can find alternatives, we just need to seek them out.
Indie: I hear you loud and clear. Knowing you just a little bit, I think your heart is in the right place. I think you and Jac agree fundamentally on the changes that need to be made in our world, and your struggling with the tensions of living those out for your family. Don’t lose sleep over it, your doing a great job and I know you won’t settle for the status quo.
Jac: Thanks for being willing to challenge others, I think your ideas and challenges are excellent and valid. We need people like you in the world, and particularly in the church. A collective body of people could pool their resources and find solutions that would help folks like Indie really live out her convictions (the same ones you have I think) in the ways she would like.