Monday, December 17, 2007

Greenwashing

Remember my post on the unlikely choice of "green car of the year"? The post was up for only an hour before someone from greencar.com left a comment about how Dan Neil and I missed the significant advance... blah blah blah.

Notice that the use of a generic name like greencar.com that sounds sort of like greenercars.org, a website of the veteran non profit, The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy? ACEEE has been working to enlighten the public about the environmental impact of cars for years.

Back in high school physics, we had to calculate the speed at which two vehicles with two different centers of gravity (approximating a passenger vehicle and a truck) can safely take a turn before tipping. The takeaway lesson was that the truck tips over at half the speed that would tip over a passenger car. This lesson stuck with me for life. I am very careful when driving around trucks and I would NEVER, NOT EVER ferry my kids around in a truck. (The SUV hadn't been invented yet.)

The insanity of driving a car on stilts, endangering myself and my passengers. The waste of carrying a ton (or 3) more weight around in stop and go traffic than necessary. The increased emissions of surface level air pollution and greenhouse gases. The antisocial attitude of blocking the sight lines of everyone else, thus endangering them even further...

The worse part about it is that the SUV/truck craze has forced the passenger cars to get taller and fatter as well, just to protect their occupants. This causes all vehicles to use more fuel. It also makes passenger cars more top heavy and tippy as well.

Greenwash that!

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous08:31

    BMGM, you rock!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I hate the way SUVs block sight lines. They always pull alllll the way up to the intersection (well past the white line you're supposed to stop at) and then you have to wait and wait and wait until they turn, because you can't see around them and YOU can't inch out any at all.

    Of course, if SUVs get any taller, soon I'll be able to see UNDER them.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are open for recent posts, but require moderation for posts older than 14 days.