Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
me, I feel stupid riding around in such things and I often ask myself "Doesn't that guy (in x SUV, PU, Hummer, open pipe chopper, etc.) feel like the biggest douche on the planet?"
|
Sure, but we all necessarily make some impact.
It would be valid to argue that another (existing) life form on Earth could hypothetically become as prolific as us - at the expense of the planet's ecology - but it
wouldn't be burdened with a conscience and therefore would simply consume and adapt until the literal limits of the ecosystem reigned it in. At no point would it feel like a douche. When seen in that context, it's a little douchey of the universe to expect me to individually take any responsibility at all, when a wildly successful species of fungus could just eat up the whole planet without even the slightest pang of guilt.
I know how the above represents me, but I still believe it's a valid point.
To that end, I drive a v8 powered SUV. At face value, it burns a lot of gasoline when I drive it and someone in a Yaris has probably pointed at me and said "Check out that douche!". Sure, but it's hardly the whole story. It's 10 years old and with good care I'll get another 10 out of it, reducing the impact of disposal, manufacture and shipping another new vehicle or two in that timeframe. And that's still not the whole story - we live in a multifaceted world.
How many hypermilers have ecomodded their babymaker?
