Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead
The $0.17 drop (a 5% change) in the price of gas in the last month is saving $73,000,000/day.
|
The current mindset of this country, or one of the current mindsets is that bigger is better, to economize is a weakness or wimpy, and consumption is a God given right, an entitlement if you will.
I live in a liberal town, can't blink without seeing a Prius. However I know this is not the norm.
Recently I was traveling on the highway in a construction zone and could not get over to the slow lane. Some A-hole in a full sized raised 4WD pickup truck was tailgating me, eager to speed while road workers were present. When I could, I got over to the right and he passed like a bat out of hell. Then he purposely gunned his engine and let go a huge cloud of black Diesel soot. However by that time we were in a curve and the wind was such that the soot went on to the cars behind him, and not on me. This was fortunate for me, as I was in my vintage 911 (26 mpg) with the targa top off.
I present this story as evidence of an attitude of hate for small cars, and the sense of entitlement some in larger vehicles have about consumption and pollution. And although not everyone in the country is an arrogant hick, there are just as many of them as economy minded sort of people.
If the 1/2 of the country which practices self destructive consumption were to get on board with the economy minded folk, we could save a whole lot of resources. However for that to happen, education and a political change cross all boundaries and traditions will have to occur. Our very culture will have to change.