Do Americans love big cars or got no choice?

Source: BBC World
Friday, 30 August, 2002, 00:09 GMT 01:09 UK
Eco-action unclear for Americans
Americans are said to love big cars
By Kevin Anderson
The United States has launched a diplomatic counterattack at the world summit in Johannesburg to counter the impression that it is not engaged in issues abroad.
Many Americans are unaware of the summit
The US delegation said it would commit some $2.4bn to support partnerships between industry and foundations in what was described as a "new approach" to dealing with the issues of energy, clean water, sanitation and hunger. A half a world away on the streets of Washington, many Americans were unaware of the summit, although they said environmental issues were important to them. Many agreed with environmental criticism levelled against Americans, but they also expressed frustration at how to better the environment, saying they felt there was little they could do. Bigger is better culture Emma Magavern grew up on the banks of Lake Erie. She has fond memories of swimming when she was young, but lately she said, "there`s dead fish all over." The United States gobbles way more of the supply of fresh water than we have a right to Emma Magavern There is garbage in the water. The lake smells, and people get rashes from swimming in the water. She does what she can to help the environment. She recycles, and she says her step-father is very involved in efforts to protect Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. But for many environmentalists, the United States is a symbol of voracious consumption, and Emma agrees. "The United States gobbles way more of the supply of fresh water than we have a right to," Emma said.

had been covering the world summit. The SUV is the status vehicle to have right now... It just burns gas Richard Weber The environment and education are two issues of most concern to him, and he believes that the US does too little to address its ecological ills. He decried America`s throw-away society and it`s "bigger is better" ethos, whether it was the cars they drive or the large McMansions they build. He pointed to the large sport utility vehicles rounding Washington`s Dupont Circle. "The SUV is the status vehicle to have right now," he said. "It just burns gas." Emma agreed that Americans` driving habits are wasteful, but she thought there was little that could be done to reverse the trend of ever larger vehicles. In this case, consumers` taste trumps environmental concerns. "They can get there just as quickly in a small car that is more economical and doesn`t produce as much waste," she said. "You can hardly force people to buy small cars." US leadership needed More than 100 world leaders plan on attending the summit, but President George Bush will not attend. He is spending August on what aides call a "working vacation" on his Texas ranch. The president`s decision to skip the summit can do little to improve his environmental image, already tarnished in the eyes of the rest of the world for walking away from the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Emma thought that the US definitely needed to take a leadership role on environmental issues, but for her it was not as important whether the president attended or others in the US government that deal with environmental issues. "Whether it`s the president or not, I don`t think makes a difference, as long as it is someone who can do something," she said. Richard was not surprised that President Bush chose not to attend the world summit in Johannesburg. "It makes sense for him. It makes sense for what he stands for and who elected him," he said.
"What worries me is not the violence of the few, but the indifference of the many"
"Lo que a mi me preocupa no es la violencia de unos pocos, sino la indiferencia de los muchos"
M.L. King Jr.

What, exactly, is preventing you or anyone else from driving a Honda Civic (or the small car of your choice, for that matter)?

We Americans do have choices, but except for a couple of tree-hugging freaks, we always pick the worst. We have pollution and ridiculous fuel consumption that can be fixed with a stroke of a pen in Washington. But that`s not their solution. Bush has managed to lower pollution standards and wants to annex Iraq to make up for our lack oil efficiency.

You seem to have a very strange idea about liberty. If behavior does not conform to your liking it should not exist. That is not how it is supposed to work. Very arrogant of you, don`t you think?

playing field. Big powerful and fast cars and trucks have been romanticized for going on 100 years. This plays on the stimulus from the experience of being in control of that much power or that much machine which satisfies some psychological need to dominate or extend our influence and reach. The go farther commercials used by a certain SUV manufacturer exemplify this.
The romantic pitch leaves out a few details though. Details like the invisible byproducts of these machines which are hidden from the common perceptions of the average end user. Toxic gases from the tailpipe, toxic liquids and smokestack fumes from the multitudes of producers involved in bringing the vehicle together.
The costs of living in a world where the only remaining superpower is so addicted to oil that its whole geopolitical establishment is now openly avowed to "protecting our strategic interests" in the Middle East. So what is the "strategy" in these strategic interests. Spend 100`s of billions of dollars in military expenditures are a taxes of sorts on the American public as a result of the rampant greed of of Capitalistic State that that only sees value in a mentality striving for more, bigger, faster, farther.
Here is a little known fact of life. Sometimes Less is More. Almost invariably the hidden costs of having it all will not rise to the surface until long after the fact. This is time proven wisdom folks.
Keywords: Gas Guzzlers, war in iraq, oil embargo, oil shipping, fuel saving vehicles, reduced dependence on foreign oil, electric cars, alternative fuel vehicles, Solar powered vehicles, hydrogen powered cars, fuel cell technology, hybrid cars, gas mileage, fuel economy, fuel efficiency, mpg, mpl, small cars, economy cars, oil consumption, highway mpg, city mpg, auto safety, truck safety,

trucks we choose to drive is one issue, the factories that build them is another. If we all started buying cars like the Civic, the smoke stacks would still be spewwing out the toxic fumes. So, we shouldn`t blame the fumes on the products made, and we should seek solutions to those fumes by making the production process cleaner. And, toxic gasses from the tail pipe can easily be fixed, some have said that all we need is more efficient catalytic converters. better or worse than Toyota Avalon that gets 25mpg? (I am not picking on Toyota, they just make names that I can recall right now, and the size and price are similar.) produce plastic products. These products are exported to the rest of the world.

result of those two oil embargoes of the 1970`s. You see, back then, people thought, you all are going laugh at this, that dependence on foreign oil would cause future economic and political instability. Ha, ha, what a bunch of morons. You are right, on an academic level, it is arrogant to ask my government to force my fuel-efficiency beliefs onto the automakers. We all have attractive nuisance laws that apply to children and I am guilty of applying that same reasoning that is used with young and clueless as with older and clueless.
This is a quote from the our house of representatives, the same group that voted FOR the homeland security bill.
On August 1, the House rejected an amendment from Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) to place new fuel efficiency standards for autos. The amendment would close the loophole that allows SUVs and other light trucks to meet a lower fuel efficiency standard than other passenger cars. In addition, the amendment would provide car manufacturers with incentives to produce alternative fuel vehicles. Final Vote: 160-269.

"Got no choice"? What, exactly, is preventing you or anyone else from driving a Honda Civic (or the small car of your choice, for that matter)? Doug
Orlando says:
Suppose I wanted to "burn the calories" and ride a bicycle where I know drive, you think that`s possible?
Despite what some hardcore cyclists tell you... it ain`t...
PS: Look for the word FORCED below... making people fat and sick, on the one hand, and the proliferation of highly-processed, low-fat products, on the other, I would respond: "You gotta burn the calories!!!" How? Well, I leave it to your imagination... But, as the following opinion shows, is doesn`t seem to be an easy task in America...
Having lived in the US last year, I can say most of the comments here belittling this lawsuit stem from ignorance of life in the US. People here in the UK are MUCH more aware of what is healthy. In the US "Big Food" dominates the airwaves and the vast majority of people are genuinely misinformed. Americans live off processed food regularly now.
Having said that, I think the lawsuit is partially misguided because bad food is no more than half the problem of obesity that is now coming to the fore in the US. The other half is the lifestyle the country imposes on people. In the US you are literally FORCED to drive everywhere - even a 5 minute hop to a local supermarket. People live in a system where they do everything sitting down. So it is not just that massive amounts of calories (with little nutrition) are readily and cheaply on offer, but that burning any of it off in the normal course of a day is near impossible. James, UK
"What worries me is not the violence of the few, but the indifference of the many"
"Lo que a mi me preocupa no es la violencia de unos pocos, sino la indiferencia de los muchos"
M.L. King Jr.

http://hpv.tricolour.net/vic/HPmove/index.html http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm ...and on and on

drivers seat? Get a workout on the drive to work! Handlebars operate steering, brake levers operate front and rear brakes, etc.

the Civic. My car is mid-size. There are several models that are quite a bit larger than my car, but quite a few that`re smaller.

=v= Choices do seem to be more and more limited. There`s also a mistaken idea afoot that it`s safer to buy bigger cars, and so many get caught up in a sort of "arms race" that makes it more dangerous for *everyone*. <_Jym_>
P.S.: This thread was originally posted to many newgroups where it`s off-topic. I`ve set followups accordingly. Please note in particular that alt.poligics.greens is intended for discussions about the Green Party and Green movements worldwide; not for any random "green" topic. That`s what talk.environment is for.

is not "afoot." This idea has been around since the beginning of time, and has covered virtually transportation scheme that man has used. In the case of the automobile, the cars got progressively larger through out 40s and 50, until an apparent "critical mass" was reached and cars couldn`t get any bigger. Sure, it is possible to make them physically larger, but they eventually exceed the infrastructure`s (roads, parking lots, and residential garages and driveways) capacity to accommodate them.
In the 70s we figured out that we had serious issues with efficiency and fuel consumption. The automakers, albeit at government prodding, set about to improve fuel economy and reduce pollution. We could likely achieve even better efficiency and fuel consumption rates, and certainly there is a demand for this.
Consumers want good fuel economy, but the demand large cars too. The car maker that can build a large that gives 30 mpg will sell thousand of them before the others can catch up. Consumers have repeatedly shown that they will take size over economy, so it stands to reason that if we can figure out how to give size and economy, then this is a winning combination. Personally, I prefer a smaller car because I like to drive fast, so a large car doesn`t suit my needs. But, my neighbors feel like they need size over speed, and who am I to argue with them? If they buy an SUV that gives 25mpg, and my car gets 25mpg, then who am I to say that they suck up too much gas, if their car is equally efficient as mine?

Nothing. I know lots of life-long Americans who drive small cars such as the Civic. My car is mid-size. There are several models that are quite a bit larger than my car, but quite a few that`re smaller.
Orlando says:
Nothing is preventing you from driving a small cars, except...
1. The few small cars available, really suck. They lack the character, performance and quality of a Ford Focus, Beetle or Mini. They seem to be the only choices left...
2. Buying a small car is like choosing to be the prey of the Jungle that Americans roads are, the predators being the SUVs...
3. In a society where bigger is better (for business), choosing to be a small car owner takes a lot of confidence...
"What worries me is not the violence of the few, but the indifference of the many"
"Lo que a mi me preocupa no es la violencia de unos pocos, sino la indiferencia de los muchos"
M.L. King Jr.

their fault, damn Molson eh?