It's Time to Wake Up
By John O'Dell November 29, 2007 It would be heartbreaking if it hadn't been expected.The new "avoiders" study from J.D. Power and Associates finds that environmental concern is one of the least cited of the reasons people give for picking one car (or truck) while avoiding a competing model.
Fuel economy, though, is one of the most frequently mentioned reasons people cite for selecting one vehicle over another.
The reason is pretty simple: we have to pay for gas or diesel, so we know the direct cost and feel it directly when the price goes up.
But in a nation that until recently has denied the existence of global warming and that still values immediate return over long-term security, John and Jane Q. Public really have no idea of the environmental cost of their car-buying decisions. We pay, but not directly. There's no line on our skyrocketing health care bills that breaks out air pollution's contribution to our various illnesses; no calculation on the wrapper of the impact climate change has had on the price of a loaf of bread. So we put it out of mind and worry about the cost of gasoline.
We can wish all we might that people would care enough to find out. But we are a country whose history suggests a preference for rolling along with the status quo until disaster strikes and we're forced to marshal our resources and find a fix, or face dire consequences.
That's how we triumphed in both World Wars, won the space race (we did win, didn't we?), beat the British in 1778 (and 1815), and battled our way out of the Great Depression.
It would be nice, once in a while, to come up with solutions before crisis was upon us -- although there are many respected scientists who say the environment is in crisis already.
But whether an environmental crisis is here now, is lurking just around the corner, or even is decades of continued indulgence and foolishness away, here's hoping this one little finding in the Power survey wakes us up to the need to educate ourselves about how we can mitigate the impact of our automotive choices.
Before it's too late.
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The American public does not deny global warming. It is obvious, depending on where you live, it is warmer. But is that a bad thing? After all, the opposite of warmer is what, ah yes, colder!
I do believe the American public (myself included) do look with skepticism at politicians. There is always an agenda hiding somewhere. Global warming has become global climate change because....the facts are changing, which of course means, there should be open debate. But where is the open debate? This is exactly why there is distrust and skepticism.
Ask yourself this; how is it possible to differeniate exhaled carbon dioxide from other sources? Many Americans (me included) see a rise in carbon dioxide trailing the rise in temperatures, not vice versa.
All things considered, American technology will, once again, find common sense ways (profitable of course) to develop alternative fuel sources, reduce pollution (automobiles and factories), to free us from the dependency of foreign oil. Capitalism, not (bigger) government is the answer. The American public will choose...with their pocket books.
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