Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
This is what amazed me. People gripe about gas prices all the time. But how much do you spend on gas a year? Sure, if you drive 20k miles/year, it starts to matter. But even at 20k miles, if you get 20mpg, you're looking at 1000 gallons/year. That's $3000. But if gas were a dollar less, you're saving only $1000. Is that significant? Sure, but it's not the end of the world. And if you're driving 20k miles, it's probably for business, and you're making some money. And if you're not making money, but driving that much, you probably have a car getting better mileage.
To me, the price of gas is nearly irrelevant. I take public transit, so drive less than 10k/year. And I get 25mpg. I buy maybe 300-400 gallons a year. That's a nice dinner out I'm saving, or maybe two nice dinners. per year.
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Next time a strident environmentalist tees off on SUVs to you, remind him a considerable number of their owners are soccer moms who don't drive all that far.
The SUV is no worse for the environment or our geopolitical interests than a load of other vehicles no one complains about (diesels, motor homes, 18 wheelers, gas guzzling sports cars, boats, etc...). It's a strawman for people of a certain political bent to to take potshots at sector of society espousing values and a lifestyle they don't like.
The environmentalist movement has a lot of good people in it, but until it gets rid of the large percentage of its rank and file who view it as a fundamentalist crusade, its going to remain a laughinstock, with minimal political influence.
