Health warning call for SUVs 01 December 04

The problem is not so much with the SUV but with the people who buy them and how they are ultimately used.

If the SUV was to be used sparingly for isolated sports events or to transport kids and cargo, it would not be so bad since it may replace the use of 2 vehicles and can then serve at least a functional purpose.

But this is not how SUVs are often used. Many use their SUVs as their sole vehicle and drive to work in rush hour traffic making matters much worse with respect to emissions.

For those who feel they should own an SUV for a specific purpose, then I think these people should be responsible enough to own a fuel efficient economy car for going to work.

They should avoid rush hour traffic and not use their SUV if their economy car can serve the same purpose. If a person cannot afford 2 vehicles and use their SUV responsibly, then I say they have no business owning an SUV to begin with.

In addition, I was talking to my neighbor about this subject not long ago when I made these previous points to him. He then mentioned that many people buy small pickup trucks and they never use them for the purpose intended which is to transport items that cannot fit in a regular automobile.

Small pickup trucks, like SUVs, are heavier and have more powerful engines for a purpose, so they will tend to create more emissions.

There is the hope of a hybrid SUV coming on the market soon. That may help.

So, my main point here is that the SUV is not the main problem. The problem is with the people who buy them and how they are used.

The reason that these people buy them is because they do not yet have the inner awareness of their own responsibility to prevent climate change.

If the root problem of ignorance were corrected, then many people would probably not buy these vehicles to begin with and the people who do will have it parked in their driveway most of the time.

So, what does this all mean for the people reading my post who do not own an SUV and strive to do their very best to be responsible about climate-change prevention?

It means that you have a responsibility to effectively help the people who do not have your awareness. Only when we are aware, can we be responsible. It is therefore our duty to have the courage to not always be silent and help others to come to your own awareness. When you help others become aware, then you make them responsible!

Amazing what information we have today.

I followed your FOE link through to the Department of Transport MORI study on the impact of the Graduated Vehicle Excise Tax; and a quick look through the results seemed to indicate that there was popular support for this tax, and that it was influencing people in the cars they would choose.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Gordon Brown extended this tax to be tougher on SUVs at the next budget.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_027589.hcsp

Note to Chris : I did not write that “Taxis seem to work”.

Ford has come out with a hybrid Escape SUV that gets 36 mpg city & 31 mpg hwy. So that would be the ONLY one I would endorse, though they are still dangerous (whatever happend to the safer stationwagon for hauling kids & things?). But we are forgetting the real issue here. SUVs are UUUUGLYYY, and their popularity just goes to show how truly low civilization has sunk.

I think the best bet for green automobiles is not the hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell car, but the electric car – which is good for 2-car families (the other one could be hybrid or hydrogen for the trip beyond the electric car’s range). However, I think that the big auto industries have been buying up a lot of the advanced battery and electric car designs with the idea of never manufacturing them.

There are electric vehicle clubs around the country. I never had time to get involved, but the Fox Valley Electric Vehicle Associationone in Illinois meet once a month at a local community college. I heard of members who had never held a screwdriver in their lives, who were able to convert ICE cars to electric. EVs are much cheaper to run & maintain than ICE cars. Their only drawback is a limited range before needing a recharge – fine for commuters & shorter trips. There’s a book on EVs, WHY WAIT FOR DETROIT?

Lynn is correct that the best solution to reduce our vehicle emissions is to create vehicles that produce fewer emissions and for more people to own them. In addition, we can improve our own driving habits and become less wasteful. We have invested so much in the automobile and roadways in the USA that it would be easier to improve our vehicles than it would be to change our automobile infrastructure built over a century.

From the laws of physics, the internal combustion engine for vehicles has a maximum of about 20 percent efficiency. A hydrogen fuel cell with an electric motor has a maximum efficiency of about 70 percent. This is only reflective of the potential of a vehicle’s power system.

The energy required to accelerate and decelerate a vehicle is linearly proportional to a vehicle’s mass. Lighter vehicles use less energy partly for this reason. Many hybrids mitigate this problem by recapturing the energy needed during acceleration from extracting the energy from braking to recharge the batteries.

For any vehicle, storing a heavy load inside adds more mass and therefore, it will use more energy when driving. Removing the heavy load from the vehicle and storing it somewhere else reduces that extra energy use of the vehicle.

If you do not own a hybrid then, driving at a constant speed as much as possible will save energy since there is less acceleration required. Notice how you use your brakes! Anytime the brakes are used much more than needed is a sign that the driver can improve his fuel efficiency. Excessive braking is required when a driver accelerates to a higher than necessary speed and then quickly brakes (like the unnecessary rush to a traffic light). The added bonus of avoiding rapid acceleration and deceleration (braking) is less stress and wear on the vehicle components. This is especially true for the brakes.

The energy used by a vehicle is also dependent on how fast it is moving. The energy required for a vehicle to resist the air goes up by the square of its velocity. Traveling at 50 mph has 4 times the air resistance when traveling at 25 mph. Traveling at 70 mph has twice the air resistance at 50 mph and 8 times the air resistance at 25 mph. So, good aerodynamics reduces the energy required to overcome air resistance and is most important when traveling at higher speeds. Vehicles with better aerodynamics use less fuel at higher speeds.

In any event, it is best to go near the speed limit of the road one is traveling to use the least energy and be a safe and responsible driver. Making sure you plan all your trips with extra time to make your appointment will help prevent any desire to drive faster and accelerate more than necessary when navigating traffic. This saves energy and reduces emissions. It is also safer. Avoiding excessive high speeds increase the life of a vehicle and its engine.

Engine Idling when the vehicle is stationary is a major source of energy waste for our standard internal combustion engines. Many hybrids solve this problem by turning the engine off when the vehicle is momentarily stationary.

If the vehicle is not a hybrid, a responsible driver would avoid rush hour traffic and travel a route that has the fewest traffic lights. He would avoid running the engine when the vehicle is stationary or parked. I have formed the habit of avoiding rush hour traffic. I will not go through any drive-through service at a bank, but will park my car and go inside to do my business instead. I will never idle my car while parked even for a minute. I will never idle my car so it can warm up to melt ice and snow on the windshield. Instead, I will clear the windshield manually.

The notion that a car needs to warm up a long time in cold weather is a myth. The actual warm-up time required is but a minute or two as long as the engine is not overstressed too much by rapid acceleration from the driveway just after starting up. Most people over do this warm-up period and reducing this time would save fuel.

So, the conclusion here is that Lynn is correct again. We can improve our vehicles and I just added how we can improve some of our driving habits.

In addition, I can add that proper maintenance is helpful. It is helpful to make sure a vehicle’s tires are inflated. Changing the oil often improves engine life. A tuned up engine uses less energy. Dirty air filters keep a car from getting the required oxygen to burn the fuel correctly. A car that has an emission control problem will have a fuel efficiency problem as well. If the wheel bearings are worn, then this adds more friction.

I spent some time learning how to maintain my 89 Toyota out of necessity because of the expense of using poor mechanics. Once certain items were corrected, not only was my car properly maintained, I experienced a major boost in my fuel economy at 40 miles per gallon in a long trip to another state. I noticed how little gasoline I used while driving and I did become excited at my own efforts because I never had this high mileage before. This was higher than the manufacturer rating for this particular vehicle.

So, reduced driving, good driving habits, and proper vehicle maintenance can help reduce emissions no matter what vehicle we are driving. Proper maintenance becomes more important as the vehicle ages.

I hope my contribution in this post is helpful. If the reader has a teenage son or daughter just learning how to drive a car, then maybe what I wrote about driving habits can be shared with them.

Maybe they are learning about the laws of physics and what I shared may be of benefit. Maybe your son or daughter will grow up and create the vehicles of the future. Maybe you know about someone else who has a son or daughter who would benefit.

It is important to share so we can increase awareness! That is why I try to include information in my posts which I think can be of immediate benefit!

I think that your efforts to share helpful information with others can make a huge difference to climate-change prevention.

Truly, the main problem is widespread ignorance about climate science and preventative measures we all can do right now!

Given that Mr. Brown has just seen fit to NOT increase fuel duties this year (told you I read BBC.co.uk!), I wouldn’t be holding my breath on this one, Mark. I suppose we should all be saying how happy we are that they are making hybrid SUVs now, but…well, NO, WE SHOULDN’T!! Stop making SUVs! Heck, stop making CARS! That’s what we should be saying! But I think the health warnings will have a better chance of happening. (roll eyes)

Did you see the WWF Passport letter to the EU? Asking them to demand GHG cuts of up to 80% while they’re at COP 10 next week? It’ll never happen, of course, but wouldn’t it be a neat Christmas present?

Even hybrid SUVs are, of course, a cop-out. If you lift your eyes to the global situation, you have one SUV model and a handful of car models producing less CO2, but nothing significant being actually achieved to reduce the increase of greenhouse gases worldwide. Hybrid cars are far from pollution-free and may give those who drive them a mistaken warm glow that their driving is not contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect. Think of the mining of the products to make the cars and their fuel, the transport and processing of those products, the trees ripped out to pave roads and carparks. Aside from our interests here, think also of the increasing problems of road-rage, accidents (with their deaths and – I would argue – even worse, the crippling injury of the still living), the unpleasant manifestations of individualism and the ill health caused by lack of simple walking. Private motorized transport, and the culture associated with it, is a blight on the planet. SUVs are just the worst aspect of this blight, not its only one. To see hybrid vehicles or even hydrogen-powered cars touted – and accepted – as a solution to global warming makes me despair.

Keith,

I looked up your webpage and I see you are aware that our basic evolution spanned many millenniums compared to our modern era and that we have become detached and disconnected from our ancient past. Interesting ideas!

Private motorized transport may be difficult to convince people to abandon. Even Mark is against cars and planes but he used them in his travels in order to document climate change and to communicate in person with your people.

My SUV post was more about responsibility than about SUVs and I provided ideas that a current owner of an SUV can do and ideas that would reduce emissions for everyone who drives any vehicle. I think my ideas offered an immediate benefit of reduced emissions.

Likewise, Lynn brought to our attention advanced vehicles that reduce emissions.

I posted my response that making the car more efficient would be easier than changing our infrastructure and this is a fact.

Therefore I am totally for more fuel efficient vehicles and that includes trucks and SUVs. I think this is still helping to solve the problem.

I still believe in infrastructure changes that enable people to drive less and walk more instead. More sidewalks! More bike paths!

The county where I live is so expensive that people of modest incomes are forced to live in a neighboring county and therefore are forced to travel long distances to their jobs in my county.

This is wrong and I am involved with groups seeking solutions to help change how metropolitan areas are developed.

The people who travel more miles than necessary are forced to do this. Many would be happy to live closer to their jobs if they only could afford to do so. This is just one of the problems that force private motorized transport.

And these, my friend, are real problems that require focused attention to come up with pragmatic viable solutions with determined persistence to bring better ways to the attention of the people who can change them.

The people involved in these efforts have no time for despair. They are way too busy trying to solve problems instead.

Now, I walk as much as possible when I can and that has reduced my car use tremendously. I do not own an SUV and never will own one.

Lynn made a comment about SUVs being ugly and asked the question about why we do not use station wagons instead but she is still for a more fuel efficient SUV anyway and she mentioned what was available in her posts so we are aware. I still support that!

I am aware these steps are not sufficient but I do not believe neither my posts nor Lynn’s posts were meant to encourage SUV use.

I think we simply want to inform a reader of all options that reduce emissions and believe any effort to reduce at any level is still beneficial.

We still should always strive to do better! We have to! No argument there!

Sincerely, Dan

I agree with you right the way through, Dan. I jumped in too hastily with my thoughts; I should have inserted a linking para first to clarify how my post followed on. And I hope I didn’t give you the impression that I thought you were supporting SUVs – or an increase of any sort in fossil fuel use.

Australia, like the US (I think that’s where you are) has many new towns and cities designed for car-based commuting and, thus, the consumption of cheap fossil fuels. Many people feel trapped into the need to work to earn more money and thus to burn more fuel along the way.

Sadly, if you analyse it, so many of us are on the treadmill “to buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like” And that’s sad, not just for the individuals, but for the planet.

You referred to infrastructure changes – these are vital. No ‘white collar’ worker should have to commute beyond cycling/public transport distance these days when telecommuting is possible.

Where we may differ is in our repective positions on the urgency and seriousness of the problem. If the problem is as urgent and as serious as I think it is, then people who are still driving on other than exceptional occasions need to examine critically whether they are running dual standards. This is a tough ask (I’m human and I have lots of dual standards) and I don’t assume that I’m necessarily correct in my take on things. This is almost a no-go area in climate change discussions. I accept that my position is right out there and this makes me feel like one of those ultra-religious people who predict the end of the world – and end up being ridiculed when nothing happens.

Have you visited http://www.carbusters.org/? – great site.

(I should add that I am well aware that fossil fuels are used for purposes other than private transport. Domestic heating is another massive contributor to climate change – but that’s another story!)

Keith

Keith,

You are totally correct about the urgency and seriousness of the problem. I understand this more than you may realize. I mentioned briefly in my previous post that I was aware that those simple ideas I posted would not be sufficient to prevent climate change.

Your post was important in articulating the awareness that these are merely tiny measures and we must really look deeper into changing our modern values of prosperity and what truly is important to make us happy.

I think that your thoughts about a person owning a hybrid SUV to have a warm glow in that they feel they are adequately doing their part takes their guilt away and for them it may be practicing self delusion.

I understand this and I have a technical solution to that problem. I think everyone should be measured in terms of individual greenhouse gas emissions and then compared to an average or ideal standard. Then, everyone is aware at least. What government can do to help them reduce closer to an ideal measure through the use of a stick (tax) or a carrot (bribe) is another creative effort in itself.

Your thoughts about people feeling trapped into gaining prosperity and status are important. In America, they call it the rat race. On one level, we make individual decisions that burn more fuel and on the other hand we are sometimes forced into a position without a means to easily reduce simply because of limited options available and the need to simply have food and shelter.

I can use myself as a great example to articulate the benefits of increasing responsibility and awareness for everyone. I lived in Atlanta, Georgia and for 2 months, I rode a bicycle instead of a car to work 7 miles one way with my suit rolled up in my backpack. This was done mostly out of necessity since my old car died and I preferred to save up for a new one.

I enjoyed the experience to my amazement and it amazed people at work how I could be so at ease with my circumstances. I lost 24 pounds of weight and became very fit. I learned to function almost entirely without a car. Sometimes when it was raining, people offered me a ride and I took it. This was rare and I was basically self sufficient in my own ability to transport myself.

I felt good about not producing any greenhouse gases and my engineering mind pondered over the simple basic technology of the bicycle. One concept that stuck with me is the difference of weight between a bicycle and an automobile. The lighter we make vehicles, the better gas mileage they can get. Just as a lighter bicycle maximizes human energy-efficiency.

Since then, I moved back to live in northern Virginia which is located in the Metropolitan Washington DC area. I have 2 cars. One which needs expensive repair. I cannot fix it till Spring since I do not have the money to repair it now.

I like that car because it is sporty and it got 40 miles to the gallon when I drove back to Virginia in the move.

The other car that works drinks gasoline and has about 16 miles to a gallon. It is an old car and not an SUV. It is simply an inefficient vehicle. I cannot afford another vehicle so I use it as little as possible now which is the only viable solution I have at the moment. I walk as much as possible for simple errands.

Now this gas guzzling vehicle was my father’s car and I got it when he died last year which is why I am staying with Mom. I use this car to drive Mom to the doctor once in a while and mostly it sits for more than a week before it is used.

Even though this car drinks gasoline, my reduction in use was great and I would rather get out more but I am being responsible and my total carbon emissions are definitely lower than everyone I know who uses their fuel efficient vehicles all the time.

Conservation efforts work. I have no guilt in having this vehicle since I am doing my best under my circumstances and this comes from a man who would easily use a bicycle when the infrastructure allowed it. Where I live in Virginia is less friendly and safe for bike traffic.

Quite honestly, my response back to you was to solicit this dialogue we are having right now. I already know truly that we are both on the exact same page. In fact, my basic assumption is that the people who post on Mark’s site are in the Choir of the Church and need no preaching as we already are aware of the magnitude of the problems that lie before us.

However, not everyone has that awareness and any ideas that can help others go the first mile or even the first 10 feet are helpful. Anytime we and others go the extra mile then we accomplished something great. So, that was what I essentially thought you missed. I would rather see everyone own the best fuel efficient vehicles on the market than be in my position. I cannot have a warm glow at all when I drive my car and I really feel restricted not to use it except to transport Mom.

I will say that those who do better at any level make more of difference than we may give them credit for. I say this because I have relatives who are very wasteful and if we influence them, then we make great progress. I have a brother who owns a non-hybrid SUV and he is retired and travels all over the USA and even to Alaska. I cannot reach him yet and he may get Mark’s High Tide for Christmas. We did have a discussion about climate change and he did discover that the people in Alaska said it was much warmer than in was in the past.

I have a sister who makes 200 mile round trips with a friend simply to ride a horse for 2 hours being on the road more than riding the horse. I cannot reach her yet either but she may get Mark’s book for Christmas too. If I can change just a few of my own relatives, then I will have created magic.

What I cannot do at the moment, I can inspire others who can reduce much more than I am. We on Mark’s site are the leadership and we share partly to bolster each other up. I try to do that and I feel I now have a friend in Australia named Keith who supports my best efforts.

Part of my purpose is to encourage others who are aware to help the ones who are not at any level they will listen to. It is the responsibility of the ones who are most aware to do the best they can and this of course includes you Keith and I think you are a very important person and when we share our thoughts on Mark’s site, we gain the extra power of other minds to enable us to be better at reducing our dual standards and to encourage others as well.

The only part of your post that really caused me any concern at all was that other posts meant to increase awareness to encourage others to reduce emissions (at any level) caused you to despair and that this despair decreased your ability to help lead others effectively from seeing the glass half empty to seeing the glass half full instead.

That led me to respond back in the way I did because I consider you Keith to be a very valuable asset and consider you to be a leader in your own country. I only briefly scanned your own web site and discovered many useful ideas.

I have wondered if reducing beef consumption in the USA would also reduce emissions. Cattle produces methane and you indicated that meat production uses more water than wheat. All these ideas are useful and I wonder about those obese folks and how much less fuel they would consume in transport if they weighed less.

What if you took those wonderful ideas and made the climate friendly diet book of how to best diet and exercise to help the planet. Diet books sell and the prosperity gained could be used as a tool to advance the cause.

The money could buy High Tide for every public official. Prosperity is not evil when it is applied to a greater good. The greatest good is always to provide viable solutions to people so they do something.

I am of the opinion that anything is still better than nothing and this leads to something more to build on later. I see the difficulty of humans in changing all their habits and beliefs instantly so I see benefits of a persistence attitude in creating any victory no matter how small. This is not a sprint. It is a marathon!

I care about those who care and we are all on the same team. I call it the climate-change prevention team for lack of a better phrase. And it is part of my purpose to bolster the abilities of the leadership which includes everyone that enters into dialogue on Mark’s site.

Despair is an emotion that we all can have but it is important that we never allow despair to grab hold of us. The emotion of despair causes us to loose a solution-oriented focus.

I do believe we benefit from the power of positive emotions in that they create in any individual a greater power of creative effort.

Despair destroys the mental faculty of creative imagination and we need all the power of our collective minds focused in unity on preventative measures.

Sorry, my friend, you are too responsible and valuable so you do not have the luxury of any despairing thought. It is easy to despair when looking at the great mass of inertia of ignorance before us. But the future paradigm shift will take care of that at some moment in the future and instant awareness will be evident for everyone all over the planet.

And then, all behaviors will be modified instantly and a solution-orientated focus will prevail. People will be looking for leadership and you and I will be called into greater action so prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually because the greatest moments of your life await you!

That is my direct message to you. Call it a pep talk to the team of leaders. The only focus you are allowed to have is one of success!

I want to bolster your confidence and not destroy it. So, to this effect, I hope I can correct any remaining feelings of despair you may have so your emotions will inspire you to even greater creative thought and you unlock the great genius inside you to come out in ever more powerful and productive ways.

My purpose is to help inspire and not create despair so I owe this to you and others who deeply care not to ever loose hope and allow the ignorant to control the destiny of the planet. When we despair, we allow that to happen.

So let us dream of success no matter what the odds may seem in the current moment. The climate has not changed enough yet and we are still alive so in that we still have opportunity.

For me, my focus is prevention and this problem is the greatest problem we have ever faced since our ancient ancestors survived through the last ice age.

Our ancestors evolved larger brains through that struggle of survival and so we are well equipped by our own DNA and have the ability to magnify our collective brain power through the use of language.

Now you in Australia and I in America can communicate our thoughts half way around the globe through the Internet.

I want to look at this situation as the greatest honor and opportunity we could possibly have. What a noble cause it is to save the planet. One day soon everyone will want to be just like you Keith. People will be social outcasts if they are not on the same page. What is happening in drops will one day flow like a mighty river. We are ahead of the game and people will catch up sooner than you think.

The Berlin Wall was a mighty wall and it looked like it would stand forever. One day, in an instant, the critical mass of collective consciousness was reached and instantly an entire culture was dissolved.

The paradigm shift is on the way and every tiny effort we succeed at helps build this critical mass of collective consciousness. This accelerates the time when the critical mass is finally reached and then you will have the collective power of the entire human race focused on solution.

If there was anything I said that sparked your own imagination from reading my post then my effort in writing it served a valuable purpose.

I place the burden on us to become more effective leaders.

I am glad I have a friend in Australia! Keep up the good work!

Best Regards, Dan