My old vehicle was a 1989 Honda Accord. In both 2002 and 2003, I got
myself stuck in situations that a low-slung front-wheel-drive couldn't
escape, but an all-wheel drive with decent clearance probably could
have. It took half a day to escape from the 2003 incident, and I
didn't see another car the whole time, which made my wife worry that
the next time I got stuck wouldn't go so smoothly. So we replaced the
Honda with a 2001 Forester. It was the most fuel-efficient fieldworthy
car we could find. My in-laws now drive the Honda, which is by far the
most efficient vehicle they've ever owned.
Ecologists generally to do a good job of considering their personal
environmental impacts. Some of us could do better, but trying to live
up to your values and falling short of perfection doesn't make you a
hypocrite with no business promoting those values. If our values were
easy to live up to, they wouldn't be values; they'd be rationalized
nihilism.
Jim
Quoting Steve Friedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
I agree completely with the concerns expressed by Cara. We need vehicles to
conduct business. When our business is outside in remote places a dependable
one is essential. We also need vehicles for our private personal needs.
When people are required to use their own vehicle for work who should
determine that they should have more than one vehicle for field work and one
for personal use/needs. Suggesting that we use VW buses now is silly, they
were a good idea back in the 60s, but now they would not be, and for good
reason.
Steve
