13 badass greens 17

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1. 

   mnfox Posted 10:29 am
   10 Jun 2009

   Munter's job is to waste gasoline for entertainment. It doesn't matter how many offsets she buys after each race, her actual profession consists of creating useless carbon emissions. How the hell does that earn her a place on this list, let alone the #1 spot?

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   1. 

      dtrom4 Posted 10:56 am
      10 Jun 2009

      I agree - clearly words (and a pretty face) speak louder than actions.
      And not that everbody who cares has to devote their working life to savings the environment, but this is indicitive of a disconnect in our culture, and something the green community is going to face a lot more as it becomes more mainstream.

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   2. 

      gristle Posted 3:20 pm
      10 Jun 2009

      As someone who was very involved in motorsports as well as environmentally aware the entire time I can tell you that many of the innovations that have come about to make motors high performance while much more fuel efficient have come from the proving grounds of racing. There have been innumerable other discoveries as well such as light-weight yet strong material use (think kevlar) and safety improvements. What I saw being used in rally and racing cars years ago are in the cars of today. There's much more to the sport than just guzzling gas.

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      1. 

         mnfox Posted 3:30 pm
         10 Jun 2009

         No, there is no more to the "sport" than gas-guzzling. The whole entire object of racing is to go as fast as possible, which equates to burning as much gas as possible. If all of our innovations come from motorsports, why aren't there any hybrid or battery-powered cars on the race tracks? How come there are no fuel cells out there? These are all innovations in consumer automobiles, so how'd they skip the motorsport vehicles if all of the innovations we have come from motorsports??

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      2. 

         gristle Posted 8:57 pm
         10 Jun 2009

         For some reason I can't reply to MNFOX's reply to me but I certainly did not go into absolutes of "ALL" anywhere in my comment nor are "all" races just gas powered. But I wouldn't expect someone who sees motorsports as nothing more than gas-guzzling to know that. Can't see the forest for the blinders on the eyes. Of course, once battery/electric and fuel cell powered cars become competitive (and they will) they too will be raced in the top events that get the most attention. It's the human competitive nature that supports blue ribbons, trophy shops and contests of all kinds. Until then I doubt MNFOX would do without the benefits on cars that have come from motorsports.

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   3. 

      Spence Posted 6:52 pm
      10 Jun 2009

      How about the TTXGP, the electric motorcycle race running this weekend on the Isle of Man? My guess is that electric race cars are going to be the next big thing. Electric motors are ideal for racing, with their fully available torque and instant responsiveness. Think of how fast a remote control car moves when you consider the scale. Racing will undoubtedly contribute a lot of valuable research to electric car development in the future. If you've ever been to a NASCAR or open-wheel race, you know how polluting they are, and I think racing fans will imbrace fume-free racing.

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      1. 

         splashy Posted 2:45 am
         18 Jun 2009

         "My guess is that electric race cars are going to be the next big thing.
         Electric motors are ideal for racing, with their fully available torque
         and instant responsiveness. Think of how fast a remote control car
         moves when you consider the scale. Racing will undoubtedly contribute a
         lot of valuable research to electric car development in the future. If
         you've ever been to a NASCAR or open-wheel race, you know how polluting
         they are, and I think racing fans will imbrace fume-free racing."That's what I was thinking. I remember seeing some racers driving the Tesla and them being very impressed with it's performance. In fact, we may see some of the best innovations coming from the racing world. They have the drive, the money, and incentive.
         
         Gee,  I might even be interested in racing if they go all electric, with no fumes and far less noise. It could open up a whole new expanded fan base! I can see it now: yuppies, hippies, rednecks, etc. all cheering them on. :-)

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2. 

   mobi Posted 11:12 am
   10 Jun 2009

   I'll have to agree. I don't see how someone can be seriously green andbe employed by the race car industry.

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3. 

   rebecca@urbansherp Posted 2:20 pm
   10 Jun 2009

   How was Paul Watson, founder of Greenpeace and captain of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Steve Irwin, left off of this list?? His commitment to protecting the lives of whales is inspiring not to mention insane.

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4. 

   gristle Posted 3:11 pm
   10 Jun 2009

   Okay, I'm sure there are a lot of other "badass" greens out there but may I suggest an honorable mention go to Dave Dahl of Dave's Killer Bread.http://www.daveskillerbread.com/story.shtml (goes to a video) And YAY! for choosing Isa! I was just thinking last night about what a dynamo she is. Such fab food (the new "Vegan Brunch" book is sitting here waiting for me to dive in and drool).

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5. 

   everydaydan Posted 10:14 am
   11 Jun 2009

   Leilani Munter. Stunt double? Check. Race car driver? Check. Biologist and conservation activist? Uh, OK. Munter doesn’t mess around when it comes to the environment:
   she hopes to educate racing’s 100 million racing fans about green
   living, serves as an ambassador for the National Wildlife Federation,
   has testified on Capitol Hill, and wants to convince her industry to
   use more alternative fuels. Says this CarbonFreeGirl: “Just because you’re green ... doesn’t mean you can’t be fast.”My first reaction to Leilani being included was "a race car driver?" but on second thought I think she is in the top three at least. For one she is being an environmentalist in her life and career which is hard for most people to do. Second, she has decided to fight for the environment from within the ranks which is generally more powerful than someone (a non-racer) trying to tell 100,000,000 viewers that what they are watching is a blight on the climate. Seriously, how many of you hikers, bikers, climbers, skiiers, etc. drive a lot of miles to take part in your activities anyway? Third, the woman is a stunt double...that's pretty tough. Fourth, she is the first person racing that may be the environmentalists way into car racing. If we want it to switch to electric or some other form in the future we should be sending her email to that effect and CC'ing NASCAR! Congrats to Leilani the badass environmentalist car racer:)

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6. 

   Fern Posted 12:08 pm
   11 Jun 2009

   To the editors - please correct the link associated with Diane Wilson's entry on this list. You have linked to the website of a very different author who just happens to share Diane's name. The correct link for this particular Diane Wilson should be http://www.chelseagreen.com/authors/diane_wilson. Thank you for making the correction!

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   1. 

      Ashley Braun Posted 3:59 pm
      11 Jun 2009

      Fern, thanks for bringing this egregious mis-linking to our attention. We've made the fix on Diane Wilson's entry; many thanks!

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7. 

   Nicole1 Posted 6:21 pm
   11 Jun 2009

   I agree that  Paul Watson, Greenpeace co-founder and captain of the 'Steve Irwin' should have been at the top.Not a very well thought out list.

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8. 

   Battery Boy Posted 4:36 pm
   12 Jun 2009

   Regarding using pure electric vehicles for racing, check out the National Electric Drag Racing Association at:www.nedra.comAs a former gas drag racer, when I got into pure electrics ten years ago and did my own conversion of an infernal combustion vehicle, I switched to drag racing electric vehicles (EV's). And when I think about who would have made the list of badass greens from NEDRA, I'm thinking Roderick Wild Man Wilde. Check out his website at:www.suckamps.comHe was spanking Dodge Vipers with his Maniac Mazda EV years ago, prior to the Gone Postal project that he did for the Discovery Channel. And as our tattoos say:Suck Amps,Battery Boy

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9. 

   Toxic Avenger Posted 9:00 am
   16 Jun 2009

   The fuel wasted in the race cars is a drop in the bucket compared to that wasted by the hundreds of thousands of fans driving to the events. 

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10. 

    Storm Dragon Posted 1:38 pm
    17 Jun 2009

    I strongly agree that Paul Watson should have been on this list, and I would also like to put in a good word for Dave Forman, (founder of Earth First!), Doug Peacock, (Vietnam veteran, friend of bears, and the model for "Hayduke" in Edward Abbey's novels), Judy Ackerman, Julia Butterfly Hill, Darryl Cherney, the late Judi Bari and David Chain, (activists who risked inprisonment, violence, and death while attempting to protect wild places and wild things), and the late Edward Abbey (need I say more?).
        John Muir was no wimp, either.  This was a man who could take delight in a magnitude 8 earthquake, while everyone around him was scared spitless.

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