Sorry no bloggy -- I've been out all day having my picture taken for GQ, except not for GQ. It's for a story in the March edition of Outside. Watch for it on a newsstand near you!
Here's a funny story brought to my attention by reader TS: apparently last month the American Recreation Coalition asked Congress not to raise CAFE standards because it might inhibit the ability of outdoor recreation lovers to get the big trucks and SUVs they need to tow their boats and snowmobiles. Seriously:
If the CAFE standards were increased "beyond affordable technological limits," the group predicts that automakers would be forced to either manufacture smaller and less powerful light trucks or discontinue them altogether, "which would force families currently driving large and mid-size SUVs to drive smaller vehicles unable to support outdoor fun."
They've got a point. What good is it to save the outdoors if you have to inhibit outdoor fun to do it? That's what the outdoors is for.
Comments
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Brudaimonia Posted 6:07 pm
04 Jan 2007
Hi, ARC, I'm Earth. Have we met?
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caniscandida Posted 8:08 pm
04 Jan 2007
People who ride snowmobiles for recreation (not just for transportation) in wilderness areas, perhaps even more than such irresponsible fuel-burners as NASCAR drivers and fans, are guilty of piggishness, and deserve no sympathy. Same with people who ride jet-skis in coastal areas and on lakes. If such vehicles went electric, that would help on two big fronts: no more fuel-burning, and relative silence. Of course they would continue to be disruptive of the environment by their mere presence.
What is the problem with towing larger boats? One traditional and common practice, I believe, is that in the Spring, the boat-owner tows the boat to a marina and puts it in the water, where it stays through the Summer season; then, in the Autumn, the boat is hauled out of the water, and the boat-owner tows it to the place where it is to be stored through the Winter. So, two times a year, the boat-owner needs a small truck to tow the boat: What would be so big a deal about renting one on those two occasions, and for the rest of the year driving something a good bit smaller?
It is fairly clear that the higher value of ARC and their ilk is, "I'm gonna keep driving my Hummer, wherever and whenever, for as long as it takes; I'm gonna stay the course; and I will prevail." I.e., that value is even higher than, "I need to be able to shoot my powerful and agile snow-mobile between mother grizzlies and their cubs in Yellowstone, for the sake of my mental health and the quality of my life."
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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miles44 Posted 12:24 am
05 Jan 2007
Unlike the Bush administration, purveyors of things that are bad for us CAN adapt and win. There are already hybrid SUVs on the market, and I assume more are on the way.
And let's be honest about a dirty little secret of the SUV industry: 95% of SUV owners never take them off-road. It's about projecting an image as a rugged, off-road type.
http://thegreenmiles.blogspot.com
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tsbremer Posted 2:36 am
05 Jan 2007
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Pandu Posted 3:24 am
05 Jan 2007
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randino Posted 8:01 am
05 Jan 2007
Screw'em. Nothing could be better for outdoor areas than the demise of these Road Warriors. As a paddler and wilderness canoe tripper, I could give a shit what happens to these a-holes.
randino
Randy Cunningham
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hank Posted 12:58 pm
05 Jan 2007
How are they compared to commuters using the pretend-ORV vehicles? -- I'd bet all told the urban assault vehicles burn more fuel each year, and in the having of a whole lot less fun. It's commuting we need less of.
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Biodiversivist Posted 1:32 pm
05 Jan 2007
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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jram Posted 12:30 am
06 Jan 2007
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