Dear Diary
How many people did we poison last week?
Not on purpose, of course.
When we drive our gas guzzlers to work or to the mall or to the countryside, we’re usually not thinking about the carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide the vehicles are emitting and whose health might ultimately be affected by them.
We can hardly be blamed. We didn’t build them. We just drive ’em. And many can’t maintain their current lifestyles without them.
Drivers of gasoline vehicles are caught in a sputtering transition period. Switching to an electric vehicle is not an option yet for most.
So, gas pumps won’t be disappearing around the world any time soon, and it will take much longer to phase out all fossil fuels globally.
Still, those drivers may very soon find themselves shouldering much of the blame and shame for the environmental mess we’re in. The latter not because we have driven, but because we still drive gasoline vehicles
A global climate rebellion is taking shape. It’s peaceful, for now. But there is a real sense of urgency, especially among many young people who fervently hope they won’t die before they get old. They’re taking it to social media, and to the streets.
Baby boomers will take some of the rap, too — at least, those who, in spite of themselves, didn’t die before they got old. We had an inkling of Earth’s distress back in the day, but we let it slip away. I hope many boomers will join in the global rallies and demonstrations in the months to come.
It may all be for naught, of course, if climate armageddon is truly upon us. Resistance would be futile.
But there is no clear consensus on that.
There is still hope.
— Jillian
Jillian Page 
“A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?”
Old guy here, thanks Jillian for reminding me. I do what I can. My house is 100% LED. We use open windows and fans when we can over the summer. (Being nudists helps). Our main car is a Chevrolet Volt and we drive all-electric most of the time. Just yesterday, my wife called me to ask how to open the gas cap since it has been many months since she had to put gas in her car.
We could go back to horse and buggy, but do you know how much methane horse poop makes?
So, as Joshua said, above, we can’t win. But that doesn’t mean that we should give up, either. We can change the rules.
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I commend you, Steve. Many older people just don’t seem to care about the “climate emergency.” As young activist Gretta Thunberg said on the Daily Show the other night, the older folks don’t see it as a threat to their longevity.
I will be converting to an electric car just as soon as I can get one that can reliably travel at least 400 kilometres in cold weather on a single charge. There are one or two models now, but they are expensive and not readily available. I’m sure there will be more models on the market in the next few years. But that may not be soon enough for the wave of activism that is about to sweep our planet.
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You are unlikely to see a 400 km fully-electric car in the near future. The battery technology just doesn’t support it. You could replace the rear seats with more batteries, but they are really heavy. I was surprised to find that my Volt weighs 300 pounds more than the Chevy Cruz, which has the same frame and body. If I had enough batteries to go 400 km, I would need a second set of wheels to distribute the load. Or put the extra batteries in a trailer. (Like a steam locomotive where the fuel, coal, was in a separate car behind the locomotive).
Get a plug-in electric. I love the Volt and damn GM for discontinuing it. It was the best solution overall. On the rare times that we do need to go farther than our 50-60 Mile trip, we use gas on the highways and electric only at our destination. It’s a good compromise because stop and go and idling are the biggest pollution times.
On a recent trip to France, the rent car we drove stopped the engine when the car was stopped. Good thing that we were warned. Step on the gas and the engine restarts. That was smart- why waste fuel and pollute the air idling? For some reason, no US made car will do that.
(BTW- Our next house will be oriented so that we will have a large roof surface for solar power, and geothermal heating. With both, our heating and cooling bills should approach zero- as opposed to our current $300-400 per month.)
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So much for Beverly Hills and the Dodge Challenger. Did you ever get to test drive one? Sorry. But I highly doubt e-Cars,etc are the way to go either. Do you know how, what and where Lithium is mined and processed? No, we lost it way back in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. And we seemed well on the way to losing it with the Digital Revolution. So, live your life and enjoy what’s left? It’s the younger generations travail now. All though, I understand why they are pissed. But, c’est la vie. Who ever said it was fair. Except the “genius”. He does everything in his power to ensure his “fair”ways are safe and secure. FTW %|
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I didn’t get to drive a Challenger, but I took a Camaro out for a spin. Cool car. There is no reason we can’t have some sporty electric muscle cars. The demand will be there.
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I commend your “optimism”. Because, of course, without it, it’s pretty bleak. I have not tried the Challenger. All though, there is one down the street from me. Lucky person. But, the whole thing revolves around timing. And, of course, all bets are off. If I were a young’n, it is “time” to fight. Because, “if not now, when”. A Bugatti E-Chiron is in the Dream Time. SKD time is also going to sleep for another Season. PTL for the 4 %;%D%*
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Jaguar makes one.
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I’d like to get my hands on new LandRover Defender. Like to get my hands on an old one. But, unfortunately not part of the 10% so have to settle for a sub-compact bazou. Still, with all the SUVs rolling on the streets I smirk at how they think they can go off-road and into “the woods”; while there are woods left. I tried for a tank, but they won’t let me %,( again
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I had a tank once. Well, a Dodge van, 1977. With a 360 cu-in motor and a 4-barrel carburetor. And a low speed gearbox. If I had traction, I could climb anything. But, then, 10MPG took the fun out of driving it.
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%D%D%D well, if you’re in the bush, how fast do you need to go? re: van, as JP has said “those were the days, my friend”. there is another option, see Sherpa ATV. Still out of my range $, but man, with one of them, we could survive anywhere %D%D
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