Quote from E-Bay add:

After performing at Live Earth and realizing everyone has a role to play in protecting the environment, Fergie decided to sell her HUMMER and donate all the proceeds to Global Green USA.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270161208439

I find this appalling. Why not just destroy the thing and show your real conviction.

That would be triple wasteful.
1) All the energy already used to produce the thing.
2) Then use more energy to destroy it.
3) Then use MORE energy to rebuilt something with the scrap materials.

The sum of those probably exceeds the energy usage of the vehicle over its lifetime by 10x (just my opinion).

I am sure your correct and of course I'm just kidding when I suggested it. I just find many of the environmentalists a bit hypercritical in there actions.

I know this is a stale forum, but I believe the energy used to produce a vehicle is small relative to the energy it uses over it's life. Although it's wasteful to build and destroy things unnecessarily, ridding the world of inefficient vehicles would pay carbon-reducing dividends.

I like to recycle old Mercedes.

They have already been built and used. I can reuse them like I reuse Veg oil for my BD!

Bob

buttaface

The Govenator, that's my own home State's mistake thank you, runs a HH2D on veggie oil; bought from the super market. Thanks, thanks Arnie, for depriving the food banks of more cooking oil and driving up the cost to feed the homeless, the Govenator, always thinking (about his own heinie).

Wonder if he pays the appropriate highway use taxes on his cooking oil?

Here in NC, legally, even home brewers are supposed to get a license to manufacture BD (free) and pay 27.1 cents per gallon "high way use" tax and 25 cents per gallon "inspection fee" - just what's being inspectd, I haven't a clue. Oh, and post a $2000 bond to the state in case we don't pay our taxes!!!

Ya reckon the fossil fuels industry had anything to do with these regulations?

just saw a short clip on al gore who travels in a caravan of three towncars and a suburban. all idling outside the hotel for 20 minutes while waiting for him and his family. all the while he is telling everyone to ride a bike.
here al, let me get ya a bigger shovel.

A Hummer with 6 riders gets better seat mileage than a Prius with a single occupant. Using the wrong tool for the job is part of the problem.

School buses get worse mileage than Hummers, but are a more efficient use of fuel, compared to 45 soccer-mom's each driving their kids to school, even if they're all driving Prius's.

Fergie or Arnold selling a vehicle to someone who can fill the seats makes good sense. Do we know if that's what happened?

A Hummer or other rugged SUV also has a lower cost per mile life cycle cost than a hybrid or other disposable 'shoebox' car. Light trucks last longer and deliver more miles over their life. Most people will keep a hybrid till the expensive batteries need replacing then dump it.

The focus is placed on the vehicle being used because that's how our society avoids personal responsibility. It's always the thing's fault, blame the thing, not the stupid brain-numb idiot misusing it.

quote:

The focus is placed on the vehicle being used

It's like someone blaming spoons for making them fat.

quote:

It's like someone blaming spoons for making them fat.

Well they keep getting in their mouth.

Maybe they could sue the spoon manufacturers and set a precedent

It would be fought by the spoon lobby. Big spoon always seems to get it's way.

But we digress...
Cheers,
JohnO

quote:

Originally posted by johno:
A Hummer with 6 riders gets better seat mileage than a Prius with a single occupant. Using the wrong tool for the job is part of the problem.

You can't fit 6 comfortably in an H2, so the Prius still wins. Ha, I've never seen an H2 with more than 2 in it. Recycle the damn thing.

Easy hoss... don't blame the size of the spoon.

To make a vehicle takes about 1/3 of the energy required to maintain a vehicle over an average 12 year lifespan.

Put a diesel in and run 'em till the wheels fall off. For any vehicle every year beyond a dozen is a bonus.

Keeping an older vehicle running clean is cheaper than building a new one that won't last as long.

with all the talk of fuel savings and telling people to ride bikes and walk how come no one is holding the local governments accountable? does anyone have any idea how much unneccesary fuel is burned due to the timing of traffic signals?

Approximately 50% of the motor fuel in N.America is wasted idling in traffic and speeding.

quote:

Approximately 50% of the motor fuel in N.America is wasted idling in traffic and speeding.

Do you know what the split between those 2 is? 20% to idling: 30% to speeding? Or is it more like 10% and 40%?

quote:

Do you know what the split between those 2 is? 20% to idling: 30% to speeding? Or is it more like 10% and 40%?

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id28679
http://www.seon.com/Articles/FuelCosts.pdf
http://envirostats.info/2007/09/19/0410/
A few examples quickly found with google, many more with various stats for those interested in delving further.