Shunning The SUV Driver

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Shunning The SUV Driver

Posted by Su Avasthi on July 24, 2006 - 10:08pm.

What to do with all those SUV drivers? Should they be shamed? Mocked? Ostracized? Forced to wear a scarlet SUV across their chest?

Greenpeace UK seems to think so. Their video The City Gas Guzzler — coming soon to an inbox near you — takes aim at SUV drivers. The message is unmistakable: If you drive a 4x4 (Brit-speak for an SUV), you are uncool, unpopular and downright unlovable. You also deserve having a co-worker spit in your coffee.

Obviously, Greenpeace is, as the Brits might say, taking the piss. Obviously, limeys (and Limers) get the joke. But it makes me wonder whether SUV drivers really deserve this much abuse.

Truthfully, I have a prejudice against people who drive Hummers. I'm convinced that I'd share no common ground with anyone who'd deliberately drive one. Basically, I get uppity, because, clearly, I am so much holier-than-them.

Despite my best intentions to be green (I eat local produce, pay extra for wind-generated power, get confused by organic milk), I have a bunch of "environmentally incorrect" foibles (I like pesticide-perfect apples, spray Round-Up, drive a quarter-mile to the grocery store.) Someone must get uppity about these things, because, clearly, they are so much holier-than-me.

Meanwhile, I just hope that my eco-infractions aren't the target of the next video.

Topics:

Yes!

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 7:08am

I think we should tie them up and flog them and laugh at them in their anguish!

Non-Violent Approach

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 8:02am

Always works best....let all the air out of their tires

I laugh and I cry

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 7:48am

I laugh at all the folks who are insecure and need big cars to compensate, then I cry for the environment. Su...unless they drive hybrid SUV's they deserve the abuse!!

Ridiculous

by jjackson on July 25, 2006 - 7:58am

It really is a completely gratuitous waste, isn't it? Senseless harm.

Eating pesticide-riddled apples or taking long showers is a far cry from tooling around in the latest GM EarthScrewer every day. These things are just absurd and it's beyond me how anyone could justify buying one--or paying to fill it with gasoline.

I am with you

by Chris on July 25, 2006 - 8:04am

gratuitous waste indeed

Got Boat?

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 8:02am

How do you pull a boat or utility trailer without an SUV? 1999 Pathfinder

Slightly different...

by jjackson on July 25, 2006 - 8:18am

I think it's different if you have a practical use for it. Most people do NOT.

And, if you're looking, there are hybrid SUVs. You could also find a smaller boat.

Canoe?

Really

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 5:17pm

SO I would love to find a LOW COST Hybrid SUV, I have a Family of 8 and we love to fish On the Ocean, Id love to see you on a "cano" In the OCEan I also Live 1900 hundred feet up, I have to drive in the snow and Ice. All my cars have 4X4 or Im not making it to work to pay my taxes.

Reasons

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 9:12am

I drive a Ford Escape 4x4 and also have a Ford 250 4x4. I live in norhtwest Montana in the Rocky Mountains and there's no way I could get to my house without these vehicles and studded tires. I would say you need to stop assuming motivations of 4x4 drivers and when your perfect, start finding fault with others.

read above

by dreamymo on July 25, 2006 - 9:20am

i think josh just stated that if you have a reason to drive one, that is perfectly fine - but there is no reason that a city dweller needs to ride around in something meant for off-road.

That's practical.

by jjackson on July 25, 2006 - 9:21am

That's what I'm saying. Nobody is judging you for needing to get home.

But I live in New York City. Every SUV I see is for "bling" purposes. And I see a LOT of SUVs.

That is a waste of resources and it adds pollution for no reason.

Try this

by DaVinci on July 25, 2006 - 12:52pm

Get a car and park it at the end of the road..and walk to it !!!!

Then you would get some excersise too. I am sure you need it driving around in that big SUV

horiffic hummer news

by dreamymo on July 25, 2006 - 9:18am

this morning there was a news story in NYC about a hummer accident in which a 55 year old man with sleep apnea hit and killed a 15 year who was walking on the sidewalk. just horrific - there is no need for him to be driving this, especially given his condition, he should be absolutely be charged with extreme reckless behavior.

you can read the story here too (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/24/nyregion/24fatal.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

Hummer

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 11:00am

Guess the hummer did it and not the driver.

Yeah, but it's like this

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 1:11pm

all of us who drive cars are doing harm to the earth. it's just a fact, we are. and ts, because we're going to keep doing it because there's no better way for must of us to fill our dayly needs right now, okay? but then it's like, well, when you buy a car you're making a choice. you are choosing a car that either maximizes the amount of damage you're doing to the world or in the event of an accident the amount of damage you're doing to people or property. Or you can choose to minimize the environmental and other damage by buying a smaller car. now i drive an old car that uses a lot of gas, because that's what works in my life, that's what i could afford for real cheap when i needed to buy a car and that's what was available. and i'm not buying a new car, because this car still works and there's no need to waste my money or to put another car on the road and have somebody else driving this one. but if this car dies, i'm going to choose the lowest-damage car i can afford.

duh moment?

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 11:50am

like a Toyota hybrid would have left the poor kid any less dead???

duh wha?

by dreamymo on July 25, 2006 - 11:54am

im not suggesting the hybrid would have been a better vehicle to stop the accident from happening -- the idea that he has a hummer just strikes me as sooo excessive especially given the fact that he is a road hazard anyway through his condition.

anyway - if you're gonna make dumb comments at least identify yourself!

Actually !!!

by DaVinci on July 25, 2006 - 12:51pm

Imported cars front ends are designed to prevent less harm to pedestrians....so YEAH the hybrid probably would not have killed the kid

http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/22/pf/autos/pedestrian_safety/

too small?

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 11:06am

there's also been research suggesting that if you're not a certain size and weight, you shouldn t be driving an SUV

Just pay the gas

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 11:38am

happily i make enough money that the price of gas is no big deal to me. So, I hope the rest of you go back to itty bitty cars so I can ride high and safe in my SUV!

Emissions

by Anonymous on July 26, 2006 - 12:15am

It's not ifone can afford gas, or that an SUV is any safer (higher roll over rate). IT'S THAT WE ARE POLLUTING!!!!! Think lowest to ZERO emissions and then consider buying A HYBRID SUV WITH ALL OF THAT GAS MONEY:) Love, Mikey in LA.

who judges?

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 11:48am

I am a farmer, an organic one--drive an SUV (1980 Jeep) and a 1970's truck to haul produce, organic mulch and cow manure, farm equipment, hay, animals, eggs. Would love to use horses, and we do, but not practical for every job! So, I am delivering in the city, yes, we farmers do on occasion drive in urban areas, and ouch, get blasted by some holier-than-thou yuppy-uppy who wants to diss my truck. I want to stop and ask, who grows your food? Who gets those good local lettuces and baby radishes to a market near you? Yes, city dweller driving a behemoth for "bling" needs a good smack, but we also need to be real careful about judging too quickly who deserves that label. And who gets to decide? And a hybrid? Well, I have to drive my vehicles for years, no trading up and around for latest model. Let's be careful about our need to become the moral/ethical inquisition.

greenpeace video

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 11:51am

it's gonna take a lot more than this lame video to make SUV's uncool. maybe when the rich people and rap stars stop driving them...

duh...

by DaVinci on July 25, 2006 - 12:53pm

lots of rich people are driving them....

http://www.hybridcars.com/celebrities.html

pardon me?

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 1:02pm

pesticide-perfect? are you kidding? we are the earth. the earth is our body. would you drink roundup? no, you say? we'll you are. there is no other. we are one life form expressing itself in myriad manifestations. this is a zero-sum game. it reminds me of smokers (which I used to be) who complain and even campaign at major enviros about pollution and toxins. we belong to the earth. she gave us life through a miraculous mystery that we have yet to even begin to comprehend. so, please if lime is to be a place for progress, what we're putting in our mouths is no more or less important than what is coming out of our tailpipes or going into our gas tanks. we are one living reality powered by one light source. there is no us and them, only us. there is no distinction between the poisoned apple eater and the suv driver. blessings!

scuze me?

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 1:12pm

nothing like a little moral relativism to brighten your days

its not worth the amount of

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 1:44pm

its not worth the amount of damage you do to be SUV cool

Vain idiots

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 2:47pm

Besides people like the farmer who use the SUV for practical purposes, what is the purpose of driving a machine like this? Pure vanity, if you ask me.

judge not...

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 3:31pm

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.... Besides, with $3 a gloolon and up for the gas to power them, mother earth can get even with the SUV all by herself.

None of this makes sense

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 3:56pm

Its funny how people beging to criticize un-enviornmentally friendly things such as an SUV although they have been around for decades. And its funny how the image of a raised up car can bring prejudice when the same polluting engines in the SUV's are also put into sports cars, luxury models, etc. Being green isnt about criticizing people for making choices and trying to get them on your side. It's about your acceptance to take responsibility in yourself, and not of those of others. People who think like that are just being trendy because they have nothing else to yap about. Go meditate on that.

Use your noggin

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 4:37pm

That's an awful lot of criticism coming from an anti-critic. SUVs are much heavier than sports cars and luxury models, and they're also much more popular. And their popularity has EXPLODED in recent years. And advocating silence about a major destructive cultural movement is pretty stupid, anyway you slice it. Should we also just let 'em drill anywhere they want? Not give a damn about factory emission standards? You can say what you want, but at the end of the day we all know it is NOT better to just shut up and meditate on that.

Meditate on this

by Anonymous on July 25, 2006 - 4:21pm

Alright everybody, let's not criticize anybody for owning SUVs, especially since they've been around for decades. Never mind that they're wasting gas and hogging the roads. Just do your part and be nice to all of the SUV owners. What a bunch of I'm okay, you're okay nonsense.

I just found this....

by Bruno on July 25, 2006 - 5:07pm

Everyone commenting on this article needs to MEDITATE

http://lime.com/meditation_room

car

by can4eg on January 30, 2007 - 10:55am

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