AutoblogGreen

Perhaps when renewable energy becomes something more tangible than a slogan people will begin to take it more seriously.

After 4 or 8 years of an Obama administration I promise there will be little difference in how America gets its energy. That is- oil, hydro, coal and nuclear. Hopefully the promise of solar power will finally start becoming a reality. Just don't hold your breath.

It's like Nixon's war of cancer. Hundreds of billions later and we are still not close to a cure for cancer. A point of diminishing returns is reached with regards to funding. It is going to take time.

BTW, the SUV owners that drive those monster trucks are in the minority. I do not know anyone that drives a Suburban or Hummer. I do know people driving Tuscons, Rav 4's and Escapes. SUV's that get more MPG's than your average minivan.

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Brian said...
"Perhaps when renewable energy becomes something more tangible than a slogan people will begin to take it more seriously."

The wind energy industry put in more wind energy capacity in the last two years than it has in the three decades prior. It's phenomenal and very tangible growth.

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JB said:

"The wind energy industry put in more wind energy capacity in the last two years than it has in the three decades prior. It's phenomenal and very tangible growth."

I do not have a problem with wind energy. I don't even find the big turbines to be an eye sore. But, 1000 turbines giving you the power of one conventioal power plant goes to show that at best, wind power will be a supplement to conventioal power sources.

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Oh sure,
I'm an idiot because I have 3 kids & camp a lot & need to pull a trailer & run a den of cub-scouts & take my kids' class on field trips several times a year (x3)? Puhleeze. My Suburban kicks a$$. There is a perfectly good reason for these vehicles to exist.

My commuter car is clean and gets +40 mpg.

I'd just call you a wanker but I'd rather not stoop to name calling.

;)

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"Oh yes...I forgot...and idiot."

Did you mean "an idiot"?
Look who is talking, moonbat.

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Well well...the cockroaches who fit the bill come out of the woodwork.

Yeah tell your kids how you pissed away resources and leveraged their future so you can sit above everyone else and boost your ego.

Idiot.

Why don't you look beyond the length of your pen*s for a change? You have kids and STILL have this stupid mentality...God helps us all.

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Miles, you have three children and a suburban!? How can you look at yourself in the mirror? Being the owner of a Suburban, how is your pen*s even big enough to procreate? Your carbon footprint is huge and completely irresponsible. You will be the first in the re-education camp. You are despicable.

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"a suburban carries no more than my old volvo wagon"
Which Volvo wagon would that be?

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You said:

"Some people are so sold on the image"

That statement could apply to the people who buy a Prius so they can be with the "in-crowd" of Hollywood stars, Al Gore, and others who want to save the world. Many of those people will, of course, jet across the ocean several times a year multiplying their carbon footprint many times over what they might be able to claim as savings from driving a fuel-efficient car.

At least the people who drive SUV's aren't being hypocritical.

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This is completely inaccurate. A Suburban will carry eight adults, if I am not mistaken, along with additional cargo room in the back, not to mention the tow capability. I love station wagons but, at best, they are merely sedans with a very cramped rumble seat (the use of which means you can't carry cargo in the back).

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Hey Woodenbee, stop being a tool. Just because there are people that have different choices than you in cars and religion, does not mean that only people who have a different religious view also have a different car view. I have very down to earth family members who have a Suburban. Why? So that instead of driving two or three cars to get everyone from point A to point B, we can only take 1 car. Wow, what a wasteful pig that person is, right? All you people who just pass judgment because someone chooses a different car than you are so lame. I have a wasteful old Landcruiser, but I bet the fact that I maintain such an old car, while you people go through 2 or 3, makes me less wasteful in reality, if not in smugness. Tuned to perfection, so as to minimize pollution, as compared to all those oil burning old VWs that no one criticizes. Also built an eco friendly home, which is as much if not more of an environmental savings than your car, but still feel free to pass judgment if you see me driving around, though you know absolutely nothing about me or my lifestyle. Add to that we grow our own food and only by local items, instead of relying on industrial agriculture and cross country trucking, and I bet I'm living a lot more sustainably than all you smug tools that just need to feel better about yourselves than others. The people really making a difference aren't spouting off about how great they are, and aren't belittling other people, we're winning them over with kindness and by example. But hey, the world definitely can use more haters and divisiveness, so keep it up! And don't worry that your doing more damage than good to your cause, as long as you get to FEEL superior to others, it's all good!

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I own own of the largest of the Volvo wagons, a 940, and love it but I wouldn't say it has the space of a Suburban. It does have as much or more space as most of the smaller utes though. I only get a combined 22 mpg in it though so it really isn't the best example. And it is painfully slow.

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puhleeeze.
Suburban carries no more than a Volvo wagon????????? in your dreams.
Try loading an entire sheet of ply wood UNCUT into your Volvo.and then close the doors. Then load another 30 sheets of the 3/4" variety and drive it home. Not only will it not fit. or close the doors. It will not get above 30. Now since I DO have a Volvo in the fold, I will admit that the Volvo brakes are as good or better than my Suburban's units. But really, hold as much????? not unless you cut the roof off.
And honestly, my suburban gets 20 mpg on the interstate.

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As to hauling sheets of plywood, I rent the local Home Depot's truck when I need to haul more than my Corolla Wagon allows.

I am fortunate that I have this convenience and find the $20 per 70 min. charge very reasonable compared to the cost of truck or full-size SUV ownership.

My friend uses his Caravan to haul sheet goods. If you need a truck for work, buy a truck.

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I think the real issue seems to be financial, I couldn't carry the payment or gas bill for a suburban for a month,let alone years, so my point is for the price you pay for a set of tires and an oil change my volvo is paid for and does about 95% as much as your suburban/tahoe/avalanche, the main message is try making do with less, its more challenging sometimes but think of all the solar panels you could install and maybe if so many people hadn't bought SUV's to commute in when they could have bought a two door hatchback we wouldn't have to pick fights with third world countries to steal their oil and drain our nations wealth to protect the business interests of a tiny elite. We need to dismantle the big three, mandate efficiency standards and sue the big oil companies and war profiteers for war reparations to pay for a national health care plan and free retirement care for all Americans, which should be the minimum the richest nation in the world can give to its people, the only reason they don't is because the super rich elite would rather see us all die in ditch than share the wealth they have accumulated with the nations resources they have plundered for so long. Every time a gallon of crude is sucked out or a tree chopped down we are being robbed by these filth and thank god enough people have woken up to realize this and stop voting for their paid lapdogs the Republican party,

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You couldn't be more wrong.

it has nothing to do with image and everything to do with a vehicle that meets our needs.

I'm an atheist and don't go to church and voted for Obama. I'm the furthest from a fundamentalist christian you can get.

We thought alot about replacing our 2001 with a new Suburban last month. We considered alot of alternatives but decided this was the best all around answer still.

We didn't get one because all our friends have one.

I've looked long and hard and have located ever single E85 station in the Seattle area and if I can get close and it makes financial sense (at retail..lets not talk about overall) I'll put E85 in it. Oddly in the Seattle area NONE of them are downtown and all of them are WAY outside the metropolitan area.

The cost of the vehicle and operating costs are not an issue for me, it's about buying what works best for us. We've got several cars, each good at a specific purpose. The Suburban is the family hauler and it's a great way to fit the 6 of us plus the dog and grandma too if we want to take her along. We can get all the gear in for the kids we need and be comfortable.

They're a great *choice* for people that want them. I'd never commute in it by myself simply because it'd be wasting money. There are plenty of us that put lots of thought into things that we drive and where it makes sense might buy a PHEV or electric but might also own an SUV.

I have a very large house too but the effort I put into it's energy efficiency means I consum heating/lighting resources for something less than 1/2 it's size.

I'm not interested in living in a tent and riding a bike to work. I'm an American and desire a certain standard of living. Where I can I'll try to be efficient while seeking that standard.

That said, I don't know (or care) what my "Carbon Footprint" is, I've never checked.

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