Yeah, I know it would help, but it would help by furthering our dependence on a resource that will be increasingly in short supply. We would be able to support our current lifestyle with no incentive to change. I would prefer that we begin changing our national outlook on resource management sooner than later. Don't get me wrong, I love my Suburban, I love to hear those dual Flowmasters ring!!! Nothing like waking up a whole German town just driving through... My lifted '89 Suburban in the US ain't going anywhere either. I can't go muddin' in an hybrid... But, on the other hand, I don't need to drive either of them every day. I ride the bus if at all possible. I'd love to have an electric car that would get me about 50 miles on a charge. I could do 90% of my daily driving in one. If I could then come home and plug it in to my inverter that is supplied by a hybrid solar/wind system then my transportation would be almost free on a daily basis. I'm not an environmentalist by any means... I just think that there MIGHT be a smarter, cheaper, more ecologically sound way to do things. I'd rather the air that my grandkids breathe not look like that in Beijing... The current economic woes might excite some who believe it will lead to social and governmental changes. I'm sort of excited by the possibilities of FORCING through economics, a change in the mindset of the American people. I don't believe in socialism. Free capitalism is the only way to go... how else can I get rich? It's just that anymore, I don't see why I need a truck that gets the EXACT same gas mileage as my 1974 Chevy (350) for a daily driver. Sure it has more power and rides better and is safer... but shouldn't there have been some other improvements... like in economy? The big three advertise (proudly might I add) cars that get the same mileage as my 1987 Buick LeSabre. The Honda Civic gets less mileage than my 1994 Civic did. Come on, it's obvious that the only way this will change is through consumers forcing the change through buying habits. Why can't we have +45 mpg turbo diesel cars like Europe does? We will if consumers force it... Why can't we have mini-vans that get 30mpg? We will if consumers force it... Change that will benefit us all by providing better fuel efficiency will not happen on a large scale in the US if we just continue on the current path.
Of course there are no bad effects in suburban texas... everything has already been dug up, paved over and electrified. Who wants to have every possible square mile of earth with roads, paving, derricks, pumps, pipelines, trash, used cars, buildings, construction equipment etc... I think that instead of continueing with more of the same... we should concentrate on developing new technologies and expanding the availability of existing viable technologies to provide power for our lifestyle. It doesn't matter whether electricity comes from oil fired generators, natural gas generators or a wind generator. It does matter how much it costs... demand will only grow. It will outpace our ability to produce it through fossil fuel burning generators. We can decrease that cost by generating household and municipal power through renewable sources.
Guess I'll get down off of my soapbox now... hope I made sense...
ngh