This topic got a surprising amount of mileage last week, so I thought I'd milk it a bit more....
If you own a sports utility vehicle, you live in sin. At least that's what the Rev. Jim Ball and his group, the Evangelical Environmental Network, would have you believe. And they've set out to make sure people become aware of this little-known sin through some controversial ads, which ask, "What Would Jesus Drive?"
Are they on to something? After all, 52 percent of the new vehicles purchased in America these days are SUVs. Under current federal laws, a passenger car must get 27.5 miles for the gallon, but an SUV needs to get only 20.7 miles a gallon. Transportation is thought to account for about a third of the global-warming pollution America produces each year, and America, as everyone knows, is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. So the EEN, drawing what one can only assume it believes is the logical conclusion, says it is socially irresponsible to buy and drive an SUV.
Many, of course, don't see the issue quite the same way. Some Americans buy SUVs for defensive and practical reasons. Others like the spacious inside of an SUV for comfort reasons. At some primary schools, as the last bell rings, SUVs are lined up around the block with moms and dads waiting for their tots to emerge. Why? Because mom and dad both feel their kids will be safer in big, spacious vehicles that won't crumple in an accident. And they're right. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in a collision, large vehicles provide more protection for occupants than small ones (never mind recent statistics showing that rollover rates are higher for SUVs).
So, there; bigger IS safer. You can drive a Geo Metro and feel better about yourself because you drive a more "environmentally friendly" vehicle. Of course, your survivability in an accident is minimal, but at least you won't be polluting the environment that way your neighbor in the SUV is, right??
This is like politics and religion. We all have our opinions, and we are all convinced of our own correctness and moral superiority. I propose this: let's all drive what we want, for reasons of our own choosing. Let's stop the self-righteous virtual tarring and feather of SUV owners, because it's not accomplishing what you think it is- that is, unless you're TRYING to piss people off.
If you don't like SUVs, then don't buy one. If you do, by all means buy the biggest damn Urban Assault Vehicle you can afford. It's a free country, after all. OK, now that we've settled that, can we get back to arguing about something that matters? Damn, the NFL playoffs are just a couple of weeks away!!
