Life At 100 Miles Per Gallon
May 14th, 2008 by Vihar ShethPosted in Responsibility, Society, Transportation
Balancing convenience with conscience is a tall order. In this regard, some of people are luckier than others. One extreme instinctually favors conscience over convenience; the people is this extreme represent a social zenith and consistently make decisions based on the greater good. The people in the other extreme have no conscience; these people represent a social nadir and consistently make decisions based on benefit to oneself regardless of the decision’s impact on society. I like to call these people Republicans.
That leaves the rest of us, myself included. My wife and I live a greener life than most Americans. I’m sure our lifestyle compared to that of hypothetical doppelgangers living in a more “efficient” country would pale in comparison, but as Americans raised to consume, we do alright. We’re both vegetarian, live in an urban area and own only one car (I walk to work). Owning only one car is the catalyst for my thoughts today.
The life we live now and intend to live for the short-term requires us to own only one automobile. Admittedly, it’s not a hybrid, but a relatively fuel efficient sedan. It’s big enough to meet all of our needs but not so big as to make us feel that it’s underused or a total and complete plague on society (read: SUV). That being said, we’re both social beings, and often times our interests and commitments conflict with each other’s. Public transit in our fair city is good but not great, and only occasionally is it convenient practical to use for not commuting transportation. So what’s the solution? We’re buying a scooter!!!
A handful of people I know have one, and their identities vary from coworker to friend to neighbor to blogger I read. Point is, people are starting to use them more and more. This is where someone from Europe or Asian reading this says under his breath, “No shit, moron”.
“Apologies for our ignorance my friends.” Sorry, I was momentarily channeling George W. Bush III’s John McCain’s future I-got-my-ass-kicked-in-the-presidential-election speech. And we’re back. At roughly one-tenth the cost and four times the fuel efficiency of the average car, scooters make sense. Is it perfect? No, but it’s better than the status quo. Buying one instead of a car balances my convenience with my conscience, and that’s what I ask of you.
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