I want another car. I do not need one, I just desire one.
My wife and I currently share one vehicle, which works out just fine most of the time. I walk to work and she uses it for commuting. We share friends and are generally on the same schedule. But, there are times when we each have important things to do that requires each of us have transportation. While this does not happen frequently, it happens often enough.
That being said, living in an urban environment offers me the option of renting a car via a car-sharing program called WeCar. In fact, I did this very thing last night to get to a meeting. Everything worked out just fine. While the immediate cost of renting the vehicle is momentarily prohibitive, it is extremely cost effective when compared to the cost of owning, insuring, parking, fueling and repairing a vehicle.
Blah. I still want one. I do not know if this almost childish, illogical internal demand for something new is fleeting. I was recently at the auto show here in St. Louis and got to toy around with a bunch of uninspired vehicles, save a few hybrids in which I sat, which is what we would buy. It was good fun.
The absolute cost of the decision is not what is weighing on me; the weight is purely philosophical. I feel like buying another car would make me a hypocrite. Sure, I am not gallivanting around the globe in a personal jet and even if I do get another car I would not be driving it all that much. But still, having only one vehicle has place me in a state of limited mobility. This is a good thing. I am forced to function in a small area and plan my days efficiently. My fear is that I will loose that discipline if I have a vehicle at my disposal. The other half of me thinks that I already do enough to live a green life and that having a car at my disposal is not the terrible sin I sometimes feel it is.
Is enough ever enough when you can do more? Are we not supposed to be the change we want to see in the world? Grrr.
As aside: St. Louis is not Hong Kong, where I learned today ninety freakin’ percent of people commute via public transit. The transit system here is adequate, but not great. The bad news though is that it is getting worse. Shortsighted voters opted not to increase transit funding last November and now services are being cut. I am rationalizing you see. These cuts are screwing the average St. Louisan, and most of these folks can not afford a vehicle.
I am not sure what we’ll end up deciding but my fear is that convenience will triumph over conscience, at least eventually. It will be easier to play a round of golf (so not green), run an errand, make a meeting or just plain take care of business. I will surely be freer, but getting behind the wheel will in some way also be a step backward.
If it is any consolation, we have been looking for company car. We just missed a Prius by not having our decision making process in order before we went out to shop. By the time we went back and forth getting approvals the car sold. The good news is that these cars are coming in off lease. Even the early Honda Insights are turning up. So, while you wrestle with your conscience–there may be a green alternative, and, spring is coming, time to fire up the bike !
Yeah, I need to get the old scooter out today and see if she’s still breathing. We’d get a hybrid if we got anything . . . it’s just getting one at all that I’m struggling with.
[...] Home. Dishwashers! For more reasons than one, as makingthishome points out. Vihar Sheth presents Convenience Over Conscience? posted at green | rising. Vihar has a better outlook on public transportation in this city than I [...]
[...] are you willing to give up to live green? Vihar Sheth poses that question at green | rising. Vihar and his wife currently share a single vehicle, but he’s considering acquiring a [...]
My partner and I also share one car, but we avoid schedule conflicts by each having a bicycle (which are our primary mode of transportation). That way, if someone needs the car for something, the other person still has the freedom to get about. I used to live in St. Louis and found the downtown streets amenable to bicycle commuting…a decent amount of bike lanes and wide or multi-lane roads. And getting set up with good commuting bikes is far cheaper than a new car!
Jill, thanks for the comment. I actually have a scooter, which I can’t wait to break out once the weather is better. I know through enough scheduling and sacrifice we could make it work but we’re so damn busy! I’m involved with a variety of community-based initiatives and organizations and feel participating in those things are more important than saving a little more gas than normal. Something has to break, right?