PSA: Do you drive a car? Because if you do, you are killing your kid

[Luminous Animal]

with pollution.

[Zax2me]

1. If kid lives, you are now spending his college funds on gas.

It's a lose lose!

[Devil_Fish]

2. I drive a motorcycle that gets 50mpg+.

I know I am still creating pollution, but I can't afford a Leaf. I do have a child, and this subject pains me. I do everything I can to reduce my foot print. I'm sorry I can't do more.

[hlthe2b]

35. Shoot, my 2007 prius routinely gets 50 mpg--often 60mpg, depending on route/traffic/weather

I never understood why motorcycles (and especially Scooters, like Vespas) weren't getting 100mpg, at least...

BTW, I drive no where except to and from work. Errands done on foot, bike, or stops on the way to and from work.

[Devil_Fish]

66. If I could aford a Prius, I would get a Leaf instead.

I know your mpg is about as good as mine but mine cost $8K New, and I don't have a bulky toxic battery bank to replace every 8-10 years at a cost of $8-$10k. I also know that you can take 4 passengers and cargo, and must be a lot more confortable in the rain. The term "you get what you pay for" seems to fit here.

Given that the OP was about polution I suppose we could look at it from that stand point. Even though we generate about the same amount of CO2 per mile, I have the smaller foot print due the the afore mentiond battery bank replacement.

in regards to your coment about a bike should get better milage: if there was not 10% Ethinol in the gas, I'm sure I would get about 70mpg.

[hlthe2b]

72. Actually Toyota recycles Prius batteries, even provide a pre-paid shipping container

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/01/05/replacing-prius-batteries-can-be-good-for-the-environment-and/

Some critics of hybrids and electric vehicles have pointed to this moment as proof that these vehicles actually have more environmental impact than conventional autos, as battery packs potentially clutter up landfills with toxic materials. Only, that's not what's happening at Toyota.

When a Prius battery pack reaches end of life, Toyota provides a UPS shipping container so the battery can be sent to a recycling center. For U.S. cars, that center is in California. The batteries are shorted out to prevent accidents with any remaining charge, then all of the components are disassembled. The plastic case is shredded and recycled. The electrolyte is decanted and the rare earth elements recovered. The nickel plates are sent to a smelter where they are used in making steel. All the components of the pack are recycled or reused, leaving nothing to go to the landfill.
***********

But, I wasn't criticizing your choice of motorcycle, just wondering why they haven't gotten better gas mileage. I'd considered a Vespa as a "around town" option, but they don't get any better mileage (in fact worse) than my Prius... That's all I meant. Sorry if you thought I was trying to offend or criticize you. I wasn't.

[Devil_Fish]

74. That is good to know about the batteries.

You know, I used to have a 500cc shadow that got 60mpg+ but as soon as they put Ethanol in the gas, it went down to 45mpg. I now have a 2011 Shadow 750cc with fuel injection. my mpg averages 55+ if I drive at 65. I'm sure if we got rid of the Ethanol, it would get 65+mpg. I know there are ways to tweak the computer to get 5~15mpg more, but I haven't invested in the interface device yet.

I wasn't criticizing you either, just doing cost and foot print comparison. There are some rainy days I wish I had a Leaf, Prius, or Insight, but you can't beat two wheels for getting through bumper to bumper commute. There are advantages and draw backs for sure. I have found that what a bike lacks in protection in makes up for with maneuverability and. One vehicle I will never get is a smart car because it is lacking in both areas. I have never been keen on scooters either because, as a buddy once said, "Scooters have enough power to get you into trouble, but not enough to get you out of it."

I'm glad that Toyota is recycling the batteries, but (correct me if I am wrong) You still have to buy new ones. If I were to spent $25K on a car it would be a Leaf, or it I could not manage a Leaf, then I would go for a VW Golf TDI Diesel with a stick. That car gets better then 40mpg and diesels run for ever and keep their blue book well. I'm not a Prius hater, I just don't think one would be right for me. In any case I'm glad that we are both doing the best we can to reduce our carbon output.

D_F

[sofa king]

59. I've ridden nothing but mopeds for five years now.

Just about 25,000 miles at 80 mpg, meaning I've burned only 313 gallons of gas and ten gallons of two-stroke oil in five years. It's dirtier than a car, but my ability to pollute is limited by time, physics, weather, and human fallibility. The longest ride I ever took in a day was 220 miles; it took thirteen hours, and it rained every minute.

Riding my moped is uncomfortably cold 250 days and every night of the year, with conditions similar to those one might experience in the crow's nest of a ship; other drivers hate me and routinely endanger me by acting aggressively toward me; I can't climb any grade above 6% faster than 12-20mph; I ride in a never-ending rain of cigarette butts, beer bottles, and invective; I have to run every red light or wait for other traffic because I am too light to trip the sensors; I can't keep up with traffic light patterns because they're usually set at or above the top speed of my bike; and many mopeds are also highly unreliable.

But it can be done, and it's the only way I can get to a job on the other side of town or in another town. The moped's real contribution to society is that they pretty much suck, so those who rely on them spend as little as possible time on the road.

[Prometheus Bound]

3. I used to drive 100,000 miles a year.

Then I moved to a place with great public transport, where only about 6% of ther population owns a car. I take a ferry and bus or underground train everywhere. Once in a while a taxi. Now I just can't imagine ever owning a car again. It's hard to believe I was so dependent on it. Good public transport is the key.

[aspieextrodinare]

4. I use my car

to help take my autistic clients places so that they might one day be able to navigate the world and have an independent life. Can I not be made to feel guilty for it?

[Luminous Animal]

6. I have an independent life. I don't own a car.

[aspieextrodinare]

8. Are you autistic?

Sorry if you are, but it is slightly harder for him to navigate public transportation (even I have problems with it at times) than most people and while his parents and I and a volunteer group that will remain nameless for now, successfully taught him to ride a bike (woohoo) he might never be able to be able to use it well enough to go along busy streets. I still worry about him riding along side streets, even with his brother and me, as he doesn't check for or signal to traffic at all. For now, if I want to take him anywhere (which he needs), it has to be in the car.

[pnwmom]

12. Have you ever tried carrying a baby and a toddler and a stroller onto a bus?

And then how, if you can manage children on a bus, do you manage your bags of groceries?

It's much easier for a single person not to own a car; and it's much easier for families in cities with excellent public transportation. For the rest of us, having a car is the most practical choice.

[Luminous Animal]

14. Yes. Toddler, baby, groceries and a couple of kids.

[pnwmom]

16. Were the older kids holding the groceries for you?

Or helping with the baby and toddler?

I'd like to know how to carry a couple bags of groceries, a stroller, and a baby up the steps of a bus while holding a toddler's hand.

[alphafemale]

38. How do you think those groceries got to the store?

And how is a smoky, stinky bus with 5 people on it, better for the environment than a car or two?

You should buy nothing that you can't carry on your back.

You should be growing your own vegetables. And scratching roots from the ground.

You should be threshing wheat by hand and pounding it to flour with a stone. You can then bake that bread with a solar heater only.

You should only wear clothes from wool spun and woven by your own hand.

Earth Tick.



OK. You were extremely blessed to live in an area with public transportation. That isn't an option for the majority of people. That was an extremely inflammatory OP.

How many five year olds do you think would die trying to tag along with their parents on bikes, on a narrow lane road, in the dark after some little league game or something?

People like that would be killing off their kids much quicker, I think.

And this is coming from a person who bikes to work most days.

[cali]

46. great, are you severely autistic? No? I didn't think so. And where

do you live?

[aspieextrodinare]

62. To be fair, my client isn't severely autistic

I still just wouldn't trust him on a bus right now.

[Syrinx]

5. I don't have a kid

[Luminous Animal]

7. Well then you are killing someone else's kid or grandma or whatever.

[slackmaster]

9. My kid is 29 years old now, so I must be killing YOUR kids

[pintobean]

54. Does your kid drive?

Mine does. It's mutual assured destruction and we're both mad.

[slackmaster]

56. I think he drives something that most would call a "beater"

But he lives in the Chicago area, so I'm not scared.

[Sherman A1]

10. And could not the same be said for users of electricity generated by coal?

Such electricity that most likely powered the computer & lights used to type these messages?

Could not the same be said of those who shop either online with delivery or by going to a store even by walking? As the goods delivered either to their home or to those markets are done on vehicles that consume fossil fuels.

[Luminous Animal]

13. I agree. I watched a PSA tonight about cigarette smoking...

The scene is: a women blows smoke out her window and it filters down to a neighbor's baby lying in a crib.

Who's funding these things? GE? GM?

[pnwmom]

11. And how do life expectancies now compare to pre-automobile days?

In many areas, the air is cleaner -- even with automobiles -- than it was when people depended on coal and wood fires for heating.

I think we should work to keep the environment as clean as possible, but I'm not worried that I'm killing my kids just by driving.

[nolabels]

15. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem

Unless you live under a rock most of everything you own or consume came on the back of truck. I have been a truck mechanic for 34 years and hope the industry i work in continues to evolve into something better.

New diesel trucks and buses cut soot and smog more than 90%
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/cleaner-trucks-and-buses

[exboyfil]

28. The joke in our company is that Final Tier 4

diesel emissions are going to be cleaner than the inlet air. Our customers are going to be spending a considerable amount of money for this clean techniology.

[nolabels]

63. It's not a joke, it's true

Diesel soot and fumes are just now being linked to some bad things when it comes to people's health. What is going on now is a game changer for people think we should have cleaner air to breathe. It's more costly sure but how much is a liveable environment worth? When i was child forty years ago here in So.Cal. there were several days during the year staying inside the house and taking it easy was the best option. The smog was so toxic that it make you sick and you would get a headache just by being out in it.

Diesel engines being cleaned up a little is not a panacea but at least its a start

[Maine-ah]

17. I invite you to come stay with me for a few weeks....

and try to survive with out driving a vehicle.

If you want to get food...it's going to be almost a 10 mile walk. Please make sure when you do visit, it's in the winter.

[pipoman]

18. This is the natural progression

I predicted this 2 years ago. When banning smoking outdoors became the rage, while allowing cars and trucks in the same outside areas makes no sense at all. I have challenged several people who think outdoor smoking bans are a good idea...I will sit in a car with 5 chain smokers, the banner can sit in a car with the exhaust piped into the cabin...first one to die or bail out loses...haven't had a single taker..

[Dilldoe]

19. Great! I don't have kids

so I am off the hook!

(scarism)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

20. Some of us don't live in big cities with public transport.

Stop being an elitist and an serious conspiracy theorist. Give us a break. Smoking is dangerous to the smoker and those around them. Pollution in LA and larger cities like that are dangerous. I live in Oklahoma City. There isn't a lot of smog or pollution here. Pollution is not as direct as Cigarettes are.
So take your cigarettes and smoke them. When you get emphysema and/or lung cancer, I won't cry for you. I'll just point and laugh when you can't breathe and I'm still fine with my pollution.

[madrchsod]

21. well it`s a long dark walk for my wife if she has to work 20 miles from home

plus after working 8-12 hours she`s just a tad bit tired in the morning.

[hobbit709]

22. And you're using electricity on a computer-same thing.

[Dilldoe]

23. Not necessarily,

My computer receives its power from a generator I have attached to a bicycle in my house that I pedal to power it.

100% green power generation.

[taterguy]

25. Please post a photo of the bicycle and the generator

Color me skeptical.

[Dilldoe]

29. so be it you are skeptical

your right

[hobbit709]

27. Tell me another one.

[SidDithers]

44. ...

Sid

[Motown_Johnny]

50. But the energy comes from the food you eat so if your food source

was delivered in a truck that burns diesel, or cultivated with tractors burning diesel.... well, you get the idea.

[trumad]

24. Do you use electricity?

Well then you're killing you're dumb ass kid.

Dumbest Op of the year nominee.

[taterguy]

26. Oh FFS

Almost all of my OPs are dumber than this one.

[trumad]

30. You get the dumbass exemption.

[WorkBoots]

32. The wife and I are doing our part

We both have winter SUVs and summer rides. We're on the fence on whether to get jet skis or a used boat this summer.

[soc7]

33. That pollution must be AWESOME for their health!

The average life expectancy rises every year....

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005148.html

[WorkBoots]

34. True

But think about how much fun we're having!

[IDemo]

36. 61k miles on my '93 Toyota

And on my 50 mpg motorcycle during dry weather, summer or winter.

[bluedigger]

49. That's barely 3,000 miles a year!

Take a trip to the next county, already, I hear it's great!

[IDemo]

51. If we were any more homebound, we'd be goldfish :)

[bluedigger]

37. Just as my parents did, and theirs before them.

You could call it a family tradition, if you like.

[Bosso 63]

39. Back in my day gas had lead in it and seat belts were for people that didn't know how to drive.

Drunk driving was socially acceptable, and if a kid was wearing a helmet while riding a bike, it would be assumed that he had epilepsy or something.

[Swede]

40. If you are using electricity,you are killing your kid

with pollution.

[Fla_Democrat]

41. I drive a truck, so I guess they're ok.

[lumberjack_jeff]

42. So people lived a very long time before cars? nt

[cali]

43. yeah? Well out here in the very rural world

if you don't have a car you're killing your kid a fuck of a lot quicker. You can't even get to the food shelf without a car where I live- let alone to work.

I absolutely detest the type of "thinking" embodied in YOUR CRUEL SNOTTY SELF-RIGHTEOUS post.

[obamanut2012]

45. The OP is about anti-smoking ads

As s/he stated in another post.

[cali]

48. well, he she should have made that clear in the OP, no?

[obamanut2012]

53. Yup

I completely agree.

[Motown_Johnny]

47. My parents drove cars... did they kill me?

I don't think so. If so I might need to change my screen name to something like "Ghost Poster".

[madville]

52. Since the introduction of the automobile life expectancy has steadily increased

Therefore cars extend peoples' lives, it's the only logical answer.

[belcffub]

55. when my kids misbehave

instead of punishing them I just let my car idle in the drive for 20 minutes...

[hughee99]

57. Sorry son, I'd like to take you to the hospital, but the pollution might kill you. n/t

[NutmegYankee]

58. Another Yuppie Elitist telling us country folk what to do. nt

[raouldukelives]

60. After reading the responses I can see you

were addressing another issue. That said, I think anytime any of us can choose to not drive or to conserve gas & emissions is never a bad thing and should always be applauded.

[NYC_SKP]

61. Everything we do pollutes, bicycles pollute, eating food pollutes...

The board has been through this before-- by just posting on DU one is polluting.

It's just a matter of degrees.

[Throd]

64. I drive a big car with a big V-8. I'm killing your kids too.

I also barbecue a lot. More dead kids.

[Johnny Rico]

65. I drive a hybrid when the weather's nice, so maybe I'm only maiming someone's kid.

But then again, I do drive a Jeep in the winter. They're toast.

[One_Life_To_Give]

67. Is starvation better?

We can take away cars but that is going to hurt rural populations and farmers most. And without all of their petrochemical fertilized food and petro-driven machinery you would out from any urban metropolis to an area large enough to support growing/harvesting/foraging food supplies by hand.

[taught_me_patience]

68. Is this about smoking?

Because if it is, it's a really bad analogy.

[Marrah_G]

69. Well, everyone dies sometime.

I'm thinking they would die a bit faster if they were homeless and hungry.

[Egalitarian Thug]

70. Well at least this has managed to bring people with some pretty disparate opinions together

in their mutual contempt for this dumbass post.

[Initech]

71. Everything is going to kill everybody at some point, so I'm not worried about it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

73. What does my boat kill? Grandkids? Pets maybe?

Ugly caterpillars that would (if not killed by my boat) one day turn into beautiful Monarch Butterflies?