No Car = No Gas Use...Not.

Has anyone else come across one those hip, cool, and "totally aware" people who live in a loft in the "SOHO" district of "Any City, USA" who turns their noses up at anyone who has to drive a car to work? These are usually well educated people who grew up in the suburbs, parents drove them to soccer practice every week, bought them their first car (so they could drive themselves to the city before they actually moved downtown). We're talking people who had a good life growing up. Now they have a well paying job downtown, ride the bus to work, eat out at trendy restaurants, and hang out at the most exclusive night spots. I overheard a woman talking to someone about how they chose to not own a car, and that even though they would like to live in a rural part of the country, they wouldn't dare put themselves in a position to own a car. There was a sense of pride, as if they could claim no guilt over anything related to the "evils" of oil or gasoline.

If you know someone who fits this profile, or maybe you have caught yourself thinking this way, I challenge your way of thinking. In fact, I might even say that the mother of three who lives in "Small Town, USA" may, in fact, be responsible for less use of oil and gasoline then the hip, young, bus rider living in the art district of the city. Let us look at a day in the life of a young, liberal, college grad, living in any metropolitan city in American. Here we go...

7:30 AM- Alarm goes off, (with electricity powered by coal)
7:45 AM- Takes hot shower (heated by electricity powered by coal)
8:00 AM- Takes bus to work (powered by gasoline)
- Listens to iPod that was delivered to store, or shipped via truck (gasonline)
8:30 AM- gets off bus and steps into Starbucks (powered by electricity) and buys a Mocha Java (coffee shipped using gasonline- too many stops to name from many coffee producing countries in world)
9:00 AM- 12:00 pm- Arrive at work, turns on computer (yes, you guessed- electricity) Spends half the day using computer, office equipment, supplies, and more coffee (all delivered to office and/or store via gasoline powered trucks)
12:00 PM- lunch at local organic deli (all vegatables farmed with gasoline powered farm equipment, delivered to city with gas powered trucks)
1:00 PM - 5:30 PM- computer and office use (once again delivered to city office via gas powered trucks, electricity use too)
6:00 PM- happy hour at local pub featuring beers from around the world (delivered via gas powered trucks, pub uses electricity)
7:00 PM- dinner w/friends at sushi cafe (fish caught on gas powered boats, shipped via gas powered planes and trucks)
9:00 PM- go to see film at local art house theater- (all made available both in production and delivery using gasoline powered trucks and planes)

Ok, I'll stop there. You get the picture. Now I know the average American doesn't have issue with this, but there is a growing segment of the population who think that just because they don't drive a car, they are somehow not effected, nor should they feel any responsibility toward being a consumer of gas. These people don't seem to feel guilty for consuming all the wonderful available services, both food and entertainment, provided to them in their stylish and hip section of downtown they live in; not even giving a thought to how these pleasures are delivered to them. As if the "Organic Cafe" that serves up their veggie burritos and green tea ice-cream has a garden in the alley behind the shop where veggies, soy beans, and tea are harvested.

My next entry will show how the day in the life of a mother of three living in rural America may be using less fossil fuels then our hip, young liberal, living downtown. The truth can be "inconvenient" Mr. Gore.