The letters to the editor in response to this ought to be pretty interesting:
My concern is, how can we possibly justify the consumption of fossil fuels for recreation given what we know about the impacts on the planet and the fast approaching "End of Oil" (despite what some suggest, it is a finite resource!)? It would seem that if we weigh the importance of moving a person from home to work versus someone jumping waves, pumping out a few more decibels, or seeking thrills on racetracks or trails with motorized devices, the answer would be pretty straightforward.
OK, so here come the tomatoes: "You're limiting my freedom!"
But think about it. How can we possibly justify extracting oil from places around the world (most of our oil is not from the U.S.), putting it through a refining process that uses huge amounts of energy and emits lots of pollution, and then shipping it to our local gasoline station so that we can frolic about on our preferred recreational vehicle?
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050721/OPINION02/507210330/1087/opinion
Posted by Dave at July 21, 2005 09:56 AM