I get it: The planet is in jeopardy. There are holes in the ozone layer, the ice caps are melting, polar bears are dying, the sun is burning up the planet and everything on it, and we're slowly eating our way through all the resources we have to offer. Truly, I see the bigger picture. I recycle all plastics and paper, I use a reusable bags for lunches and groceries, I drink filtered water to stop the pile of plastic bottles taking over, and I'm conscious about lights being left on in my home and running too many appliances at once.
Yet, I still drive a car to work every day.
And for that, I'm judged.
And I'm not just talking about people who bring up the subject in casual conversation, as in: “You know, have you ever considered driving less?” I'm talking about full-on glares and even bikers giving me the finger as I drive downtown in a pickup. I had a pedestrian once knock on my window while I was stopped at a light in a Ford F-350 SuperDuty and ask if I could stop killing the planet and turn off my engine while I was idling.
Forget about having a civilized conversation with a green-goer. The moment I explain what I do for a living, I'm the devil's spawn. I drive gas-powered Earth-killers, spawned from the pit of hell sent out to destroy us all one acceleration at a time. I'm part of the problem, promoting the use of motorized transportation and I should be damning every vehicle that isn't fully electric, or better yet, a bicycle.
I've learned to keep my mouth shut. Apparently, the excuse that I live 60km (each way) away from work isn't enough of a reason to need to drive (I could bike for 25 minutes to the train station, sit on there for 45 minutes, then take a metro for another 35 minutes, then walk for another 20 minutes, one way – duh). Not even the fact that I am not within a comfortable walking/biking distance of a grocery store is enough to silence their dislike for my use of a car: “Walk to the grocery store every day. Buy as you need food instead of hoarding it all and buying everything in one trip.”
Um, no.
I like having milk in the fridge when I need it. I don't like opening it to add milk to my tea, seeing there is none and then heading out to walk to the grocery store only to return 2 hours later to a cold cup of tea. That's not my idea of a good Sunday afternoon.
And yet, I'm still the one killing the planet. For all the bikers, public-transit-takers, and walkers out there; how many of them travel by plane? A 3-hour flight can produce up to 250kg of CO2 emissions. How many planet-loving car-haters own a cell phone? Research has shown that the use of cell phones kills bees, causing them to leave their hives and never return, which directly effects the world's food crops. How many of them put their garbage out on the curb once a week for it to sit in a landfill for decades? In actual fact “trash air” can be used to generate electricity.
Sure you can scoff at my cars, tsk-tsk at my drive events and even lecture me about not walking to the grocery store (really now?), but until you live completely carbon-free using only sustainable products and renewable resources; eat only organic, free-range food; and throw out your cell phone you're welcome to still pass judgement. But I'm not sure the title “hypocritical environmentalist” is a nickname you really want to carry.
Yet, I still drive a car to work every day.
And for that, I'm judged.
And I'm not just talking about people who bring up the subject in casual conversation, as in: “You know, have you ever considered driving less?” I'm talking about full-on glares and even bikers giving me the finger as I drive downtown in a pickup. I had a pedestrian once knock on my window while I was stopped at a light in a Ford F-350 SuperDuty and ask if I could stop killing the planet and turn off my engine while I was idling.
Forget about having a civilized conversation with a green-goer. The moment I explain what I do for a living, I'm the devil's spawn. I drive gas-powered Earth-killers, spawned from the pit of hell sent out to destroy us all one acceleration at a time. I'm part of the problem, promoting the use of motorized transportation and I should be damning every vehicle that isn't fully electric, or better yet, a bicycle.
I've learned to keep my mouth shut. Apparently, the excuse that I live 60km (each way) away from work isn't enough of a reason to need to drive (I could bike for 25 minutes to the train station, sit on there for 45 minutes, then take a metro for another 35 minutes, then walk for another 20 minutes, one way – duh). Not even the fact that I am not within a comfortable walking/biking distance of a grocery store is enough to silence their dislike for my use of a car: “Walk to the grocery store every day. Buy as you need food instead of hoarding it all and buying everything in one trip.”
Um, no.
I like having milk in the fridge when I need it. I don't like opening it to add milk to my tea, seeing there is none and then heading out to walk to the grocery store only to return 2 hours later to a cold cup of tea. That's not my idea of a good Sunday afternoon.
And yet, I'm still the one killing the planet. For all the bikers, public-transit-takers, and walkers out there; how many of them travel by plane? A 3-hour flight can produce up to 250kg of CO2 emissions. How many planet-loving car-haters own a cell phone? Research has shown that the use of cell phones kills bees, causing them to leave their hives and never return, which directly effects the world's food crops. How many of them put their garbage out on the curb once a week for it to sit in a landfill for decades? In actual fact “trash air” can be used to generate electricity.
Sure you can scoff at my cars, tsk-tsk at my drive events and even lecture me about not walking to the grocery store (really now?), but until you live completely carbon-free using only sustainable products and renewable resources; eat only organic, free-range food; and throw out your cell phone you're welcome to still pass judgement. But I'm not sure the title “hypocritical environmentalist” is a nickname you really want to carry.