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are we going to stop making all plastic items? Let's be realistic here. There is plenty of oil to go around for the moment, and I don't see that changing. I'd worry more about the pollution aspects.. the biggest polluters are recreational boat engines, lawn mowers, 2 stroke weed whackers, snowblowers, etc. I'd tackle the pollution aspect first before telling people we can't making anything out of petroleum products, because that will never happen.
Most of the biggest liberal types out there tend to be wealthy and have their gas guzzling vehicles. Many are politicians and use private jets that only have a couple passengers. Basically, we are not going to stop people from making items from petroleum.. I'd further tackle the highly polluting items first.
We could encourage corporations to make items that last rather than making cheap, chinese throwaway items. I've been using the same belt for 15 years.... that's what happens when you make a product with quality.. of course even then people will throw it away just because they are bored with it and want something new. Remember cash for clunkers? Big waste of perfectly good used cars, destroying the engines and creating lots of waste in the process.. takes a lot of resources to build a new car from scratch vs maintaining a used one. People cashed perfectly good fuel efficient cars in because they were older.. no other reason. I've been driving the same car 14 years... because I don't like wasting money on depreciating assets. It gets 25 MPG at 80MPH.
Remember cash for clunkers? <snip>. People cashed perfectly good fuel efficient cars in because they were older.. no other reason.
You're remembering that wrong. The cars that were accepted for credit had to be on the list of eligible cars, which were NOT fuel efficient. And the car the credit was to apply to had to be more fuel efficient, with the amount of the credit depending on the amount of improvement.
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I've been driving the same car 14 years... because I don't like wasting money on depreciating assets. It gets 25 MPG at 80MPH.
You're not that unusual. R.L. Polk reported last fall that the average age of currently registered American cars is 11.4 years.
OpenD - That average though could be misleading. Because I know people that have classic cars in addition to their daily driver. It really skews that average. It takes many more 1-2 year old cars to average out those.
I don't dispute the fact that not everyone is driving a 1-4 year old car out there. But since it includes all registered cars it is skewed. As an example, my FIL has a 1972 Triumph that is registered, in addition to his 2011 Truck. On average he is driving a 22.5 year old car. And he has friends with REGISTERED cars that are much much older. A lot of them have and actually drive 1940's hot rods just not everyday and all year 'round.
I wonder how or if they took that into consideration. Or does it really not make that much of a difference?
OpenD - That average though could be misleading. Because I know people that have classic cars in addition to their daily driver. It really skews that average. It takes many more 1-2 year old cars to average out those.
Keep in mind that this is not R.L. Polk's first rodeo...
Your friends with classic cars are not typical, and that doesn't explain the stats. According to R.L. Polk's research, the main reason the average age of cars on the roads is going higher and higher is that people are holding onto their cars longer for financial reasons, rather than buying new cars. And that finding is well supported by the sluggish new car sales for years.
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The decline in new vehicle sales during the recession pushed the average vehicle age higher, as people kept their old cars running longer, according to Polk. The number of vehicles over a dozen years old is growing especially rapidly, the firm said.
This trend of cars growing older has been building for a long time. In 2002, the average vehicle was 9.6 years old. In 1995, it was 8.4 years.
My family's car is a 1999. Two reasons we have not yet bought a new vehicle: our current sedan is still is excellent working order, and the cost of buying a new car is ridiculous.
Heck, just outlaw any 4 wheeled vehicles and make everyone drive motorcycles. My V-Strom gets better mileage than a Prius (plus it's a lot more fun and looks a lot better). Kinda sucks in the snow or for carrying anything much bigger than my lunch though.
Come to think of it though...the same can be said for a Prius.
Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half gallons of oil and more than
250 cubic feet of natural gas per day each! But, as shown here petroleum is not just used for fuel.
As the use of fossil fuels is an unsustainable venture when the oil ultimately runs out there will be much sacrifice and inconvenience in that end of oil process..
IMO, most folks are thinking..."Oh well, I won't be around when that happens anyway".
Also IMO, when it comes to being 'greener', most folks can 'talk the talk but not walk the walk'. It makes me chuckle.
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