Is environmentalism too misanthropic?

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by rbohm

that may have been true in the 80s, but not anymore with the advent of modern engine management systems.

Oh, it is absolutely true. The incredibly inefficient timing and fuel and egr maps required to meet emissions have only gotten WORSE, not better.

What is costing us fuel economy though is the safety systems required on modern cars. they make cars heavier and thus less fuel efficient. and before anyone makes the claim i am against safety, far from it. i just think that with better designs, and less government interference, the auto engineers can come up with some designs that would be much lighter, as well as much safer. we are already seeing it with crumple zones, and routing the energy transfer around the passenger compartment instead of absorbing the impact and containing it in front of the passenger compartment, which is what was done in the past.

Weight is only a small factor. it has negligible effects on steady state cruise, and careful driving can pretty much make up for that, and more.

The real issue is that modern engines don't run anywhere NEAR optimum efficiency, thanks to absurd emissions standards.

[rbohm]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

Well, I think they can be, but I generally think they are passionate idealists, trying to make the world a better place. I mean I think striking a balance is a desirable goal, but their are very difficult decisions to be made. People in Brazil are slicking off forests that have species found nowhere else in the world that have never even been described. Talk about a sin against nature. Other species have a right to continue existing on this planet, and causing extinctions for a quick buck is morally wrong and probably bad for us in the long term. Most people could not care less about the outcomes of their actions, so someone has to speak up for other species and the integrity of the planet. I don't always agree with their methods, but I don't think they are misanthropes. In temperate latitudes most of our plant an animal species have endured huge ice age fluctuations and so diversity is lower and resiliency is higher. We could do more logging here without destroying the planet or causing many extinctions.

I think the larger issue is our legal way of forming policy. When we slug things out in the courts, the winner takes it all. So, activists are more oriented towards defaming the other guy and winning the battle than in the larger challenge of leading society towards wiser decisions. That mentality occurs in most political debates on all sides, and it is divisive.

very well said.