response to DV8

I have to wonder what DV8 meant when he said this in his most recent post:
"Too often in our society, we trade that which is good for the soul and aesthetically pleasing for that which is practical and economically efficient. A darned shame."

I couldn't disagree more! (I don't want to attack DV8, and I know he was referring to the Eldora night-sking context...but taken by itself the above quote irks me, and I know DV8 will probably mostly agree with what I have to say.)

I'm quite sure the people that buy Ford Expeditions prefer the look and how driving it makes them feel over a small and sort of strange looking Toyota Hybrid Prius. They prefer being high off the ground and feel safer because of that. They like that it's versatile and can "go anywhere"..but does that make it the right car to choose? No one needs that big of a vehicle (ok, VERY few people do). Why wouldn't an all-wheel drive Subaru wagon do the same thing with just as much room - especially when you can have a cargo box? The Expedition has 110 cubic feet of cargo volume whereas the Subaru Legacy Outback wagon has 67 and Thule rocketbox is an extra 21 cubic feet. That's a difference of 22 cubic feet...so if you need that extra 22 cubic feet get a second rocket box.

We don't live in a black box, and there are too many of us humans to do whatever we want anymore. Every choice we make in this world effects everyone else in this world...along with all the wildlife we so often forget about.

Think about it.

From your car choice to what type of produce or coffee you drink. If you choose a Ford Expedition, you affect not only your own air quality but everyone else's air quality (as well as add considerably more to global warming) . For example, a Ford Expedition emits 12.3 tons of greenhouse gas a year compared to a Toyota Prius which only emits 3.5 tons a year...a four-fold difference. If you buy non-organic produce you are contributing to the increase in pesticide use and the list of repercussions that pesticide use has on the environment and the people that work in those environments. For example, in the central valley of California the resident migrant farm workers have a higher risk of cancer and birth deformities due to pesticide and herbicide use in the farms. This effect is much reduced if not omitted with growing organic produce. Moreover, who knows the long term effects of daily ingesting pesticides.

I'll take economics and praticality over aesthetics any day because i believe that the soul will be nourished when we start making choices realizing that this is a small planet.