SUV Protest

I heard this on NPR today. I'm not sure why but I found it humorous.
It seems that in the St. Germain des Pres district of Paris
environmentalists are protesting the presence of monster SUVs by
letting the air out of the tires. They then leave a pamphlet on the
windshield explaining their motives.

Here is a link to today's show (September 13th):
http://theworld.org/latesteditions/09/20050913.shtml
You can listen to the entire show or scroll to the bottom and click on
the "Geo Answer Interview".

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I heard this on NPR today. I'm not sure why but I found it humorous.
It seems that in the St. Germain des Pres district of Paris
environmentalists are protesting the presence of monster SUVs by
letting the air out of the tires. They then leave a pamphlet on the
windshield explaining their motives.

Let me say that I've considered every possible protest against SUVs in the
city and rejected anything that could be considered "violence" or anything
that could actually inconvenience an SUV owner -- who am I to judge
whether or not a particular SUV is or is not a good solution for that
driver?

What I find works second best is the fake ticket thing for SUVs actually
blocking bike lanes. No damage, lots of education and thought.

What works best, of course, is a $100 East Village Special flying past a
hopelessly stuck $60,000 Escalade.

--ag

While SUV's get really bad press I imagine that in fact SUV's and pick
ups are the vehicles of choice for many environmentalists.
While tooling around central Paris or even downtown Chicago in an 6 mpg
Hummer is pretty sick, I think that many who consider themselves
environmentalists are involved in the types of outdoor activites for
which high clearance and 4wd are pretty important.
For myself I do a lot of back country hiking and rock climbing. Many of
the mountain roads that I use would be unpassable in a car. I will tell
you that my SUV does a lot less damage to roads and is a lot quieter
than the more fuel efficinet ATV's that wreak havoc in some of these
areas.
To me the culprits are not the folks that use these vehicles for
legitimate poor road and off road purposes but the manufactureres who
seemingly purposely make them less efficient than they could. And of
course the folks that buy giant SUV's and trucks but have no need for
them other than style are nowpaying an increasing "tax" in terms of
fuel costs. My guess is that this will be self correcting and "city
Hummers" will be a minor issue over time.

13 Sep 2005 15:03:19 -0700,
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted post said:

It seems that in the St. Germain des Pres district of Paris
environmentalists are protesting the presence of monster SUVs by
letting the air out of the tires.

Were I a Parisian driver, I imagine that by now I'd have done far
worse than letting air out of tires. In Paris, parking is a contact
sport. You often find a space that's almost large enough to park in so
you shove the cars ahead and behind until your car fits. Cars are most
wisely left parked in 'neutral' with the parking brake set. The bumper
heights of SUV don't facilitate this method of parking.
--
zk

Quoted post said:

I heard this on NPR today. I'm not sure why but I found it humorous.
It seems that in the St. Germain des Pres district of Paris
environmentalists are protesting the presence of monster SUVs by
letting the air out of the tires. They then leave a pamphlet on the
windshield explaining their motives.

So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
his kids' school, or whatever. Yeah, that's really taking the moral
high ground.

Owners of SUVs already pay for their folly: they have to feed their
behemoths with loads of gas whereas I haven't had a fill-up in
weeks--and most days get to work on food power anyway:-)

--
Robert Uhl <http://public.xdi.org/=ruhl>
It's actually nice working on a totally doomed project. There is none
of the anxiety of dealing with `What if it goes wrong.' There is none
of the building up of expectations like `Damn, it will be cool if we
pull this off.' Just calm understanding that soon we will be told to
bend over. --Wayne Pascoe

Robert Uhl said:

So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
his kids' school, or whatever. Yeah, that's really taking the moral
high ground.

Yeah, I agree. That's pretty lame and potentially dangerous.

Quoted message said:

Owners of SUVs already pay for their folly: they have to feed their
behemoths with loads of gas whereas I haven't had a fill-up in
weeks--and most days get to work on food power anyway:-)

Although I wonder if high gas prices are enough. I mean, if you're
paying $60,000 for a Lincoln Navigator or an Escalade, do you really
worry about gas being $1 more expensive per gallon? I think people will
continue to pay through the nose to be perceived as high-class. They
always have...

gds said:

While SUV's get really bad press I imagine that in fact SUV's and pick
ups are the vehicles of choice for many environmentalists.

Even if that were true, in this day an age "environmentalists" are a
small slice of the population to worry about. Besides we .. I mean
THEY, they have Priuses now.

FWIW, I can relate to a 4x4 being used up in the mountains, on trails,
etc., but it's sad that the SUV thing continues down here in the
beautifully paved streets of Orange County, California. I think I saw
about six Hummers, detailed and highly waxed, on my short walk today.

That's the most bizarre thing ... that the "profile" is to have a
highly waxed Hummer that never goes off-road. It is a demonstration of
conspicuous consumption in its purest form.

"the spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 'We don't want
SUVs to be seen as a sign of wealth, but something that is associated
with an imbecile.'"

Yeah, I'd say we are there. Anti-science imbeciles who have a religous
disbelief in global warming perhaps.

gds said:

While SUV's get really bad press I imagine that in fact SUV's and pick
ups are the vehicles of choice for many environmentalists.

Even if that were true, in this day an age "environmentalists" are a
small slice of the population to worry about. Besides we .. I mean
THEY, they have Priuses now.

FWIW, I can relate to a 4x4 being used up in the mountains, on trails,
etc., but it's sad that the SUV thing continues down here in the
beautifully paved streets of Orange County, California. I think I saw
about six Hummers, detailed and highly waxed, on my short walk today.

That's the most bizarre thing ... that the "profile" is to have a
highly waxed Hummer that never goes off-road. It is a demonstration of
conspicuous consumption in its purest form.

"the spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 'We don't want
SUVs to be seen as a sign of wealth, but something that is associated
with an imbecile.'"

Yeah, I'd say we are there. Anti-science imbeciles who have a religous
disbelief in global warming perhaps.

Sorry for the double post. I gave the first about a half hour before
firing the second ... and then they both popped through. I issued a
cancel on the one, but I don't think cancels are honored as well as
they were in the good old days. Sorry again.

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I heard this on NPR today. I'm not sure why but I found it humorous.
It seems that in the St. Germain des Pres district of Paris
environmentalists are protesting the presence of monster SUVs by
letting the air out of the tires. They then leave a pamphlet on the
windshield explaining their motives.

Letting the air out is a bit much. There are anti-SUV bumper stickers, but I
think these magnetic ones on eBay are funnier.

http://tinyurl.com/cmk97

Sticking on the one that says "[censored] You Cop" should be good for a laugh.

Quoted message said:

gds said:

While SUV's get really bad press I imagine that in fact SUV's and pick
ups are the vehicles of choice for many environmentalists.

Even if that were true, in this day an age "environmentalists" are a
small slice of the population to worry about. Besides we .. I mean
THEY, they have Priuses now.

Yup. That's me. Gave the Pathfinder to charity a couple years back.
Decided that--on balance--I just wasn't skiing, camping, scuba diving,
off-roading, and mountain biking in the boonies as much as I used to.
15mpg just didn't make sense. The Prius--once I added the receiver
and hitch-mounted rack--serves 99% of my needs admirably.

OTOH, a good friend of mine just decided that /his/ Pathfinder was
/way/ past its sell-by date. He shopped quite a while before buying a
loaded 4Runner. He rarely drives, though--either motorcycling or
bicycling to work. Uses the SUV for camping, hiking, etc.

That's still pretty green where I come from.

Quoted message said:

FWIW, I can relate to a 4x4 being used up in the mountains, on trails,
etc., but it's sad that the SUV thing continues down here in the
beautifully paved streets of Orange County, California. I think I saw
about six Hummers, detailed and highly waxed, on my short walk today.

That's the most bizarre thing ... that the "profile" is to have a
highly waxed Hummer that never goes off-road. It is a demonstration of
conspicuous consumption in its purest form.

Makes me nauseous. Was glad when mom moved from Newport Beach to
Laguna Beach. Oh, they're still wild consumers down there; just not
/quite/ as conspicuous ;-)

Never forget: www.fuh2.com

Quoted message said:

I will tell you that my SUV does a lot less damage to roads and is a lot quieter
than the more fuel efficinet ATV's that wreak havoc in some of these
areas.

Intersting you should mention that.

Last weekend I was watching TV and saw this show on Spike network called
"Trucks!"

The show is hosted by this friendly guy with a southern accent who fixes
up old 4x4s (Jeeps and whatnot) so they can go "off-roading". On this
show he was mounting a couple of large bumpers to his rig, along with a
12,000 lb winch. There were a few other mods, too, that I didn't catch.

Anyhow, he takes a camera crew out with him to some nice, quiet
location, and proceeds to drive his Jeep all up and down this
creek/river, tearing up mud and grass and doing God-knows-what to the
local ecosystem. At one point he gets stuck and uses his winch to pull
himself out so he can keep on burning his gas and tearing around the
countryside. At one point he hollers "Now that's what I call FUN!"

I can think of a lot of words for someone like that, but
"environmentalist" does not come quickly to mind.

I'm not implying that YOU do this in your SUV, but my point is that just
because somebody enjoys the outdoors, does not mean they're necessarily
concerned about the environment or its preservation/protection.

Finally, I do recognize and respect people who use these vehicles
responsibly, and for their intended purpose.

Robert Uhl said:

So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
his kids' school, or whatever. Yeah, that's really taking the moral
high ground.

In an emergency situation, people should call 911. The last thing we
need is a guy in a hummer driving like a madman to get somewhere.

Rich

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 00:22:48 GMT, Neil Brooks <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Even if that were true, in this day an age "environmentalists" are a
small slice of the population to worry about. Besides we .. I mean
THEY, they have Priuses now.

Yup. That's me. Gave the Pathfinder to charity a couple years back.
Decided that--on balance--I just wasn't skiing, camping, scuba diving,
off-roading, and mountain biking in the boonies as much as I used to.
15mpg just didn't make sense. The Prius--once I added the receiver
and hitch-mounted rack--serves 99% of my needs admirably.

BTW, what did the bike and rack do to your mileage on your long trip a
couple months back?

Pat

Email address works as is.

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 18:54:07 -0500,
<[email hidden]>, Bill Henry

Quoted message said:

Robert Uhl said:

So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
his kids' school, or whatever. Yeah, that's really taking the moral
high ground.

Yeah, I agree. That's pretty lame and potentially dangerous.

Your inabilities to imagine doing anything without your carapace is
pathetically lame. You're mentally crippled by you car dependency.

Here's a clue: Paris has thousands upon thousands of taxis.
--
zk

Robert Uhl said:

So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
his kids' school, or whatever.

Yeah, and what if the poor guy with the homemade bombs needs to blow a
hole in his apartment wall to get out in case of a fire? We'd better
not bother him either!

Quoted message said:

Owners of SUVs already pay for their folly...

Not enough. And the rest of us are paying too much for their folly.

- Frank Krygowski

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 18:54:07 -0500,
<[email hidden]>, Bill Henry

Quoted message said:

Robert Uhl said:

So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
his kids' school, or whatever. Yeah, that's really taking the moral
high ground.

Yeah, I agree. That's pretty lame and potentially dangerous.

Your inabilities to imagine doing anything without your carapace is
pathetically lame. You're mentally crippled by you car dependency.

i think the inherent danger is in a person driving away with deflated
tire(s) without being aware of it.

brink

gds said:

While SUV's get really bad press I imagine that in fact SUV's and pick
ups are the vehicles of choice for many environmentalists.
While tooling around central Paris or even downtown Chicago in an 6 mpg
Hummer is pretty sick, I think that many who consider themselves
environmentalists are involved in the types of outdoor activites for
which high clearance and 4wd are pretty important.
For myself I do a lot of back country hiking and rock climbing. Many of
the mountain roads that I use would be unpassable in a car.

I don't know what your roads are like. But I recall during the 1970s
driving a VW Beetle or a VW Bus into some very remote mountain roads
for backpacking and camping trips. I recall one trip where the Bus
couldn't make it up a steep, gravelly dirt road, so the four passengers
had to get out to reduce the weight as I drove on through the steep
part. No big deal.

4WD isn't necessary for most backcountry work. That idea's just
another product of the ad-man's fantasies.

BTW, of the SUV owners I know, the one (and only) one who bought it for
"backpacking, rock climbing, yada yada" does those activities about
once per year. The rest of the time he drives it the three miles to
work and back.

And I was with him the first time he took it into the woods - about 100
yards. He freaked about the possibility of cosmetic damage, then
decided to slowly back out.

As a conservative estimate, I'd say 99% of SUV owners have no practical
need for the monstrosities. The trend is driven by a combination of
conspicuous consumption and stupidity.

- Frank Krygowski

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:30:36 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

brink said:

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 18:54:07 -0500,
<[email hidden]>, Bill Henry

Quoted message said:

Robert Uhl wrote:
> So potentially someone in an emergency situation might run out to his
> vehicle and be unable to get to the hospital, or his parents' home, or
> his kids' school, or whatever. Yeah, that's really taking the moral
> high ground.

Yeah, I agree. That's pretty lame and potentially dangerous.

Your inabilities to imagine doing anything without your carapace is
pathetically lame. You're mentally crippled by you car dependency.

i think the inherent danger is in a person driving away with deflated
tire(s) without being aware of it.

If they're that stunned, we'd all be better off if they'd left the
thing on the showroom floor!
It's not like a high-speed blowout. They're leaving a parking space.
--
zk