Amartya Saha wrote: > And we cannot go back to the pre-industrial age.
Can we go back even 30 years? 30 years ago..... 1. We had a National 55 MPH speed limit to minimize gasoline consumption. Today's ecologists and activists are unwlling to drive that slow to instantly reduce gasoline consumption by 20% 2. We bought new homes that were around 1,200 square feet in size. Today's ecologists and activists routinely choose homes that 50-100% bigger than that. 3. We drove compact 4 cylinder cars or compact station wagons that were about 2,300 lbs in weight, had manual transmissions for optimal fuel economy and got 30-35 MPG. Today's ecologists and activists want a 3,200 lb all wheel drive Subaru Forester type SUV vehicle that gets 25 MPG. 4. We drove compact 4 cylinder cars that had 70-90 horsepower engines that took 15 seconds to go from 0 - 60 MPH. Today's ecologists and activists want at least a 150 horsepower car that can do 0-60 MPH in 10 seconds even though engines that powerful reduce fuel economy by 10-20% 5. We drove compact 4 cylinder cars that had skinny, but fuel economy maximizing P155/80R13 tires. Today's ecologists and activists want cars with much wider wheels and tires that provide much better high speed cornering capability at the expense of fuel economy. 6. We drove compact 4 cylinder cars that were not burdened with hundreds of pounds of crash protection, stability control and traction equipement. Today's ecologists and activists are unwlling to buy a new car without that equipment even though the weight of the equipment increases fuel consumption by 10%. 7. We were satisfied with annual incomes in the $12,000 - $24,000 a year range even though it meant we could only afford modest sized homes and cars. Todays ecologists and activists are unwilling to live that austerely and want pay, benefits and material possessions that are comparable to business people. Paul Cherubini
