Day 112- Earth Day; or, Do More- Useless

I hate the new chevy ads. The ones for the environmentally friendly cars.



There is another one where the environmentally concerned driver connects his socks and underwear to the car radial antennae and then starts driving. As his tighty whiteys are flapping in the wind, the words say, "If you really cared about the environment, you could dry your clothes on your way to work. Or, you can get a new Chevy Tahoe Hybrid."

I hate these ads because they confirm what I thought all along, GM and Chevy are jumping on the "Green Bandwagon". They have found a great way to convince people the only way to save the world is by spending more money.

According to the Kelly Blue Book, a new Chevy Tahoe Hybrid will run you $50,490. And The Chevy website confirms that. Wow! And just how green is your Chevy Tahoe Hybrid? Approx. 20 MPG both hwy and city. That is still 4 MPG less than Chevy's non-hybrid compact AVEO.

And that is not even with extra features or gas.

What could we do with that $50,500?

We could put solar panels on 3 houses and never have to pay for gas or electricity again.
You could buy shares in a Community Supported Farm and have fresh, locally grown vegetables for 91 years.
You could install about 2,500 square feet of double paned window glass and save on heating and cooling for 10 average sized American households .
You could afford 40,400 bus rides on the Washington, DC Metrobus. Or one round trip a day for 55 years. And take a car off the road, for nearly a lifetime--reducing CO2 and dependence of oil.
Or, you could buy about 5,000 Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs. And save on electricity.

In other words, you could buy a lot of actually green options for the same price as a green-ish hybrid SUV.

What really gets me the most about these ads is how much it makes environmentalists seem weird.

"Dog baths and flapping underwear. This is your future America. But you can trust us, we are Chevrolet. We know what is best for you. We'll save you from those weirdos"