environmental guilt/petrolhead angst
environmental guilt/petrolhead angst
Author
Discussion

billywhizzzzzz

Original Poster:

2,552 posts

166 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
I'm a little nervous about using the environmental word on here. I'm a petrol head through and through - the most obsessive i've ever met - first word was car, and have had caterhams, elises, e30 m3s, alpinas, e46 m3s as daily drivers. I now have a s4 v8 avant and a land rover defender (plus a couple of old classic BMWs tucked away). However, i'm involved at quite a high level professionally and academically in strategic environmental design on a large scale and and incredibly ashamed of my petrolhead tendencies... I always park around the corner from wherever anyone would see me, even hire crappy small cars occasionally to avoid being seen in mine. I've tried to be sensible - even bought a new 330d m sport touring trying to have the best of both worlds but ended up being even more ashamed of that as it was perceived as just naff and flash - and perceived even more negatively by clients etc than my v understated S4...! I'm a complete pathetic hypocrite - I live in a low energy house, work in an ecological/environmental sector, read the guardian, try to cycle everywhere, but... just am OBSESSED with cars around which I have TERRIBLE guilt!!! Does anyone else on this form have trouble reconciling their love of cars...? Anyone else give two hoots about the environment?

bqf

2,289 posts

194 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Nope, couldn't give a fk

iva cosworth

44,044 posts

186 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
I offset my filth belching turbo car by being REALLY good at recyclingsmile

davepoth

29,395 posts

222 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Regardless of what you do, that fuel is going to be burnt and turned into CO2 in the atmosphere eventually. It'll then be turned back into oil over millions of years and then if anyone is still around to burn it, it'll get burnt again. Eventually the dying sun will incinerate the earth, and then there would be a real reason to be upset about global warming, but I doubt anybody will be around to notice.

So in conclusion, buy a V12 Jaguar.

Man Maths - You Know It Makes Sense™

C8H18Head

446 posts

194 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
No.

There's only a finite amount of oil in the world.

It will all get used.

The environment does not care who uses it.

It might as well be me.

My Land Rover - 8mpg
My E38 728 - 21mpg
My wife's 330 - 24mpg

CBR JGWRR

6,577 posts

172 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
buy a 125cc motorcycle.

You can then say you care about the environment, because you use a very frugal motorcycle, but you use the car because you find it funny that you use a non environmental car to go to a environmental minded place.

(Other excuses are available.)

smile

MikeyMike

587 posts

224 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of your colleagues wouldn't have a clue what an S4 was. Its actually less overtly "sporty" than most of Audi's diesel range.

Its good to have a social conscience and to carefully consider ones actions and the impact they may have on others or the environment, but its not like you're driving a truck to the shops Chris Eubank style! I don't think you need to give yourself such a hard time.

jagnet

4,373 posts

225 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Being very concerned by the deforestation of the Amazonian rain forests, I make a concerted effort to counteract that by producing as much plant food as I can with the aid of a V12 engine and Shell's finest.

I like to feel I'm doing my bit to help the environment.

TheLordJohn

5,746 posts

169 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Isn't the CO2 that man contributes to our atmosphere only 3% of total CO2 anyway?
So even if we halve our output as a planet, we will still on reduce atmospheric levels by 1.5%.
It's all bullst which is used very well to tax the st out of us. The UK might aswell do absolutely nothing, as long as China, not to mention America, do what they like with regards to 'pollution'.
Retards go on about Global Warming and give figures of how the planet has warmed in the past 50 years. They don't bother mentioning the difference in the planet which has occurred in the last 400+ million years.
It's literally a complete excuse for taxation - and to supply do gooding plebs with a non-job or pastime.

Edited by TheLordJohn on Thursday 12th July 20:07

shunaphil

447 posts

166 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
If you don't burn the fuel someone else will.

If you drove a 4 litre V8 TVR you would have less of an overall carbon footprint than if you bought a Prius - no-one will be keeping a 15 year old Prius going in 2020.

If you work in the industry, you must know that aviation, industry and natural factors surely have a bigger environmental impact than car use.

Also - don't read the Guardian - its for pansies.

fozzymandeus

1,088 posts

169 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Doesn't bother me at all that I like high CO2 output cars.

I work in the ultimate low carbon energy generation industry. I think that clears my conscience. biggrin

Nuclear waste? What? What are you saying? Pfft, in years to come you'll find that irradiated effluent USEFUL!

Fartgalen

6,845 posts

230 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
TheLordJohn said:
Isn't the CO2 that man contributes to our atmosphere only 3% of total CO2 anyway?
So even if we halve our output as a planet, we will still on reduce atmospheric levels by 1.5%.
It's all bullst which is used very well to tax the st out of us. The UK might aswell do absolutely nothing, as long as China, not to mention America, do what they like with regards to 'pollution'.
Retards go on about Global Warming and give figures of how the planet has warmed in the past 50 years. They don't bother mentioning the difference in the planet which has occurred in the last 400+ million years.
It's literally a complete excuse fir taxation - and to supply do gooding plebs with a non-job or pastime.
This.
And no I don't.
Though I do drive a relatively economical daily smile that I mostly drive to acheive the maximum mpg.
My smallest engine is a 2.4 smile (Car engine that is).

cocopop

1,300 posts

228 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Fartgalen said:
This.
And no I don't.
Though I do drive a relatively economical daily smile that I mostly drive to acheive the maximum mpg.
My smallest engine is a 2.4 smile (Car engine that is).
Nice Viper!

I hope you don't mind, but I'm just going to pop this here for our guilt afflicted friend...


Happy82

15,078 posts

192 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Real environmental issues do concern me, however religous environmentalism is a load of bullst so I feel no guilt about driving.

Leins

10,229 posts

171 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
This is kind of related to something that's been annoying me. I have two bigger-engined cars (9 years and 21 years old) that I absolutely love, they are insured all the time, and taxed (extortionately in Ireland) for the periods of the year that they are taken out on the roads. My daily commute is done via public transport, and my total mileage for the last 12 months for the two of them was less than 3000 miles

However, I still seem to be branded a destroyer of the world by many people I've met. WTF? I have no interest in purchasing a new car or selling my ones anytime soon, so other than using a little bit of fuel (they do like a drink for those 3000miles wink) and a few spare parts I'm not sure what I'm doing that's any worse than the vast majority of people in their new cars doing 12,000 miles pa

911p

2,359 posts

203 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
C8H18Head said:
There's only a finite amount of oil in the world.

It will all get used.

The environment does not care who uses it.

It might as well be me.
+1 Very well said!

TheLordJohn

5,746 posts

169 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
shunaphil said:
Also - don't read the Guardian - its for pansies.
Hear hear.
Refer to my quote for the masses who swallowed labours 'education education education' bullish!t, went to uni, got some pishy, none classic, degree that wasn't worth the paper it was written on then opened the Guardian to find their particular non-job.

AndyBrew

2,774 posts

242 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
Nope couldn't give a toss, all this environmental bks gets on my tits, I now only buy V8's as a protest!

TheLordJohn

5,746 posts

169 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
AndyBrew said:
Nope couldn't give a toss, all this environmental bks gets on my tits, I now only buy V8's as a protest!
V12 is where it's at! Lol. I've got a lot of love when I see someone in a big car with a big engine. I think "good on you for being willing to go against the grain and put fuel in it!" or I just sigh with utter disappointment when I see it's a diesel.

Edited by TheLordJohn on Thursday 12th July 20:41

Fartgalen

6,845 posts

230 months

Thursday 12th July 2012
quotequote all
cocopop said:
Nice Viper!

I hope you don't mind, but I'm just going to pop this here for our guilt afflicted friend...

Hah hah, no prob coco. I figure if I use a little less day-to-day, then there's more left for the weekend. wink And it's not really a question of the environment. It's a question of cost for me. My daily is driven to maximise efficiency/cost. Everything else is just for fun.