by Rene Riter

Created on: June 08, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

Well, quite frankly I believe it is a little too late to be concerned about SUV restrictions considering the fact a gallon of gasoline is now at all time high. Something should have been done about the gas guzzling SUV and the king cab, 4x4 truck some time ago. They both have taken over our highways and parking spaces all while consuming excessive amounts of fuel. The primary purpose of buying such vehicles is to satisfy American's love affair with their vehicles and maintain or exceed a social status. Bigger is better. The more expensive warrants a higher social status.

Never have I seen so many multi-passenger vehicles traveling the highways with the driver as the sole occupant. In comparison, it is somewhat ironic to see a small, compact car filled to capcity with passengers zipping along in the flow of traffic. Even worse are the drivers of such vehicles, who for whatever reason, chose not to turn off their vehicles while parked. Last fall I took my granddaughter to dance class. I parked, with my engine off and my windows down, next to a large diesel SUV which was running. The outdoor temperature did not warrant the necessity of heat nor air. After a few minutes of listening to the noisy, rattling engine and inhaling the offensive fumes from the SUV, I decided to move to another parking space. My granddaughter's dance class lasted an hour. The SUV ran nonstop the entire hour. Why? What a waste of fuel and unnecessary pollution of the air!
I often wonder if the owners of these fuel burning monsters ever once considered the impact an increased demand on fuel would have on the price of fuel or the the consequences to the envirionment. I seriously doubt it. All I have heard from the status quo vehicle owners are complaints, reccomendations to become independent of the oil producing countries and suggestions to drill for oil in Alaska even if it means destroying the ecosystem or causing extinction of endangered species. Few dare to consider downsizing to a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle.
When will we learn there is only a certain amount of oil, water, air and soil that will eventually run out. There is an end to everything. There is not an unlimited supply of our natural resources. We should learn to conserve, pressure our government to create alternative fuels, demand automobile manufacturers to produce more enery efficient vehicles and most importantly be in love with our earth instead of our vehicles.

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