by Gideon MacLeish

Created on: March 11, 2007   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

I drive an SUV. Specifically, a 1999 Chevy Suburban. Yet in the face of those who would demand that I am harming the environment, I would have to argue that my impact on the environment is actually LESS than the average family of four, despite the fact that my family is TWICE that size.

Let me take you through my home before going back to the topic of my vehicle of choice. In every room you will find compact fluorescent light bulbs. Incandescents are a thing of the past in our household. You will find a front loading high efficiency washer that uses far less water than the average top loader, as well as less energy to heat the water and less detergent. You will find containers reused and old computer equipment that someone else would have dumped out long ago. Re-use is a major buzzword around our home.

Back to the vehicle. With my driving habits, I get about 16 mpg from the Suburban. I could probably knock out a bit more if I were to drive 55 instead of 70 on the highway, but my time's stretched thin enough as it is. I live 12 miles outside of town, so my daily commute is about 30-40 miles round trip. This means I use about 2.5 gallons of fuel daily.

Let's look at the average family. The last statistics I saw said the average commute was 40 some odd minutes, so I am going to assume a one way distance of 20 miles. This is likely city traffic, where the fuel consumption is greater. So let's figure 40 miles round trip per day, which would be 1.3 gallons of gas per day.

The average family of four is a dual income family, though, meaning they're usually driving two cars. This doubles their fuel consumption. Add in the "soccer mom" extras of the middle class lifestyle and you're going to significantly increase their mileage. Plus the fact that they have two vehicles putting emissions into the atmosphere. And a look at compact fluorescent light bulb sales would indicate that, while they are more popular than they have been in the past, they are a long way from overtaking their incandescent counterparts.

I care more about the environment than most. I feel it is an important issue. But I drive a Suburban because it is safer, and it fits our lifestyle. The truth is, there aren't many fuel efficient vehicles that can carry a family of 8 comfortably and still come in under the $10,000 mark. What I lose in fuel efficiency, I more than make up in total fuel consumption; we work hard to "double up" errands, and I consolidate two trips into town in a day to one single trip. Although this robs time that I could be spending with my family, it saves money, fuel and the environment.

To borrow and re-appropriate an old phrase: cars don't pollute the environment. People do.

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