[exchange on CCM list]

…apparently that animals have rather wasteful metabolisms–not
just the animals we eat, but we humans, too. Indeed, we have extravagantly
wasteful metabolisms from an getting-around-efficiently point of view; all
those brains sure suck up a lot of energy, as do those nimble hands. (Then
again, we also start with less energy-dense food than cars do.) That point
would be moot if the comparison were between BICYCLING and driving, since
bicycling is so incredibly goshdarned energy efficient.

Also, I would argue with the characterization in the “Sierra Club Script For Arguing Against Carfreedom” subject heading. The
Sierra Club is NOT “against carfreedom,” and the script on the site actually
calls carfreedom “commendable.” Instead, the Sierra Club seems to be against
taking strident, oppositional stands on environmental issues. I mostly agree
with Sis on substance, but not on style, and that’s what I took away from
reading the Sierra exchange.

As dopey and half-assed as it might seem, a 5% increase in fuel economy
would have the same clean-air benefit as a tenfold increase in cycling. But
you know what would be better than one or the other? BOTH! I would encourage
everyone who wants better cities, cleaner air, safer streets, and more open
space to fight for both improved fuel economy (ideally through price
incentives, but MPG standards can also work) and more safer, better cycling
routes, instead of roundly attacking one another for not being perfect
enough.

The bottom line should not be “I’m right and you’re wrong,” as satisfying as
that may be, but that the impacts of our various actions on the environment
are complex, overlapping, and not easily quantifiable. Compare organic
produce from California vs. conventional produce from Michigan: the organic
creates fewer toxics and less water pollution but takes more land (and
potentially water) to grow and needs to be trucked long distances. In the
end, there’s no way to quantify which has the greater environmental impact:
you’d have to assign values to unquantifiable things like “habitat loss” or
“aquifer drainage,” and that’s difficult if not impossible to do.

And no, I’m not a right-wing status-quo auto-industry shill, and anyone who
says otherwise is itching for a fight.
– pc, 80% vegetarian, 100% carfree, Sierra Club member and volunteer,
professional environmentalist