I think in all the time I have been on Daily Kos, there are two groups whose work I have admired most: The very painful IGTNT diaries, that honor those who have given their lives in service of our country, and the environment groups, perhaps typified by the Climate Action Hub diaries. (Yes, I absolutely realize and appreciate that there are quite a few such fine climate groups! And, try to never miss diaries in Meteor Blades’s amazing series, Spotlight on Green News and Views.)
The environmental diaries represent some of the most important work done on Daily Kos, since threats to the environment constitute one of the greatest dangers our species has ever faced. Worst of all, as bad as the consequences have already been, those threats are scariest for coming generations.
None of us has the power to FIX the problems, we can only add our voices, our votes, our activism and our behavior.
More below.
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I was thinking about this today after looking at the display on my car, which gives real-time fuel efficiency feedback. It is the first vehicle I have ever owned that does that. It is not a hybrid. (I wish!)
Since getting my car (new), I have driven 54,967 miles. After I had it a little while, I realized that the cumulative mpg was less schizophrenic if I did not frequently reset the trip meter. So I have not reset it for 49,148 miles. The sticker on the car when I got it said it was rated for 27 mpg overall, 33 mpg highway. For the last 49,000+ miles, the cumulative fuel efficiency number the car shows is 41.9 mpg.
But, the car does not merely give a cumulative readout. It gives real time feedback on mpg, while accelerating, costing, cruising, braking … Mine is an analog display, so I don’t know (unlike my sister and Kathy, who have Priuses) to the nearest tenth what the real-time mpg is. But it is clear within 2-5 mpg of how well I am doing.
The display allows me to select between several different pieces of information. I can see total mileage, trip mileage, remaining ‘oil life’ (ie. how long until next recommended oil change) or mpg readouts. I leave it on mpg, so I can work on that, and see if I can improve it.
An article I found at edmonds.com suggests that, as of 2011, 92% of new vehicles are equipped with fuel economy gauges.
The emphasis of the article was that the gauges aren’t super accurate when it comes to average mileage. Thus, my hard-earned 41.9 mpg over several years would actually be lower than that, depending on many variables. (I wager it is much better than the promised 27 mpg on the sticker!) But what I took away from the article is what I have always valued about real-time fuel efficiency feedback: it helps educate me about the driving behaviors that maximize fuel efficiency (thus lowering overall carbon footprint, which is the idea).
Here are a couple of quotations from that article:
Honda spokesman Chris Martin wouldn't comment on the accuracy of Honda gauges, saying he needed to do more research to give a good answer. However, he defends fuel economy gauges in general, and says that people should use them as "a driving-efficiency tool, not a precise measurement of fuel economy.”
Agreed! And …
Mazor certainly doesn't see any conspiracy by automakers to mislead the public with consistently high numbers, but says of the gauges: "We tell people not to trust them except as a comparative tool." In other words, a driver could use the gauge to see differences produced by changing his or her driving style.
I think fuel efficiency feedback offers one of the best possibilities for contributing to the fight against runaway climate change, through influencing human behavior and focus. I was delighted to read that the percentage of vehicles offering us that choice was so high, and I hope that it is higher still, in 2017. It should be 100% of vehicles, I think.
So often, members of our species compete. All too often, that competition is AGAINST other members of our species, a hostile and antagonistic engagement. But my favorite competitions involve myself, and improvements I can achieve within myself to try to HELP our world along, in however small a way. So, though I am fairly deeply into diminishing returns, I STILL compete daily to improve my fuel efficient performance when I must go out in the vehicle on the roads. It may take weeks to gain even one tenth of a mpg, but I want that tenth, and I work for it. When I gain a tenth, that reinforces the behavior that led to the ‘achievement,’ and helps me focus on consolidating that gain, first, and then work toward the next tenth. I don’t get discouraged, and I don’t get tired of the competition.
In any case, such were my thoughts this day. And I hope it helps us along toward a time when the use of fossil fuels for transportation will be a thing of the past, and we can turn a corner on climate change, a corner we needed to turn, in real terms, over a century ago.
Special thanks to our many environmental champions, on Daily Kos and off. You will always be heroes to me!
On to tonight’s comments! Formatted by brillig, a champion and a hero in her own right!
TOP COMMENTS
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From Mike The Liberal:
Hinoema01 spells out exactly what the press should be doing. In the meantime, we should change the station whenever that Orange Julius Bozo is on the air.
From wandering in samsara (their very first TC submission!):
I like this comment because despite killjoy's handle, I find it optimistic and uplifting. I really want this to be true. And in any case, the prose here is delicious.
From JamieG from Md:
I’d like to nominate this comment by ian douglas rushlau, from rufe’s diary Spending deal reached: Thank you Democrats!
From TrueBlueMajority:
For our May Day Top Comments, David Nir explains how improbable and awesome it is that Dems manage to keep winning against DJT in this rigged game.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, April 30th 2017, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
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