Someone out there loathes the very sight of me. She gets angry and upset if she sees me driving down the street. What have I done? I’m a mom and I drive a suburban.
As I was driving home, in my beast of a car, from the dog park last week, National Public Radio (NPR) had a show on Carbon Offsets. One woman called in and said she “loathes moms driving suburbans.” The very sight of us caused her great anger. I have no idea why a man driving a suburban would use any less fuel but that’s pretty typical illogical thinking of someone like her…
The caller has no clue about the circumstances of someone who chooses to drive a suburban. They could have six children like my neighbor in Guam. Or, in my case, I have in the past used my vehicle to transport shelter animals to adoption fairs and to the vet to be spayed/neutered.
Strangely, during her call, she professed to being an animal advocate yet couldn’t bring herself to stop eating meat. She expressed guilt about eating meat and the host of the Carbon Offset show said perhaps there should be a “tofu” offset for people like her. She could ease her guilt by paying someone else not to eat meat. That comparison really brought home the fact that Carbon Offsets are a joke and the only way to bring down emissions is for everyone and every business to cut down on output. “Buying” away your consumption is not going to help the environment.
Come to think of it, the wanna be vegetarian and suburban hating caller, would probably like me after-all, if she took the time to come down from her judgemental perch.
Displaced Beachbums 
lisamm: thanks for the comment. I checked out your blog and will be checking back often for book recommendations. I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for good books and movies.
Gina: I took the test and we need 4.9 earths to sustain my lifestyle. I think the air flights is where I took a big hit ~ but how else was I to get from Guam to anywhere?
Do you have my e-mail address? I’ll ask Nicole to forward it to you. I’d love to get word when Baby Jones arrives.
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If you really want a laugh, go to myfootprint.org. Apparently if everyone lived like me we’d need 5 earths! You basically have to live in a hut with no electricity, grow your own food and not go anywhere in order to live on just one earth. I can’t imagine how many earths Al Gore needs to maintain his two homes and all his air travel. These people make me sick. Hope you have a great day! -gina j
6 more weeks till our baby boy is here!
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This reminds me of that passage in the Bible that says you should remove the plank from your own eye before attending to the speck of dust in someone else’s. I probably mangled that verse, but you probably know the verse I’m referring to!
http://www.lisamm.wordpress.com
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L read your blog tonight and she said, ” Ah, yea . . . that caller is really messed up”.
Out of the mouths of babes .
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Loved the blog. she must have too much time on her hands worrying about what every one else is doing.
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