[SunRescue] OT: CA: It's Our Turn

[Cyrus M. Reed]

On Tue, 3 Apr 2001, Reagen Ward wrote:

> On Tue, Apr 03, 2001 at 07:17:54PM -0400, Jonathan Katz wrote:
> 
> > I'm lucky when the '58 gets 10-12mpg. If I hit the hammer a lot that number
> > drops to 7-8. But I do my part, too... the 2000 gets around 30 when driven
> > right. Should those of us who preserve history (drive classic cars) get a
> > price break on gas?
> 
> I've heard an interesting theory:  Old gas guzzling classic cars burn
> less total energy than it would take to make a new car, so you're better
> off with an old car if you're wanting to conserve energy.
> 
> Dunno if it's true, but it sounds good.

Don't forget that energy is not the same as pollution.  10kW/hr of power
from a hydroelectric plant is not the same as 10kW/hr of power from a coal
or natural gas powerplant, IMHO.

Also consider that leaded gas also puts out a lower amount of harmful
emissions than unleaded gas for short trips.  The catalytic converter
doesn't heat up as much as for longer trips, and unleaded gas actually
burns less clean on it's own than leaded.  Now think about a short trip to
the grocery store in an SUV... I'll bet that at 7mpg, there aren't many
long trips made in those monster SUV's.  Ick.

-Cyrus