Diggin
Wherever I may wander
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I am a little confused by some of the replies. I think that no matter what you want to call this "green movement", it is not all bad. With all of the "green" attention, it has made consumers think just a little more. Since the beginning of our modern society, it seems that the thought of using everything we have and then throwing it away was no big deal. Raw sewage in the oceans, plowing down forests as fast as we could cut them. Landfills bursting at their seams.
My reply was much longer, but in its place I would just say don't throw out the bath water. Hopefully all this will give a little attention to our wasteful societal habits. Living in a dirty, cluttered house won't kill you, but it is much nicer when things are tidy. I like to think of the world around me the same way.
I hope I am just reading the replies wrong.
* This post was
edited 10/28/09 05:26pm by Diggin *
Kev's Blog: When the Geek Hits the Road | NüRVers - The Next Wave
2006 Monaco Knight 40PLQ
2008 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited 4x4 w/Blue Ox Baseplate and Aventa LX Tow Bar
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Vegasdan
Las Vegas, NV
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Actually, we have more forest land now than we had in 1920. The air is much cleaner now than it was in the 1800s. As far as polution goes, we no longer dump raw sewage into rivers, we no longer have tons of horse dung covering our streets, recycling has taken millions of tons of our throw aways and tuned it back into useful products. I'd say we doing a good job.
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hitchup
Fulltiming in Mount Airy.
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Diggin: The Green Movement is what's confusing. Some of them act like we have to return to the Stone Age to save our planet. There isn't one standard that we all have to live by. What works for Seattle doesn't work in Birmingham. Different climates, different infrastructure.
Campers/Rver's choose the LifeStyle to enjoy the beautiful countryside. Most like us, leave the campsite cleaner than when they arrived. It's those who make snap judgements on the size of your vehicle that need some information and enlightenment.
2009 DRV Mobile Suite 38TKSB3....our custom home
2008 Ford F450 Lariat CC 4x4......his office
Working Fulltimers since 3/2005
"Shoot for the Moon! Even if you miss it, you will land among the Stars."
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qtla9111
Monterrey, Mexico
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There are extremes on both sides. Eco-friendly people (“greenies” has a negative conotation) need to be educated on carbón footprints left by rvs and rvers. As well, we need to do our best to encourage rv and tow vehicle manufacturers to do a better job of improving fuel economy, increase insulation factors, and the increased use of solar energy. Please don’t tell me there is no pay back in solar when there certainly isn’t a payback in the rvs that we purchase. But it certainly helps to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
You can also tell me that fossil fuels do no damage to the planet. That’s why the skies are brown over major cities, people have higher risk of lung related diseases and if it weren’t harmful you could run your vehicle with the garage door closed! We just don’t have a viable solution yet and we need to keep searching.
In the meantime, one thing that would help is not to suck up all the energy you possibly can just because wáter and electric are included in the site fee. Conservation used to be a part of everyday life when I was growing up. Now it’s out of fashion with many. Use what you need and save the rest for someone else.
So let’s be realistic and not lynch someone because they lack education, find a middle ground. Educate those that don’t have any education in rving. Do some research about your rv needs in terms of fossil fuel consumption and share it with those around you.
If you are fulltiming, use a solar mix, use a smaller vehicle as a toad you’re in good shape. JMHO
1998 Nissan Pathfinder
2004 Shadow Cruiser 18ft.
Living and Boondocking Mexico
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covetsthesun
missouri
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Vegasdan wrote:Actually, we have more forest land now than we had in 1920. The air is much cleaner now than it was in the 1800s. As far as polution goes, we no longer dump raw sewage into rivers, we no longer have tons of horse dung covering our streets, recycling has taken millions of tons of our throw aways and tuned it back into useful products. I'd say we doing a good job.
It's true we have cleaned up a bit. However...we can and should do a better job. I get verbally beat up by both sides. When I bring up the obvious climate cyles...(THREE ice ages??) and the fact that some people stand to make billions off the Green movement just by legislating cap and trade for carbon units...I get slammed for "hating the planet".  But...when I refuse to use tons of pesticideds, herbicides and fertilizers on my yard (OMG! White clover in the lawn!!! ) I get grief because my lawn isn't perfect.
Seriously...we need both sides to get to a point where we are doing what needs to be done. I really think it's a matter of unbiased education and not brainwashing. Rudeness is never a good way to educate anyone. The fellow on the bike showed his arrogant ignorance when he called a poster "m...f...". However...I'd really like to smack the driver of the Prius Hybrid who threw trash out the window the other day! You can drive to (and through) just about any state in the union and you will see examples of continued environmental trashing (illegal dumping, industrial stacks billowing black clouds, excessive use of ag chemicals...).
I have friends who are viciously "green"...who think nothing of poisoning every thing that crawls or killing everything in the lawn that isn't fescue. Or using harsh chemicals to clean. And then wonder why they can't breathe well.
There's a place in Missouri that was recently briefly in the news for mysterious clusters of brain tumors. The news media jawboned it to death and the authorities vowed to "study" it. That went on for a long time...then Erin Brockovich shows up and finds the problem in 3 days. It was a type of agricultural chemcial that was being used. You would have thought that would have made some people sit up and think. But... the story just seemed to disappear.
I lived in an area for five years that had a cluster of very rare and unusual cancers popping up. About 11 people within one mile of me had these cancers. I asked many people in the local government about it and just got brushed off. This is an agricultural area and the people involved either were directly involved in farming or lived on land that had once been farmed heavily. We left. In time I hope.
In Florida...there was an area a few years ago that had raw effluent from a paper mill still being dumped into the Gulf. A huge dead zone had been created...but the State wanted to do a "study" to determine if the toxins from the waste was really the cause. 
There are so many examples of real environmental issues that go un noticed and unreported it's amazing. What gets the press and debate is the global warming/carbon foot print stuff. Sometimes...I think that's just a lot of smoke and mirrors to keep our attention focussed away from the real problems. If Joe Public can be persuaded to be "green" and buy a hybrid...and the mean old SUV/RV'rs get mocked... then maybe no one will notice the real threats. A developer gets the go ahead to build a subdivision next to a superfund toxic clean up sight (one in FL!). An "agribusiness" gets to build another huge poultry confinement upstream from a pristine spring and state park (Missouri). A water management district tells residents they MUST conserve water and they get to water ONE day a week...response to a drought. Yet... the district didn't deny an outside corporation a permit to pump over 400,000 gallons a day from the aquifer to sell bottled water! (Again Florida). The little town that dared to fight back is now being threatened with a lawsuit to recompense the big corporation for their legal fees. That sets a very dangerous precedent if it happens. That means small towns won't dare try to fight because if they lose...the large corporation can bankrupt them. However...in the face of this...the little town is talking about appealing. Talk about David and Goliath.
Anyway...sorry about the long post...I am very passionate about keeping a clean healthy environment and I think we need reasoned discussions...not attacks on people who have large vehicles. My truck gets better mileage than some of the new "green" cars!!!
cts
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DianneOK
Donnelly, ID
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Mod note: please don't let this topic degenerate into politics.....
DianneOK, moderator
Dianne
Donnelly, ID
DataStorm
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elh0146
Sioux Falls, SD
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Maybe you'd be interested in reading Saving the Earth at 8 MPG.
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Cloud Dancer
San Antonio and Livingston TX USA
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Any conclusions?
Willie & Betty Sue
Miko & Sparky
2003 41 ft Dutch Star Diesel Pusher/Spartan
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covetsthesun
missouri
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Thanks for the link! It's a great read and it sounds like he's having fun figuring out new ways to do stuff. I read someplace where another couple painted jugs and buckets black and used passive solar to make hot water on camping trips. I think they were tent campers. Anyway...it's interesting to see what other folks do. cts
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doc brown
Redondo Beach, CA,
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texasbaskets wrote:I usually have one of three answers depending on how jokingly they said it...
"Yes, but does your car sleep 6?"
"Right, but the car I'm towing uses nothing, so that cancels it out."
"Ain't she a beauty? Think how many American workers have jobs because of us."
 
Right on! Envy is an ugly thing, but self righteous a**holes are not worth responding to.
Steve,Kathy,Josh & Morpheus the Basenji
2004 40' TSDP Country Coach Inspire DaVinci
350 Cummins, 3000 Allison
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