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Who Thought This One Up?
By Dan Greenman

Friday, December 20, 2002

Next month, an ad campaign will be launched that links SUVs to terrorism, claiming that users of the gas-guzzling vehicles put a strain on the world's oil supply - a motive behind U.S. conflicts with Middle Eastern nations. It is true that a car that only gets 20 miles per gallon is not environmentally friendly, but let's not be so quick to use the "t-word" as several anti-drug ad campaigns have done.

For many Americans, SUVs are great vehicles; they offer tons of passenger space and make traveling and off-roads driving easy. (I'm not talking about those people who drive their SUVs around downtown Manhattan - those people clearly have no idea of what they are doing.)

Also, don't forget that consumers don't exactly have a lot of choices when it comes to environmentally friendly vehicles. A compact car really isn't that much better than an SUV, considering that the automobile companies have the technology available to make a car that gets 70 miles per gallon. Yet they continue to produce cars and trucks that get decent mileage at best. Even the new hybrids use some oil. Does that make people who drive hybrids semi-terrorists?

Let's not totally disregard the message in this campaign. It is still very important to conserve all of Earth's natural resource, whether it is for political or environmental reasons. Just be careful about who you're pointing your fingers at.

Email Dan dgreenm1@ithaca.edu