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Defensive driving

Even residents of enviro-friendly Seattle buy large gas-guzzling cars; they just feel more defensive about it than they would if they lived elsewhere.

Yesterday I saw a minivan-like vehicle (I don't know exactly what it was because I know nothing -- I mean NOTHING -- about automobiles) with a license plate that read, "4R4SONS."

Oh, OK. All right. Since you have four sons, I'll grant that you have a legitimate need for a minivan.

But why have four sons? Given the rate at which the world's population is depleting its resources, wouldn't three have been more than enough?

Posted by crowther on October 17, 2007 7:55 PM |

Comments

See comments 1 and 3 below linked article.

Posted by: Billy | October 18, 2007 6:43 AM

may be 4R4SONS stands for "for ride for sons"

Of course, if (s)he has less than 4 sons (or children in general), why the minivan?

In any case, let's just hope (s)he's not on the cell phone while driving ...

Posted by: Uli | October 18, 2007 9:52 AM

Hi Greg - I couldn't agree more, except to say why wasn't 0 kids enough!

I'll be posting a review of the book "The World Without Us" in the next few days on my blog, which touches on this issue as well.

Paul - a fellow ultrarunner and member of VHEM.

Posted by: Paul DeWitt | October 18, 2007 9:56 AM

Speaking of sons, Happy Birthday to Phil.

Posted by: Roslyn | October 20, 2007 3:26 PM

Perhaps the SUV owner was an adopter and not neccessarily a procreator? In that case, this person was doing the world a great service. Let us hope, but probably not.

I'd like to be an adopter some day, I think.

Posted by: Meghan | October 22, 2007 5:58 PM

Billy: I think there's a big difference between saying that the Earth would be better off without us -- the viewpoint that those comments seem to be rebutting -- and saying that the Earth would be in better shape ecologically if there weren't quite so many of us. I believe the latter.

Roslyn: Thanks! More on that topic is forthcoming.

Meghan: Good point -- and it's not a purely hypothetical one, because I know someone who has four adopted sons. A great guy.

Posted by: crowther | October 23, 2007 12:15 AM