A week or two ago, I read a letter to the editor in the Times that went a little something like this:
I think the Freakonomics guys, Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, may have missed the boat on two points with the suggestion that insurance rates be adjusted by the number of miles people drive (“Not-So-Free Ride”).
First, is there any research to show that Americans are really driving wastefully? I don’t know of anyone who goes on a “Sunday drive” anymore, though it used to be a popular event in my childhood. I think that we have cut our driving significantly due to the current high cost of gas.
Second, they have not accounted for the driving skills acquired with experience. I’ll bet that people who drive only 2,000 miles a year are more accident-prone, making them a higher insurance risk, than those who drive 30,000 miles a year.
BILL GILLOOLY
Northborough, Mass.
Oh. My.
I can just see this elderly man sitting in his early '90s suburban style home, smiling smugly in all his perceived logical-knowledge-filled state.
You ask for research? Evidence that Americans are driving wastefully is everywhere you look, buddy. Remember when you got in the car yesterday and drove that half-mile to the grocery store for a loaf of sliced white bread? THAT was wasteful driving. The entire infrastructure of the country is devoted to wasteful driving, which is unfortunate, considering that every mile we drive today costs fifteen cents in gas...
That does not include hidden costs, such as those to the environment, or other costs accrued by the driver.
In fact, anyone who lives more than a mile or two from their daily place of business is driving wastefully. The ability to live 30 miles from where you earn your living is a really new advancement in human culture. And I, with a few exceptions, honestly believe that commuting more than ten minutes starts to make you a bad person. Okay, that's not true--after all, well-situated real estate can be hard to come by. Phrase it this way: in an ideal world, we would all live within a thirty minute walk to where we needed to go, and we would walk it, chatting briefly with our neighbors, letting our muscles do what they were made to do, taking in the outdoor air, and letting our mind wander.
For those who are interested, this ideal situation does exist. It is known as "the rest of the world," i.e. Europe, Africa, Asia, and South/Central America.
...and don't even get my Catholic a** started on this one:
Other than a tangential mention, human overpopulation went unaddressed in your issue. It’s a sad fact that in these times there is no such thing as an “environmentalist” with more than one kid — unless the additional ones are adopted, of course.
STEVE HEILIG
San Francisco
AAAHHH! What's natural is having kids! What's unnatural is watching tv, driving cars, using microwaves, petroleum, the internet....must I go on?
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