Disclaimer: This is likely not really a meaty enough topic to be a diary entry, but I do not want it lost as a comment in some open thread somewhere.
Yesterday, our family put words into action, money where our mouths are.
Make the hop if you care.
Yesterday, my wife and youngest son participated in a tree planting with their Cub Scout pack. It made for a great conservation, Earth Day, and Arbor Day task. There were lots of people involved (it helped that it was a 5-star day here in the Puget Sound area of the PNW), far more than we had seen in the years past.
While they were doing that, what was I doing, you ask? I was on the phone with a car dealer, putting the final touches on getting a new car. Yes, I finally got rid of an SUV (2001 Chev Tahoe) gas guzzler. I have not been without an SUV in some form since about 1986. It was psychologically hard to do, but we are finally SUV-free and looking forward to seeing how we do over the next year w/o one.
The coup d'grace? We went from the gas guzzler of 15-17mpg to a new 2006 VW Jetta TDI, a diesel sipper if you will, that will likely stay on the upside of 35mpg for all of our city and highway driving, not just highway. I expect it to be 45+mpg on the highway. VW is not bringing the TDI in next year (I don't know why yet--if you know, post a comment) so they are selling pretty quickly here in WA, and many people here are also using varying blends of biodiesel, from B5 to B99, in these cars.
I am quite happy so far with the power of the car, at 100hp and 177 ft-lbs of torque. It is probably just about as "buzzy" as a small gasoline engine that requires lots of revs to reach the necessary power output to drive a car of this size. The torque is what makes this engine so useful and with the current technology in small diesel engines, so drivable and relatively quiet. Yes, it is louder at idle than a gas engine, but not as clattery as older diesels. While driving however, you are almost completely unaware that it is a diesel until you realize that your RPMs are still in the 2000's rather than above 4000. Hence, it is still quiet. Power while driving is outstanding, as seen by the time needed to go from 30-50MPH or 50-70MPH. They are comparable to a larger gasoline engine in that realm.
So, do any others have Earth Day experiences they would like to share? Any other diesel fan(atics)?
Give the Earth some love!
Deal with facts. Conquer your fears. Behave rationally. The world will get behind us again if we stop acting like a berserker on a rampage and lead w/o behaving like the world's worst enemy.