Download - SUVs and Global Warming
SUVs and Global Warming
The main points of a report byThe Sierra Club
(Viewfinder Topic The American Dream, pp. 57-58):introduction and first half (ll. 1-45)
The Sierra Club
• the oldest environmentalist group in the U.S.
• founded in 1892 by John Muir
• responsible for creation of several National Parks
• still an important part of the environmentalist movement
SUVs in advertising
• ... climbing snow-capped mountains
• ... racing through desert sand dunes
• ... taking their owners into the wild
In other words: highly unrealistic.
Everyday use: on roads, in cities.
FREEDOM
What SUV dealers don’t say:
POLLUTIONGlobal-warming pollution
air pollution
DANGERroll over in accident
kill occupants in a rollover
EXPENSEScost of gasoline
SUVs43 % more47 % more
than
4x more likely average
3x more likely cars
1000s/$ more
The Legal Side
• Since 1975, “light trucks” allowed to use more gas & pollute more than normal cars
• SUVs (sport utility vehicles) and mini-vans defined as “light trucks”
-----------------------------------------------------------
• In 1975: light trucks ~ 20 % of all vehicles
• Today: “light trucks” ~ 50 % of all vehicles,still low environmental standards
Picture credits
• transparency #1: “G4 Challenge” - CC license by tienvijftien,accessible at www.flickr.com/photos/brunoderegge/2525255731/
• transparency #2: “The Sierra Club” homepage logo and menu (screenshot), accessible at www.sierraclub.org/welcome
Vielen Dank für die Aufmerksamkeit!
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