Global Warming?Car Choice?Free Will?

          I overheard an old man say to his (presumed) 

daughter and granddaughter, “Look at that car!” as he 

pointed at a two seat Fiat. “I wouldn’t buy that. I want something
between me and the road, and other cars.”   

The daughter agreed and the grand daughter will some 

day make her own choice partially influenced by what 

she grows up hearing. Of course the relative safety of a

 vehicle depends somewhat on the mass of the vehicles 

around it, so if most people drove small cars then their 

safety would rise proportionately. And because a small

 car is usually more fuel efficient, the danger a bigger one presents
to his family(considering the potential political unrest
 as a result of  the accumulating affects of pollution and global
warming)might make the small car much safer than the big one.

 Yet his analysis of car choice is typical of

 many people, as is reflected in the surge in truck and SUV
 sales now that oil prices have dropped again.  However, I am
wary of being sanctimonious regarding such things, for I know
 many smart people who do not analyze certain issues very
deeply, or they arrive at very different conclusions, so
 overall I trust that Creation will endure regardless of what
we humans do or do not do. Besides, that old man and
 his daughter may be doing good charity work elsewhere and
so give to the planet that way. Or the dreaded asteroid may
strike tomorrow and make all our opinions and behaviors
 ultimately irrelevant. I think it is worthwhile do our best but
 I try keep an open minded sense of humor about it too.