Cars and Climate Change

   Took the snow picture this morning (April 4th) while hiking the mountain, which illustrates the cold, snowy winter that the east and midwest have have endured since late December 2017. This is a record breaking year that reflects the extremes that scientists had predicted years ago as one consequence of global climate change. With transportation being about 27% of greenhouse gas emissions and gas mileage being a critical factor regarding how much pollution an individual is responsible for, I am disheartened that as gasoline prices have dropped Americans have purchased more trucks and SUVs than cars; the gas mileage average is currently around 25mpg industry wide. Now that EPA director Scott Pruitt has lowered future mileage standards, emissions will like go up rather than down. In contrast, that Mitsubishi Mirage I am driving is more than adequate for normal driving and averages over 44 mpg. I cringe when I see people driving huge vehicles with only one occupant because for many of them it is presumed safety or status motivating their purchase. My Mirage is proportionally vulnerable to damage only because people insist on driving excessively gluttonous machines; I prefer to judge status on more substantial criteria than  possessions-such as choosing to value the environment over expensive trucks or SUVs. In many ways it seems that humanity is in damage control as we adjust to the new climate realities, and as always Nature will determine what the future brings.
  POSTSCRIPT:  April 17th- I am still walking with my winter jacket and hood pulled tight against the cold wind in a whiteout of snow that leaves an inch on the ground. Had I not experienced this winter-from the arctic cold of late December to the continued snow and cold of mid-April- I would not have considered it possible. Definitely the consistently coldest, snowiest season I have known in my 62 years.
  Having said that, I expect humanity to adapt to whatever happens, or it won't, and either way we are merely one more species in the long natural history of the planet. I do not subscribe to the notion that we are a superior species, or 'Gods' chosen beings; rather we are simply a more analytical and self aware species. Mindless prejudices such as racism remind me that we are not a more intelligent species, (especially now that genetic science has revealed that we all have a common black ancestor) yet that kind of ignorance often defines public policies and so defines the human condition.  Personally I am grateful for the genuinely good and noble things that humanity has accomplished, but I do not believe they distinguish us from other animals in a qualitative sense.