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I have property near the city of Earth where every enviromental wacko seems to showup and do some sort of demonstration.

I will not celebrate or attend those functions because I get tired of hearing some Californian tell me I should not drive my Pickup truck. Never mind that I need that truck for business and on the ranch.

But honestly its just another day where the people who do show up have no clue as to what would make the biggest difference for the planet.

Why not have them all show up on the steps of Capital Hill in Washington and Demand Alternative fuel vehicles specifically Hydrogen be mandated and make it where gas engines can not be made after 5 years for new vehicles.

That would be something I would support!

as a substitute teacher, i taught kindergarteners about pollution. This is the greatest earth day activity i could think of.

Joel:

You missed another parade.

How the hell is an LA traffic jam different from LA traffic?

You got me there, pal. Good one! :-)

In truth, I drive very little. My commute is a bear -- 1.5 hours each way -- via two trains and a bus. Driving would save me anywhere from 35 to 15 minutes most days, but I just don't want to put up with the inevitable hassle. Besides, parking in my building in West LA would take $110 out of my paycheck each month, plus gas and wear-and-tear on my 12-year-old Chevy Cadaver. I'll take the $62 monthly Metro Pass instead, thank you.

Ours is a two-car family, but even my wife commutes only about 5 miles each way, so our impact on LA traffic is about nil. But I'm glad to have my car for days like today when I need to be somewhere after work (the championship game for my softball team) where Metro won't take me. Though my wife and I have talked a lot about living in a more urban area of Los Angeles, we simply can't afford it and have the need to live in a house. So, we're renting in Pasadena -- and putting up with my long commute -- while waiting for the housing market to bottom out.

As it is, we live near shopping centers that meet just about all of our needs. But it's hard to drag a 40 pound bag of dog food -- not to mention other groceries (case of beer, for one) -- on the back of a bike. And we don't want to steal a shopping cart. So the Honda CRV does the hauling for us.

I say you should keep your vehicle for the kinds of emergencies Ben mentioned. You can keep your conscience (and your arteries) clear by biking whenever possible. Getting rid of the car entirely, unless you're turning your garage into a compost-burning energy factory, seems unwise.

Jim, I've been in L.A. traffic, which leads me to ask the following question: How the hell is an LA traffic jam different from LA traffic?

Having said that, my wife and I were discussing the possibility of getting rid of our car entirely this summer -- renting cars when we need to take out-of-town trips, but relying on walking and bicycling to get us most places we need. We're aided in this du\iscussion by the fact that Lawrence has a great downtown that can provide us with most of our needs; if we live near there (which is our intent, either way) it'd be like having a secret room at the mall. Or something.

Ben is against, saying we might want a car for a 3 a.m. trip to the emergency room. Which is somewhat compelling -- I had a nasty bout of kidney stones a couple of years ago -- but we do have taxis in our town.

What else am I missing?

In California I recycled like crazy...it helped pay for the night life at my fraternity house.
Now, in Tennessee, well they don't pay...