January 6, 2023 - Update In Motorsport Resiliency ;-)

Daytona Beach  Daily  Courier  Dispatch  Post  Gazette

January 6, 2023 

[Daytona Beach, FL]  As gas mileage ratings for personal automobiles have climbed and consumers have slimmed down the size of their vehicles and the lengths of personal trips, public questions linger about the use of fossil fuels for recreational purposes.  A national paradox still persists between the public’s increased fuel conservation efforts and continued motorsport vehicle fuel consumption.

Recent surveys reiterate the dramatic decade-long downturn in recreational use of fossil fuels.  Critical climate change effects and the expense of gas has convinced Americans that the use of engines for pleasure is not only unnecessary, but unethical.  (Regardless of the bio-fuel fiasco of 2015)

Lakes and rivers across the nation are nearly clear of power boats and jet skies, as paddles and oars and sails have taken over.  The absence of dune buggies and four-wheelers, some of the first vehicles to be discarded in favor of a healthier atmosphere, are enabling a slow healing of former desert and back-woods trails.  

Unfortunately, this is not the scenario for motorsport racing events.  Corporate recreation is hanging on.  Even though Nascar and other major race organizations are installing solar panels and are recycling beer cans at the track, burning fossil fuels @ 5mpg for spectator gratification is ongoing.  

Attendance at auto racing events has, however, dwindled in past years even as bicycle parking spaces have increased at track parking lots.  Though “green facilities” greet race-goers, many fans are realizing that their love of this carbon-sport is counter productive to their grandchildren’s quality of life.

However, lacking voluntary reduction efforts within the industry, the following auto racing organizations have now been requested to down-size this year and close operations within 18 months, ordered by Secretary of the US Department of Carbon Dioxide, Chelsea Clinton. 

These motorsport events include:

Formula Racing (F1)

Auto Cross

Demolition Derbies

Stock car racing (NASCAR)

Dirt Track Racing

Drifting Events

Sports Car Racing 

Off-Road Racing

Midget Car Racing

Mini Sprints

Monster Truck Events

Pick-Up Truck Racing

Road Racing

Drag Racing

Motocross/ Dirt Bike Racing

Vale Ernshart, who drives the Flaring Exxon Car #13 and is former winner of the Ultimate Tar Sands Challenge, blames scrutiny of motorsports on radical millennial parents who have steered their children toward energy resiliency.

“The personal thrill of burning rubber and high-octane fuel should not be denied our youth’s quest for speed and daring competition,” commented Vale as he ran to catch an Indianapolis metro bus in front of the track. “It’s just one last strong remnant of true American spirit, that’s all…”

~

In related news, the Daytona International Speedway has submitted plans to the city to construct permanent flood walls around its track.  At 19 feet above sea level and three miles from the Atlantic shoreline, investors have requested this barrier to insure racing at the track as sea level rises.

Coffee Cup Conundrum

I lose coffee cups. I lose travel mugs. At work I used to walk with the mug; set it somewhere; retrieve it weeks later only when stumbled upon. I have left them at coffee shops. I have buried them in the backyard. As such, I was in the market this week for a new travel mug.

Here's the mess I got into: What is my real carbon footprint by buying mug A, B, or C here around town?  



I thought, surely, the Thermos company from Illinois is a safe bet. Well, Shopko ships these mugs in from China. 

OK, then Cuisenart out of New York sounded promising. But Kohls receives them from China. 

Sears? The Copco brand from Illinois has them made in China, too. 

Borders? Seattle's Best mugs are made in...China.  

Aladdin, sold by REI: China.

Starbucks markets three styles- all from China.

Whole Foods offers their brand of travel mugs, made in China.  

I'm sure this is the tip of the slushy iceberg. 

Conundrum. I'm attempting to purchase a reusable cup so as not to consume a paper one. Or even the need for the coffee shop to wash their own china ware (!). Good intentions, right? BUT, the product I am attempting to buy in order to save resources has probably already used even more resources!  I'm saving a tree so it can do it's job of absorbing CO2, but end up consuming fossil fuels and emitting transportation CO2 in the process!


I'm not going to try to extrapolate figures into carbon tons, but the fact is that after the mug is produced in Beijing, it and its little buddies must travel, as the crow flies, 10,400 miles to Madison. I might as well use a cup made from recycled paper that comes from a sustainable forest in northern Wisconsin!


Check your coffee mugs. We're chasing our tails! 

A little searching on the net revealed some nice looking ceramic travel mugs, made in the USA. This seems to be the best answer at this point. Sounds like a lot less energy and resource usage, and I think I can handle not dropping it...

[Don't even get started on the transportation resource costs of beautiful reusable water bottles that keep us from using the dastardly disposable bottles with questionable water quality. We are so screwed in these drinking container cycles.]

Electric Cars: Advertised As Emission Free?

Take a step back and think this through...

There's a manufactured consumer war between oil and coal energies.  Who'da thunk we'd arrive within this realm of advertising? There are currently commercials that pit internal combustion engines against electricity. Which one is creating the most carbon pollution? Careful.

Here's a car commercial. Amusing scenario - the array of appliances and tools that are normally clean electric are, instead, run by internal combustion engines.



And so, the clean little Nissan LEAF is unplugged and ready for a clean drive because the extension chord does not create exhaust. (Did you catch the dig on the Chevy Volt; a hybrid?) 

Otherwise, it's black smoke and fumes. This is what gasoline combustion spews, right? Yes, but what is the unspoken implication here about electricity? Clean?

Picture a coal-fired electric generation plant. We've seen the stacks in the distance. Black plumes on the horizon. The question is, then: Is gasoline combustion better, or coal combustion better?  

When you plug ANYTHING into your wall socket, including an electric car, it is likely being generated by coal, or by a withering nuclear plant.

I'm pretty sure these commercials aren't assuming their electric cars are powered by wind generators or solar, which would be cleaner than coal. And, though wind and solar are the answer for many smaller applications, these renewables are not anywhere near a substantial resource at this point.

So, what are we ultimately talking about? Emissions? Yes. Guess what? The fossil fuel coal and the fossil fuel oil both emit crippling amounts of carbon into our biosphere. Is there even a lesser of two evils?

The play is to convince the fickle public to look at a quiet, clean, convenient, benign electrical outlet on the wall and conclude that this clean little plastic slot is producing clean energy with a little zap.

Aaaarrgh.

On The Line, Off The Grid

As with most activities needing a change in habit, taking the time to slow down is part of the formula. I know...most of us don't do slow. Slow may not be part of the daily vocab. I have expounded on slow before. But if we will be encouraged culturally to do slower in the future, we'll need to practice how to efficiently infuse slow into daily life. Incidentally, slow does not mean a void in productive time. 


There's a website for everything. Fact. When I came upon the Laundry List site I was amused, but aware of the impact of the message. These folks promote taking one home task and removing a huge amount of energy by eliminating the electricity involved. The clothes go on the line, not in a heating machine. 


Line drying is one of those "entry energy activities." As energy conservation measures become new habits in one's home, we find that many require little sacrifice and usually very little time. But they reduce the carbon output significantly...easing into a lighter footprint.


The Laundry List folks propose that you pledge to hang 80% of your yearly dirty laundry out to dry!  They also promote all aspects of laundry art, writings and poetry!

Hanging it out 76 times in Madison 2010

I can gloat a bit about this one. For the past two seasons, from April through October, we have used the backyard line almost exclusively. Seventy-six times this past summer. So, the clothing is as fresh and clean as I remember as a kid. (I know I didn't appreciate this at the time.) If there's a breeze, most clothes are dry in an hour. Do they sometimes brittle-up a little in the sun? Yup. Does rain creep in? Sometimes. Do you wake up in the middle of the night wondering if the laundry was brought in? Often. Oh, well...


Other perks? Hanging clothing keeps me tuned to my yard - a yard where there are gardens, both flower and vegetable; a yard where there are insects and birds; a yard where my dog gets a bug up her butt and tears around like she's crazed. It's called being o-u-t-s-i-d-e. 


Unfortunately, there are places in this country where this activity is actually banned. The Laundry List people also spend time advocating for the repeal of these restrictions. (Hail suburbia.) Someone we all know couldn't resist creating a sketch on this issue.  As usual, the absurdity is hilarious. Please enjoy a quick segment of the Colbert Report.