When we watched the tv commercials about the pruis and how it was supposed to make us want to buy them because it world be helping the world is an oxymoron. I feel this way because you still have to use all the bad things that electric car does not do to make the car. it also made me think about what other car brand names are starting to go electric.
In my search, I found the Tesla Roadster, which is the sports car version of electric cars. The point of this vehicle is to get rid of tailpipes and live greener however to make this vehicle we know that they have to use petroleum.
We live in a world where media has a lot of say in our every day lives. I believe that we have been wired this way through technology advances that contributes to our laziness and need to have the newest and “coolest” thing. I used quotes around coolest because what the media tells us is cool tends to be what people like.
I feel that this new electric sports car will attract a lot of people into buying it because it is supposed to be better for the environment. I feel that by buying this car they are just taking the lazy way of helping make the world sustainable. The idea of having a sports car that is good for the environment is very confusing if you were to put some actually thought of where the parts came from.
When I was doing a little research about the Telsa Roadster I realized that the Federal government is even giving a 7,500-tax credit for people who buy this electric car. Not only do they have the media promoting this consumer-based item. The federal government is also.
The whole point of having a vehicle is to get around to the places you need to be. Why does it need to be like a sports car? Things should be bought by the needs and not wants. When I wrote that I realized I am being hypocritical because I buy things that I do not need all the time. When I sit down to watch tv or a movie I always find something on the commercials that I want. With that, it brings me back to the way media has a lot of influence in our everyday lives. I believe until we address the way media influences us we will always have a consumerist world where any way to make our lives more comfortable will be worth it even if our future generations have to suffer because of it.
Well said. The Prius does provide better fuel mileage and other environmentally friendly features, but in the larger scope of things, it still takes the same amount of metal and other materials to build the car. I like how you summarized it, an oxymoron. There are other forms of green-friendly transportation, like walking.
I agree with you, but I also think that as a consumer we need to research what we are consuming before we take action. Cars are a great example of how we as a society don’t research what we buy. I like that you added the government tax incentive because I feel like not a lot of people know about that. Using the tax incentive is almost like a cover up so that people just see that they are saving money and think they are saving the environment. They end up only researching the money, not how “green” these cars are. Agree with the comment above as well, there are other forms of green-friendly transportation. The government should be focusing in promoting.
I too came across the Tesla and had similar thoughts. Just because it is slightly better for the environment in some respects doesn’t necessarily mean that it is “good”. Essentially it is just less-bad, and it is still a high class sports car at the end of the day. Also, in regard to saying that the media influences us and our consumerism, do you believe that companies are taking advantage of the green movement as just another outlet to promote innovative and unnecessary products?
I agree with what’s been said so far, but isn’t some effort towards trying to be more ecologically minded better than none at all? I feel as though the little steps we are taking as a culture may eventually add up to a more wholesome world view, but that we are incapable as a society to make such a hugely radical change all of a sudden without any catalyst, as Bill McKibben pointed out in his articles about global warming, environmental decay is too big for the everyday person to be concerned about. Although the little, perhaps lazy, steps may come across as a marketing scheme that is only not as bad for the environment, they are still steps -and in the right direction.
I agree with what you have to say. We are easily influenced by what the media puts out there; therefore, it is hard not to get caught up in the consumerist world be live in. It is easy to bash these car commercials; however, many of us still live our lives accordingly.
When I researched about the Mazda co-campaigning with Universal on the release of “The Lorax,” I also came across the Tesla Roadster. I have to agree with what everyone above me has already stated, especially the fact that many of our lives revolve around our cars; driving to and from school, work, friends houses, grocery stores, etc. We live in such a consumer based society that we would go out and buy this car because the federal government is providing a tax-cut of $7,500 which we would ultimately go out and spend somewhere else. Like you said in your blog post and I found in my own research, these environmentally friendly cars may receive better gas mileage and cause less pollution while running, but they are still manufactured the same as other cars and create as much, if not more, pollution while being built. I believe the government should actually give tax-cuts to individual who use less invasive types of transportation, such as walking, biking, carpooling or even taking mass transit.
I agree with the points you are trying to make. Everyone should be actively trying to better our environment. The Roadster and the advertising surrounding it, only point to the fact that we are a country almost completely dependent on consumerism. This aspect of American life is so deeply engrained in our society that completely changing would take a considerable amount of time.