Take a Stand! World Boycott on New Fossil Fuel Powered Cars!

I'm publishing this on a public blog so that if I mysteriously disappear after making this proposal, you'll know to investigate the major auto manufacturers and oil companies, but here's the reasoning behind the boycott:

Say you need another car: Your child is turning 16, your old clunker is on it's last legs, you're just plain tired of your old car and want a new one, whatever the reason. You could buy a new car, nice and shiny, with that sweet smell of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) wafting from the upholstery, the latest and greatest gadgetry, a fresh coat of wax from the dealer. You'll be paying $20-30K or more for the vehicle, then immediately lose 30% of the value just by driving off of the lot, and then proceed to pay $100 to fill the tank up every week. Sound good? Not really.

You could buy that car, but why would you buy a new car right now that crudely burns a dying and outdated 20th century fuel? Why not wait and buy a 21st century car - one fueled by electricity or hydrogen, one that burns waste vegetable oil or cellulosic ethanol made from agricultural by-products and recycled paper? Everybody knows that gas isn't going to get significantly cheaper anytime soon, it will actually likely rise slowly for the next few years, then once we are irrefutably in the midst of peak oil and the world starts significantly restricting carbon emissions and taxes energy use, fossil fuel prices will skyrocket, making it impossible to cheaply travel and waste power like we had in the past. The products we buy and the energy we use to heat and power our homes will all be more expensive because they will be more precious. They will carry the true cost of extracting the resources, the human skill and labor, the overall impact on the environment, and the cost of recycling it at the end of their lives. This extra expense is not unfair, and once we understand the true costs of using the world's resources, moderate our consumption, and decrease our footprint, we will probably actually save money in the long run. Buy making responsible, educated, and forward-thinking purchases now, you will be readying yourself for the coming change in energy infrastructure. You'll be leaving the status-quo behind, and making intelligent plans for providing you and your family affordable and available transportation and power options in the future as energy prices rise. You're insulating yourself from volatile changes in prices in gasoline, natural gas, electricity, and even food.

What I'm saying is, if you need another car, let the manufacturers know that you don't want to run your car on fossil fuels, it's bad for the environment, expensive, causes global political unrest and contributes to terrorism, and the technology is available right now to move the same distance at the same speeds without burning any gas, causing any emissions, or contributing to climate change. Make them give you another option, change their practices, divorce themselves from the corporate oil giants. If you need another car right now: go buy a cool used car, fix up a classic roadster, put yourself on the waiting list for a an Aptera, a Tesla Roadster, a Chevy Volt, or a Prius Plug-in Hybrid - you'll have a next-generation car within the next 1-3 years depending on your choice, not really all that long! Plus, you'll have killer eco-street cred. Better yet, make your car stretch - use the money you saved to buy some great commuter bikes, an xtracycle, or an electric scooter or motorcycle. If you want a project, build your own electric car or motorcycle. There are so many options besides buying a new fossil-fuel powered car, it's really just ridiculous to do it right now.

Our entire energy infrastructure is set to change over the next decade, why would you waste your hard-earned money buying in to a dying paradigm? The age of cheap oil is over. Regardless of drilling offshore or in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, irregarding the horribly polluting tar sands projects in Canada, and outside of political deals and wars meant to keep oil flowing to us, fossil fuel demand is increasing and supply is dwindling. Hard core oil exploration and exploitation will be more expensive, less productive, and more environmentally hazardous than ever before. At our current rate of increasing oil consumption, the government-subsidized "resource depletion projects" will at best only postpone the impending energy crisis for a short time if at all. If we're lucky, they might at best keep fossil fuel prices relatively stable as we actively transition off of them in favor or renewable resources.

It's time to invest in the future and stop fueling the climate crisis and start making smart choices for your family's future and vow never to buy another new fossil-fuel powered vehicle. Buy electric, buy used, get a bike instead, become a public transportation expert, stop contributing to the problem and consume like you give a damn.