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Don't let blood help feed your gas-hungry SUV
| • | Hawai'i speaks up on threat of war |
By Toshinari "Toshi" Takata
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| Toshinari "Toshi" Takata is a legal services attorney with Na Keiki Law Center. |
An oversimplification, but if the essential connection is unclear, is there any doubt that the major reason Saddam is more than just an annoyance to those Americans involved with the region, and of even minimal concern to the rest of us, is oil? And note that our automobiles, especially our larger gas-guzzling SUVs, are the major reasons that Middle East oil is of such importance.
The prospect of going to war for our excessive driving habits should serve as a wake-up call. Honolulu is an almost perfect example of the song lyrics "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Our tourist economy is not likely to change anytime soon, and the last thing most tourists want is an "island L.A."
Our gas prices and traffic congestion are among the worst in the nation and with the eventual dire consequences from global warming on islands such as ours, the case for driving less and using less oil (gasoline) is abundantly clear.
No, it is definitely not worth going to war so that we can continue to drive our SUVs. Among the most patriotic things we can do at this time, while also benefiting most, all in the long run, is to drastically cut back on our use of oil.
So ride the bus, car pool, bicycle, walk, and think about it the next time you see those SUVs with American flags on them.
