Letters to the Editor
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Re: Californians
This is for Appoggiatura. Yes, my friend, we sure the hell do drive less. Check out the data at http://www.statemaster.com/graph/ene_gas_con_percap-energy-gasoline-consumption-per-capita. Californians’ per capita gasoline consumption is indeed less than one-tenth the national average. You Easterners really should get out more; we have lovely winters that often allow us to ski on the fourth of July. Many of my friends and relatives in the Sierra Nevada mountain suburbs and the Siskiyous would be surprised to find that they “don’t have winters”. Also, cooling is a much less energy-efficient process than heating, and don’t even talk about the summer temps. in the Sacramento Valley. In spite of this, California also uses half the electricity per capita relative to the national average (Connecticut, Georgia and Tennessee are the only states to do better, but not on a per GDP rate).
If the rest of the nation would conserve energy like CA, we could shut down all of the Coal-burning power plants, stop all oil imports, and join the forward-looking nations of the EU in finding a way forward that avoids mass extinctions; extinctions which, at this point at least, will probably include us.
By the way, bicyclists have better legs, trimmer asses, six-pack abs and more “staying power”. Give it a try. We laugh at increased gasoline prices and the obese people who whine about them.