On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 15:12:53 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

"Dave Hall" wrote in message
.. .


And I challenge that your example is next to a non-issue.

Not really, Dave. Here's why:

1) With some exceptions, industry has done a pretty good job of cleaning up
its act. When it comes to eliminating/minimizing effluents (the crap that
comes out of a manufacturing facility), many of the ideas which have become
standard were ideas thought of by people who work at the companies
themselves, and have been adopted as standards due to their effectiveness.

Now...don't respond yet - read this:

2) In most places, the water that runs into street drains is not treated. It
goes directly into a drainage basin or a naturally occurring body of water.
Here, for instance, that would be Lake Ontario. If it goes into a drainage
basin, it ends up in the ground, and the next stop may be the water table
itself.

Wait....don't respond yet.

Almost anywhere in this country, guess who's responsible for most of the
chemical additions to surface water runoff?

Agricultural runoff. At least according to the reports that I've read
concerning lake pollution. This runoff comprises of both artificial
fertilizers, and the byproducts of animal waste.




That's not surprising. You have no interest in your environment. You're
probably the type of monkey who, if camping, burns all the plastic
garbage
in the campfire, right?

Irrelevant to the discussion at hand. I do have experience with cars
and based on that experience, I disagree with your conclusion.

It's statements like yours which get picked up by the marginally
educated. People actually buy into this nonsense, and get the wrong
opinion about pollution and who the biggest offenders really are. It's
not the guy who changes his own oil, or the fisherman with the 9.9 hp
2-stroke outboard.

What harm comes from suggesting that mechanics or car owners try to achieve
zero leakage, if they can do it with a washer, or by wiping up the 1/2 quart
that they spill all over the suspension crossmembers and the ground?

No harm. But don't attempt to suggest that by not performing this
simple task it will result in significant amounts of pollution,
because it just isn't so. My own personal experience will back me up
on this.



Some
driver ed teachers take the kids under the hood and teach them a little
about maintenance, so they know how to check their fluids. If the teacher
was anal about leaky oil, and told kids to investigate and fix leaks ASAP
when they saw them, would you consider that an intrusion into "family
values", like unauthorized sex education? :-)

Ha ha! You really need to squelch that nasty habit of comparing
dissimilar concepts and judging them by the same rules.

On that subject, I plan to give my daughter the "Car maintenance 101"
course, when she is old enough to need it. She will learn how to
change a tire, oil, and check all fluids. Too many people these days
know next to nothing about the things that goon under the hood of
their car.





Actually, many people recommend lowering tire pressure in the snow, as
it can increase traction. 32 Lbs in the tire is generally lowered to
around 25 Lbs. Me, I just take my 4X4 truck to work, if I even decide
to go.

This is fine for people who are systematic about checking it. You're
talking
about a conscious decision.

Don't you believe that driving involves a certain amount of
responsibility toward safety? Shouldn't checking your tires be a part
of this responsibility?

I didn't say people shouldn't check it. I said that a huge percentage do
NOT. You can wish for a fairytale world, but it doesn't exist. I told you to
glance at tires in parking lots. Do it.

I don't live in a fairytale world, I'm not a liberal. I do know that a
large percentage of people do not check their tires regularly. That
only tells me that a large segment of the population does not
understand the concept of personal responsibility.



Your example of lowering your tire pressure is fine, but you made a
conscious decision and experimented with it. This is not the same as the
random situation that many people live with, where their tires are down to
16 or 20 lbs, and they didn't find out until they had a blowout, or
hydroplaned on a wet road, or wore out a set of tires in 18k miles.

So what do yo want to do about it? Are you suggesting that we
"educate" those people about the aspects of proper tire inflation, so
that they can ignore it along with the rest of the responsibilities
that they should be taking care of?


Dave