Rebecca Marcelina Gimeno – 8/29/07

This page was last updated October 6, 2007.

SUVs are a road menace; Rebecca Marcelina Gimeno; Beaver County Times; August 29, 2007.

As background info about Ms. Gimeno, a Times article (“They are Lincoln Park”; October 8, 2006) told us she was a 17-year-old senior who transferred from Center Area High School to Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School to study creative writing. Shortly after this story Ms. Gimeno began writing letters to the editor.

In her first letter, Ms. Gimeno told us how wonderful Beaver County Peace Links is. In her second letter, Ms. Gimeno lobbied to “Legalize cannabis.” In her third letter, Ms. Gimeno lobbied to have cop killer Abu-Jamal (née Wesley Cook) taken off Pennsylvania’s “death row.” Ms. Gimeno’s fourth letter attempted to smear the Minuteman Project and declared, “Personally, I do not believe in borders. No human being is illegal.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Why drive your children to soccer practice in a vehicle that can man the Sahara Desert? Why drive a vehicle that contributes to an unstable climate to work a mile away? Why drive a vehicle that is extremely dangerous to other drivers on a major highway?”

[RWC] “[E]xtremely dangerous?” How?

FYI, I have a hard time believing the typical SUV is suitable for service in the Sahara Desert. Assuming you don’t get stuck immediately, even with true four-wheel drive, you don’t have to drive in sand very long before your engine (and automatic transmission if you have one) overheats.

“Given the current environmental and political climate, it just doesn’t seem worth it.”

[RWC] So let me get this straight. We should let the “political climate” determine what we drive?

“Sport utility vehicles have become the choice vehicles for countless Americans. Many drivers feel protected in their $35,000 steel box and believe it is worth the investment to protect their children.”

“However, many people aren’t aware of the many risks associated with the SUV. Many drivers do not realize how prone SUVs are to roll-over accidents and rear-end crashes. The SUV is extremely large when compared to other cars. This factor alone prevents full visibility to other vehicles driving behind the SUV. In 2002 alone, SUVs had the highest roll-over rate in fatal accidents.”

[RWC] Ms. Gimeno appears enamored with “extremely.” While many SUVs tend to ride higher than average cars and tend to be heavier, I wouldn’t say my Jeep is “extremely large” compared to either of my Mustangs.

While some SUVs can roll over easier than some cars, the situation isn’t as bleak as Ms. Gimeno. Go to the NHTSA website, and you’ll find many SUVs, including the model I own, has the same rollover rating as many cars. In any case, if you believe Ms. Gimeno is really worried about safety, I believe you’ll find her true concern follows. It’s the alleged manmade global warming boogeyman.

“Aside from the danger involved with driving an SUV, another problem arises. The SUV consumes about one-third more gasoline per mile and releases one-third more carbon dioxide per mile than the average car. The SUV is America’s No. 1 source for greenhouse gas emissions. Increased oil consumptions [sic] pollute beautiful blue skies and water sources.”

[RWC] “The SUV is America’s No. 1 source for greenhouse gas emissions?” According to the EPA, not exactly. In an April 2007 report (“Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005”), CO₂ emissions from the entire transportation sector were only 32% of total CO₂ emissions for energy-related activity. For gasoline powered light-duty trucks (which I believe includes SUVs), its portion of transportation CO₂ was 44% for gasoline-powered transportation, and only 9% of total CO₂ emissions for energy-related activity. When you include all greenhouse gases (CO₂, methane, etc.), greenhouse emissions by light-duty trucks/SUVs would be somewhere around 7%. The #1 contributor to U.S. CO₂ emissions is coal-based electricity generation at about 34%.

As claimed by a 2006 UN report, the livestock industry generates 18% more greenhouse gases than all of transportation combined. Facts are pesky little things, aren’t they?

“When the government lowered emission standards for light trucks in 1977, the trucks were a rarity on the road. At one point they were solely used to carry out jobs, or to transport workers. This is quite unlike today’s situation where this vehicle has surely dominated the roads.”

[RWC] Light trucks “were a rarity on the road” in 1977? Since Ms. Gimeno is only about 18 years old, I wonder where she got her information. Maybe it’s just the folks I hang out with, but over half of my friends at the time – and their parents – owned pickups and/or what we now call SUVs.

“Our oil addiction has landed us exactly in the situation we are facing in the Middle East today.”

[RWC] Did you notice which little fact is missing from Ms. Gimeno’s letter? Ms. Gimeno never mentions the vehicles driven by her family.