time to end Nascar, motorsport events to conserve fuel?

[montana500]

At what point do we start shutting down things like Nascar?

[davepc]

1. Those cars don't run on pump gas

[evlbstrd]

4. They run on leaded gas.

And burn it much faster than a passenger vehicle. But it's still gasoline.

[O.M.B.inOhio]

12. AH, no wonder NASCAR fans often look brain damaged.

Joke. no flames, please.

[davepc]

16. Jet fuel is still "gasoline" but you cant run you car with it

NASCAR gas has limited use outside of its specific application.

[evlbstrd]

35. Because it still has lead in it.

Like we used to have in our gasoline. Comparing it to jet fuel is specious.

[rzemanfl]

6. But the thousands of cars fans drive to the races do. NASCAR

is a Southern "sport" they should close down the stands and just show the races on TV. Professional and college sports also should be on TV with no one in the stands until this crisis is over.

[davepc]

9. Who are you to decide what things are appropriate to be driven too

and which are not?

Should we also prevent people from visiting grandma out of state until the current "crisis" is over?

[rzemanfl]

22. Well somebody has to do something, Bush isn't. What frivilous

activities do you suggest we cut back on to save fuel?

[davepc]

24. In the face of rising fuel prices each citizen will make that decision

for themselves. They don't need a nanny government treating them like little children.

The free market amazingly enough does work as advertised every now and again, and we don't always need the federal government to save us from ourselves.

If someone makes an individual decision that their driving activity can be curtailed, then they wont drive. Those that decide that they can afford it, will pay for the privilege.

We don't need government dictating our actions to us.

[SweetLeftFoot]

47. Ummm ...

The free market amazingly enough does work as advertised every now and again, and we don't always need the federal government to save us from ourselves

You are suggesting that the oil cartels are representative of the "free market"?

[rzemanfl]

23. I thought this over and you are right. ONLY POOR PEOPLE

SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO VISIT GRANDMA OUT OF STATE BECAUSE GAS IS TOO EXPENSIVE. If God wanted them to see Grandma, he would have made them rich and given them an SUV and Bush sticker.

[davepc]

25. Lets create government backed "fuel vouchers"

that poor people can apply for in order to pay for transportation costs that they otherwise couldn't.

Much more American then some top down travel ban.

[rzemanfl]

26. What I suggested was not a "top down" travel ban, it was

entertainment enterprises that make millions, voluntarily curtailing their activities (and profits) to conserve fuel.

I am also for employers offering four day work weeks to employees who agree not to travel on the off day. That would reduce commuting consumption by 20% exclusive of any savings from the lighter traffic that would result. Additionally, by staggering starting and ending times to accomodate four day schedules, traffic would flow better and that would save more fuel.

[davepc]

28. And the people who make their living off of NASCAR, what of them?

We tell the vendors who sell t-shirts and ice cream cones to go without income for that weekend? We tell the truck drivers and car mechanics who work on the cars that they get to go without income? We tell the ticket takers and seat ushers that they get to go without income? We tell the parking lot attendant that he doesn't need his paycheck that week?

Because, NASCAR is frivolous, and a multi million dollar operation so of course all those people have more money then they know what to do with and can go without working for a few days with no problem.

[QC]

30. Well, they're very déclassé and probably freepers besides,

so we shouldn't concern ourselves with them.

[rzemanfl]

31. Does anyone, seriously, make their entire livelihood off of

selling T-shirts or being an usher at NASCAR events, football games, etc. ?

What do they do the rest of the year?

[davepc]

32. No, the working poor usually cant make a living off of one job

which is why they have more then one. Working weekend events at large arenas and race tracks is just one of the ways they find to supplement their income.

Nothing better then helping the working poor then by telling them they cant work.

Or telling a kid trying to pay his way through college in part by working as a vendor that he might have to be short on a tuition payment because he didn't get to work a few events so that "frivolous" NASCAR fans didn't hurt America.

I'm sure those people don't need that extra money for their children's school supplies, or for food. I mean, since they obviously don't make their living off of that job, its just extra bonus money that they spend on european vacations or hot air balloon trips.

[rzemanfl]

33. Now we are getting somewhere. Let's cut off the gas for vehicles

that are gas hogs. The rich can afford to park them and get something economical. Of course then what's left of the American auto industry tanks and those folks are out of work. There are no easy answers to any of this. We should have started weaning ourselves from oil when Nixon was President.

You've convinced me that eliminating audiences at professional sports events is not the way to go. What about my four day week suggestion, or does that hurt the people who would have sold me my lunch if I'd gone to work that day? Of course it would. There are no painless solutions because we waited to long to do something about a problem they warned us about when I watched "Our Mr. Sun" in grade school in the 1950's.

[TheFarseer]

39. couldn't they take the oil that went to Nascar

and make pump gas out of it? All signs point to 'yes'

[enough already]

46. Maybe not, but

they sure as hell are pouring a ton of pollution into the atmosphere, not to mention all the rednecks driving their gas guzzling pickups to watch this freak show. This is all contributing to global warming, which is largely to blame for this hurricane.

[craigolemiss]

2. Wrong fuel

[wellstone_democrat]

3. when the last drop of gas....

is pried out of the last SUV tank. Basically, you are potentially looking at a bit of a class war there! Sure, plenty of NASCAR lovers like my boss have honking big SUVs (escalade in his case) but most do not and Bob ain't gonna give up his SUV for NASCAR but, my sister's brother in law is a stereotypical goofball NASCAR fan who believes "dressing up" is wearing his Earnhart jacket (yep, he wore it to their formal church wedding!)

Maybe you gotta live in Texas to get that dichotomy, but it exists.

[barb162]

42. dressing up" is wearing his Earnhart jacket::

I needed a laugh, thanks

[SteppingRazor]

5. That's a drop in the bucket, though.

We should be more worried about national driving as a whole -- start looking at electric cars, and so on.

[AValdoux]

14. Thank you for putting Nascar fuel use in perspective

I'm a nascar fan & I hate George Bush. To think everyone who enjoys a certain sport is of one political group is stereotyping. There are things I don't like about their marketing & but most of the drivers stay away from politics. I do think they are, of all the professional sports, the biggest media whores, but that doesn't take away from the sport. I know "its just going around in circles", but try that on a 1/2 mile track with a 36 degree bank with 40 other cars all doing 150 mph for over 4 hours.

Sorry I had to rant, I'm tired of being a closet Nascar fan.


AValdoux

[Lugnut]

40. Come out of the closet

There are quite a few of us here. Just ignore those who will attempt to hang a stereotypical label on you. ;)

[RadiDem]

7. Motorsport adds Billions of $ to the economy

Motorsport adds Billions of dollars to the economy, and probably use less fuel that bush has used Flying AF1 on his dozens of vacations.

Some series don't even use gas, but methanol.

[MindPilot]

8. I'm going to a NASCAR event this weekend

And I'm taking the train, thank you very much.

[OneTwentyoNine]

10. Should we shut down air shows too??

Which is BTW the largest spectator event in the US....

[MindPilot]

11. How about if everyone stays home from from works for a couple weeks

Make cops ride bikes, let the military march everywhere, shut down the airlines, stop the trucking industry, firefighters can go back to using horses.

Anymore good ideas?

[TheDonkey]

13. hahaha. agreed

[montana500]

17. don'tbe pissed....

because you are a Nascar fan. It was just a suggestion.

[MindPilot]

20. I'm not pissed -- just amazed at those on DU who take ANY opportunity

to stereotype NASCAR and its fans.

[Hello_Kitty]

44. I like the first idea, seriously.

A nationwide strike of all non-essential workers. If we could get the Murkins together for this just think what it would do to the corporate fascist industrial complex.

[Cato1]

15. I'd rather ban the use of private airplanes (n/t)

[MindPilot]

18. oh that's going to make a huge impact

Yep that little four cylider Lycoming is a real gas hog. Let's ban boats and chainsaws too.

[Old and In the Way]

19. Convert it

Instead of valuing speed, value economy. Put the emphasis on fuel efficiency based on total usage, instead of efficieny based on shortest time.

[Telly Savalas]

36. It would be intriguing to see a motorsport series where

there was a rule limiting the amount of fuel used by a car. Aside from the fuel constraints and safety regulations, give the teams free hand to engineer the cars however they want 'em. (Although make it road circuits, not those boring ovals.) Such a series could give birth to innovations which could be used in normal cars.

I'd watch. (But then again I'll watch a frisbee catching dog competition too.)

[O.M.B.inOhio]

21. Or very broadly rethink our oil habit?

Start with a tax on gas, with temporary exemptions for public transit, orgs that serve public good, farmers, truckers, contractors, etc.
Maybe some $ incentive on development that does not force residents to drive.
Intelligent inter- and intra-city transport. Cities can make taxi licenses free to electric or hybric vehicles. Free parking for hybrids. Cheap or free electric for electric vehicles. Cut subsidies for car companies that make less than x% hybrids. END THE SUV LOOPHOLE that allows those obsene personal vehicles to have lousy mileage so long as they classified as trucks.
Ending a 'sport' ain't the way, and NASCAR's bound to cool down soon enough. Sometimes it seems as though the appeal of NASCAR has something to do with the fact that all its heroes are white. But that's someting to debate another day.

[QC]

27. We could stop flying yuppies to Europe & the Caribbean....

one or two of those flights burns up more fuel than all the NASCAR races put together.

But the NASCAR obsession around here isn't really about fuel consumption or environmental protection. It's all about putting some nice windowdressing on classism. It's all about playing yet another round of let's-shit-on-the-proles.

[frylock]

29. bravo!

:yourock:

[Telly Savalas]

37. Even as an elitist snob who prefers F1 to NASCAR...

I still gotta agree with you. Great post.

[Blue Belle]

34. I believe those cars run on Ethenol...

so NASCAR racers aren't the the real culprits when it comes to tapping into our fuel resources.

[The Jacobin]

38. I know open-wheel racing is ethanol

Champ Car, Indy Car, Formula One is all ethanol.

Nascar, I really don't care.

[RUMPLEMINTZ]

43. We have a name for

open wheel racing, go-cart racing. :D

[rfkrfk]

49. F1 is gasoline, Indy is converting to ethanol from methanol

not sure about Cart.

F1 gasoline closely resembles European 95

Nascar,leaded 110 gasoline

[Blue Belle]

50. I really don't care about NASCAR either...

(or Indy, or any of the others) but I have a nephew who works on them, that's the only reason why I know anything about them.

[barb162]

41. shut istdown as of yesterday and airshows too

lots of fuel being wasted on this bullshit

[Wabbajack]

45. I don't think the goverment has the authority to do that

nor should they.

[fujiyama]

48. It wouldn't make much of a difference

It certainly wouldn't hurt, but it wouldn't make a huge difference.

Ideally this president would have asked the nation to make sacrifices a while back regarding oil consumption. But of course he never did. Not that we expected him to.

It would be more effective to force US automotive companies to increase CAFE standards but unfortunately even good represenatives and senators like Conyers and Levin accept contributions from automakers - and have voted in the past against those increases.

The government should also encourage the use of mass transit and/or enourage people to live closer to their workplaces. Instead the government has pretty much stopped funding for Amtrak and sprawl is worse than ever.