We need them here, so it wouldn't bug me.

Posted by: Ann | November 5, 2007 1:50 PM

My question is, Did the eco-worrier let the friend know about the other eco-offenses, or was this an explosion out of the blue for the SUV owner? 4x4s are all very well if you need to drive cross-country on a daily basis, crossing fields on your farm and what-not, but acknowledging your friends and their feelings is also something to be taken into consideration.

Posted by: Ariel | November 5, 2007 2:34 PM

I too would have a hard time wanting to be with a friend that is choosing to not take responsibility. If it was a close friend I would hopefully choose to identify with the friends needs that the car provided and when that friend felt understood, then I would share my needs to be a steward of sustainability. Perhaps through this mutual act of empathy we could find some medium ground such as purchasing carbon offsets for the cars impact.

Posted by: Chuck | November 5, 2007 3:52 PM

It's hard to get the balance right. I think it's really important not to go to war over this, but just to continue doggedly to try to get the facts across. People have been misled by the climate change deniers for so long, that I actually feel sorry for them when they say, "It's not as bad as all that is it?" or "I think you're exaggerating" or whatever else they say. Poor things, hopelessly ill-informed. The thing is for us to have all the facts at our disposal and quietly get on with what we're doing, and explain why, without making it look as though we are trying to attack the other person.

Posted by: rosie | November 5, 2007 6:24 PM

If friendship is just based on materialism then I think we are all screwed!! It's just a truck. Friends are forever if they are true friends they can work out ANYTHING!!

Posted by: Lady D | November 5, 2007 9:29 PM

There has to be more to this story. Did the friend have a need for an SUV? Is this eco-warrior one of the self-righteous types who love to bash those not as eco-obsessed as she is? If a friend of mine were so shallow and fickle that they would tell me they could no longer be my friend because of the car I bought, well then good riddance.

Posted by: gemini | November 5, 2007 9:37 PM

Many so called environmentalists know little about car and are therefor prepared to believe any propaganda given to them by self appointed experts.

Most 4x4s out there are not really any more environmentally unfriendly that any other medium or large car but thank to misleading information they are automatically labeled as evil.
Chances are this lady has spreed her friend needlessly for the sake of 'Green' dogma. Shame.

Posted by: | November 6, 2007 8:18 AM

I think that people need to make choices about who to be friends with based on their own unique and irreplaceable personality. The 4x4 owner doesn't know her friend well enough to know how important the environment is to her? Maybe she wasn't that good a friend, sounds pretty insensitive and self-involved for her to be so shocked when her friend said it bothered her. Maybe you guys should all go be friends with the 4x4 owner; I think the green woman has a right to choose who she wants to be friends with without you people saying whether she should or shouldn't. Can you really tell someone how to feel? And where do we make a stand exactly? Do we picket Washington but give our friends and families a special exemption? Isn't the whole premise of environmental responsibility that each one of us has to do our part, or nothing will get done? Seems to me that everyone wants to SAY they are trying to reduce their contaminant footprint on the environment, but when it comes to actually doing something about it that might arouse uncomfortable feelings we all just wimp out. So what if she is not friends with the woman? I am not friends with racists, sexists, or Republicans, and believe me my life is richer and truer for it. We don't all recycle, but we do feel free to speak our minds and say hey, you should recycle, and I hate SUVs, and why don't we carpool, no need to take two cars if we don't have to. Since when is it taboo to talk about the environment, or is everything taboo in today's America, where we can't talk about religion, the war, the economy, social justice, the AIDS epidemic, and all the rest, without someone getting upset and accusing the other side of being fanatic? What country am I even living in? This is not the country it felt like in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It feels different, in a scary way, in a more than quantitative way, and I think anyone who was born before 1980 would appreciate what I mean. You people are sad...

Posted by: ariesgirl | November 7, 2007 2:56 PM

If any friend of mind moaned about my choice of vehicle I would drop them very quickly. I'm quite capable of making my own decisions, and I don't need some prodnosed person to preach at me. As far as I'm concerned, environmentalist preachers are just the same as Jovos knocking on the door on a Sunday morning. I hate people who think they know better than everyone else, and think they have a right to force everyone else to live by their standards. Humanity has always been bedevilled by the self-rightuous, and I find their activities so offensive that I would have no hesitation in breaking off a friendship with anyone who turned out to be like that.

Fred

Posted by: Fred Stubber | November 11, 2007 1:23 AM