I think we are both saying the same thing in just a different way. I am certainly in agreement that man (more often than not) is having a negative effect on the environment, but that is unfortunately necessary for progress. The positive side of progress is that as a society emerges from an industrial age it becomes more aware of its own impact on the world and the environment and it willingly makes decisions to minimize that impact as much as possible. The rivers that were once dead in the U.S. in the early 1900s are now cleaner than ever before and fish are returning in huge numbers. After the industrial revolution the world did not end…pollution did not win and we did not destroy civilization. :)

What fires me up about this is the leftist rethoric (not from you or andrew) that sounds just like the good old Communists I grew up with in Romania. In essence it seems to be an attempt to dictate how my life should be lived, and as a libertarian I strongly oppose it. I specifically bought a Mazda 3 a few years ago because it has great gas mileage, but I assure you that if I want to drive an SUV I will do so without asking for anyone’s permission, especially since SUVs today pollute as much as any other car on the road.

The fight against the SUVs is a fight a gainst capitalism - that is quite clear to me. It has little to do with pollution or emissions, otherwise there would be hard numbers that we could look at. The SUV has become the personification of capitalism, success and financial independence and wealth. So it is only natural that it is being hated so - apparently more than I even realized. :)