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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2003)
©2QQ3 The Bear Steams Companies Inc. Bear Stearns is a registered trademark of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. Bear Stearns is an equal opportunity employer. 4 LION 1 ousted I Evans I holes in | >ats were f feeding, that occu- iidgeraeot were ilderness Station, relocated the previ- dings, know!- i as been said xecutive Evans no fur- nee the on the in the irea are as the nal of Aggielife The Battalion Page 3A • Monday, September 15, 2003 She thinks my tractor’s sexy Environmental concerns and extreme sports face off in the great truck debate By Daniel Chapman THE BATTALION K? tries in the Zachry park- HjgL ing lot, students at Texas A&M like every thing bigger, louder and faster. A short walk around any parking lot on campus will prove that a great many, if not the majority, of Aggie stu dents adhere to that philosophy. One will find trucks that neces sitate a rope lad der or step in order to climb inside, and SUVs that take up close to two parking spaces, making parking around them dif ficult for other cars. What is the obsession with vehicles made for extreme driving conditions that will never see more than a gravel driveway? Do Aggies need the ego boost of a V8 engine or the assurance that cattle guards on the front of our trucks may derail trains? Joel Albea, a senior environmental design major, said he knows 100 per cent the importance of being one with a car. “I drive a 1983 Jeep CJ7 which gets about 12 to 14 miles to the gallon. There is nothing like riding in a car that is so responsive. Jeeps are the bare minimum of a car, and they are so fun to drive,” Albea said. “It’s like driving a go-cart, and there is no better feeling than riding with the top off. 1 also love the fact that I can take it apart and put it back together myself. You can’t do that with cars that are manufactured today.” It’s good to like what you’re driving, but student must con sider the environmental ramifications that come with a hefty vehicle and a round trip to the Student Recreation Center in these vehicles. Albea says the difference between gas mileages may mean the difference between a car to envy and a car to pity. . “I don’t think that the difference between getting a gas mileage of 12 - 14 is much different than getting a gas mileage of 20,” Albea said. “And if your car is getting 50 - 60 miles to the gallon, you are not driving a fun car. Those little cars don’t drive good like my Jeep.” The truth of the matter is (( Al ? ea k drives hi * Jee ,P It's like driving a 15,000 miles this year, he will 4* pump 11.4 tons of greenhouse go-cart... I also like gas emissions and a cost of the fact that I can to'"the ‘Unvironmental ^ ^ and put Protection Agency’s Web site. it back together. You ihe shiti to larger vehi- can’t do that with cars cles such as SUVs and mini- vans that have lower gas mileage leads to a drop in fuel economy, says the EPA. While some vehicle mod els may be improving mileage efficiency over time, as a nation, America is still buying less efficient models. While many will agree that SUVs are fun to drive, some do use their trucks for things a car is not designed for. Jessica McDaniel and her family live on a ranch. They use trucks to haul feed and hay around their land. This task would be time consuming and completely inefficient in a sedan, and it may even cause more pollution because of this inefficiency, she said. “On the flipside I feel that the Excursion and vehicles like it, are the stupidest things ever invented,” said McDaniel, a senior agricultural business major.. that are manufac tured today 99 — Joel Albea senior environmental design major “No one should need a vehicle that big.” McDaniel prefers to drive trucks and SUVs over sedans and smaller vehicles. “I also don't think that I could drive a small car because of the safety that I have in my truck,” she said. “I drove a car for two weeks, and I hated it. I don’t like to be low to the ground. I’d much rather be up higher.” David Oliver, a senior industrial distribution and manufac turing engineering technology major, enjoys taking his Suburban off road to places he may not be able to get to by bike or small car. “I serve as the public relations officer for Texas A&M Off Road. We participate in a national program called ‘Tread Lightly’ which simply states that wherever we visit, we leave it better than we found it,” he said. “ We don’t tear up the land or spill anything in the rivers when we take our trips off road, and encourage others that we encounter on the trail to do the same.” Oliver drives a Chevy turbo-diesel Suburban his family has owned since 1985, when they bought it new. Now that it is his, he’s added a new suspension and larger tires. Since he still drives it on the road everyday, it had to be built with a dual purpose. “I take it camping, and those modifications give me the abili ty to go farther from the beaten path but still remain street legal and safe,” he said. “Basically, I can drive to the trail, pack all my food, a tent, bicycles, and any other gear, and spend a day or two.” While they might not be the i most environmentally-sound choices for getting around cam pus, many of the SUVs around College Station serve a valid purpose. The future is uncertain for the envi ronment. Although the lais sez-faire attitude toward what students drive may be acceptable light now. there soon may be more stringent government regulations that will hold drivers more responsible for the type of vehicle they drive and its effects on the environment. r- josh Darwin • the battalion mitions cap of it. nds of direc- to the In his in doc- mal- You’re an original. You have a certain mindset. We have it too. Our culture encourages original thinking—with minimum bureaucracy and maximum freedom—to let the best ideas and people rise. So, the choice is yours. Chain yourself to someone else’s idea of a career. Or come create your own. BEAR STEARNS We invite you to attend our undergraduate presentation and learn how to build your future with Bear Stearns. Wednesday, September 17 th 110 Koldus Building 7:00 p.m. www.bearstearns.com