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Gas Guzzling Government Goo-Goos
Put this in the category of something we're shocked-- shocked! to discover, but it turns out that all of those California government officials who have been going around pledging fealty to being Green drive gas guzzling cars. We all know about Arnie's love of the Hummer (we mean the car-- get your heads out of the gutter people!) but his security detail drives a 2005 Ford Excursion that gets less than 11 miles per gallon. Speaker Fabian Nunez, co-sponsor of the big global warming bill that will be signed tomorrow, drives a 2003 Ford Explorer that gets about 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway. Two other sponsors of the bill drive Jeep Cherokees. Also of note is Oakland Assemblywoman Wilma Chan who does the Oakland to Sacremento commute four times a week in a 2004 Lincoln Aviator that gets 13 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway. Hmm...just think how much damage to the arctic will be done just in all the politicians showing up to sign a bill to purportedly save it. Won't somebody think of the polar bears?
Lest you think every politician is running around driving gas guzzlers, 27 out of the state's 120 lawmakers now get to smugly tell everyone just how much gas mileage they get these days by driving hybrids.
Of course, every political caught with driving a gas-guzzler has an excuse. Mainly, it's that they're leasing the cars (tough life) and their lease is still good so why get another car right now? But the moment those leases are over, well, it's hello biodiesel fueled enviro car. A lot of other politicians claim they have hybrids at home and bust them out on the weekends or for family use. Just not when they make the long commute to Sacto.
For a list of who drives what, check out the bottom of the story. Mark Leno, by the way, drives a hybrid.
You know, it's really easy to snark on all the hypocrisy of it, but sometimes it turns into one of those things where people lose perspective on the actual importance of all this. Frankly, if Al Gore has to fly the occasional Lear Jet to do some global warming speech, we could care less. Still, expect going green to be the big "in" thing for politicians to do as they try and show their environmental cred. Be cynical all you want, but at least they're not doing the other big thing this year-- becoming Jewish.