The Myth of Fuel Efficiency

Fuel-efficient vehicles are often made out to be the silver bullet for global warming, but a piece in the latest New Yorker serves up a stark reminder that technological advances alone will not solve global warming. The writer, David Owen, points out that hybrid vehicles do not necessarily equal less pollution; if people get more miles to the gallon, they will simply drive more. Also, fuel-efficient cars won't slow down urban sprawl and reckless development. Prosperity breeds pollution, as is the case in Canada, which signed up for the Kyoto Protocol but is not even remotely close to meeting the goals it set for itself. As everyone hopes to get the economy rolling again, the only way to prevent global warming is to keep it from rolling too fast.