Social image boosts sport utility sales
National campaigns promote
consumer education about
SUV pollution and other
environmental consequences
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
According to the Internationa]
Earth Day Web site, “All individuals
and institutions have a mutual re
sponsibility to act as Trustees oi
Earth, seeking the choices in ecolo
gy, economics and ethics that wil
eliminate pollution, poverty and vi
olence, foster peaceful progress
awaken the wonder of life, and real
ize the best potential for the future
of the human adventure.” From this
it’s reasonable to raise the question:
How do sport utility vehicles fit into
this picture?
According to “The SUV InfoLink,”
a Web site with factual information
and statistics about SUVs, driving
one will, on average, put two to three
times more pollution into the air
than a car. Whereas in the 1970s.
sport utility vehicles were used pri
marily for farming and commercial
work, today they account for one ol
every four new vehicles sold.
Sociology Professor Val Burris saic
SUVs can be looked at from a variet)
of sociological perspectives, from po
litical to social to militaristic.
“They are clearly a status thing,’
Burris said. “I’m annoyed by then
— but I’m also annoyed by the polit
ical reaction to them.”
He noted that it’s difficult tc
consider the pollution problem b)
merely looking at it from a driver
side perspective.
“Pollution is caused by corpora
tions and their government lackeys,”
he said. “It individualizes blame to
go after the drivers of vehicles and
feel so self-righteous about it.”
Two campaigns aim to increase
awareness of the impact SUVs have
on environmental and the socio-po
litical concerns. Last year, “The De
troit Project,” co-founded by politi
cal activist Arianna Huffington,
launched an ad campaign linking
SUVs with terrorism.
The second campaign, “What
Would Jesus Drive?” links the is
sues with religion, trying to per
suade people that transportation is
a moral choice because pollution
affects the world.
Burris said SUVs are sometimes
associated with military and po
lice vehicles.
“(SUVs) are what the military and
death squads around the world use
as vehicles,” Burris said, when inter
viewed in February. “Whatever ar
mored vehicle gets the most press
footage in the next war on Iraq,
they’ll be marketing in America, just
like the last time we invaded.”
Burris said AM General intro
duced a consumer version of the
Hummer in 1992, due to the notori
ety it received in the Gulf War and
partially at the behest of Arnold
’ Schwarzenegger,
i A salesperson for Kendall Lexus of
Eugene, who preferred to remian un
named, said while SUVs are consid
i ered family vehicles, there is a fad
aspect for some purchasers. He said
that while he was not comfortable
Adam Amato Emerald
SUVs, once used primarily for farming and commerical work, now account for one of every four new vehicles sold. According to
the "The SUV InfoUnk," SUVs put two to three times more pollution into the air than a car.
speculating on other people’s mind
sets, he saw a general trend forming.
“It’s kind of like a hula hoop in a
way; some people absolutely want to
have one,” he said. “I have no idea
why Americans are so in love with
these things — it’s the craze. The
thing is, you’re not going to be able
to stop the demand of the consumer.
People are going to spend their mon
ey. That’s just the natural law of sup
ply and demand. That’s the way the
world works. What form that takes is
going to be directed by the mass will
of the people.”
Portland resident Jesse Vella said
he bought his SUV with his girlfriend
because he was able to receive an
118,000 employee discount off the re
tail price. He ended up paying
$27,000, and said he is now disgust
ed with the vehicle.
“No, we are not satisfied, because
it is too expensive and is a product of
the American attitude,” Vella said.
“With the current gas prices, we
spend #50 a week in gas, not to men
tion #400-a-month car payment. It
has been a lead weight around our
necks. We are currently trying to get
out of it.”
Psychology graduate student
Chuck Tate, who specializes in the
area of social psychology, said so
cial desirability and impression
management are two key factors in
being unable to make people aware
of the potential problems in own
ing, purchasing or even wanting an
SUV. He connected these problems
to the dynamics of advertisers’ por
trayal of the vehicles as hip and
fashionable. Tate said this is en
demic of a larger problem.
“It’s a lot of social positioning,” he
said. “That’s why it’s hard to frame
SUVs as a vice. If everyone’s doing it,
it can’t be bad.”
Tate suggested approaching con
sumers about SUVs in a way that al
lows them to reason and evaluate on
their own.
“When (SUVs) stop looking good
in the conversation, that’s when you
get negative reactions,” he said.
“Trying to frame something pleasur
able as bad is not going to work. Get
them to think about the process of
what’s going on.”
Contact the Pulse reporter
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
The University generates
solar power at the EMU and
will use photovoltaic cells
at the new business complex
Ali Shaughnessy
Environment/Science/Technology Reporter
Sunlight in Eugene is almost un
seen during the winter. When sum
mer hits, however, Eugene sees the
same amount of sunlight as the rest
of the nation.
It was because of the energy that
sunlight can produce that prompted
University students Jocelyn Eisen
berg and Ben Gates to submit a pro
posal to the ASUO Executive in May
2001 during a contest titled “100,000
Bucks for Ducks.” Eisenberg and
Gates had a vision to use the money
to cover the EMU roof with at least
300 solar panels to promote environ
mental sustainability.
While only three panels now sit on
the EMU, a far cry from 300, Eisen
berg said those three panels produce
three kilowatts, which is enough to
run a medium-size household. Eisen
berg added she is hoping to fund an
other 17 by the end of this summer
and said she needs support from the
EMU Board to accomplish her goals.
“Let’s get the whole student union
and EMU committed to getting this
second part to happen,” she said. “I
would love to see the next thing hap
pen, and not get lost or forgotten.”
Dr. Frank Vignola, a senior
research associate in the physics
department, said solar panels
basically take sunlight and turn it
into electricity by breaking down
solar cells.
“Solar cells are like car batteries,”
he said. “Instead of having chemical
reactions, they have the sun and the
sun supplies the energy.”
Vignola also said using energy from
resources such as the sun or wind is
extremely important because fossil
Mark McCambridge Emerald
The three solar panels that sit on top of the EMU collectively produce three kilowatts, which is enough to run a medium-size
household. The Lillis Business Complex will use photovolatic panels to harness the sun's energy.
fuels are scarce, and because burning
fuels such as oil or natural gas add to
“climate global change.”
“Solar energy is a sustainable
“We need to install today for
there to be a viable, mature mar
ket in the next 15 years,” he said.
“Every solar electric system is
energy source,
he said. “The
sun’s not going to
run out for a few
billion years.”
Christopher
Dymond, an
energy analyst
with the Oregon
Office of Energy,
agreed with
Vignola, adding
solar equipment
needs to be
"Solar energy is a
sustainable energy
source. The sun's not
going to run out for a
few billion years"
Dr. Frank Vignola
senior research associate
physics department
important.
Soon, the EMU
will not be the
only building on
campus that is
conserving the
use of fossil fuels,
such as oil and
natural gas, by
using solar ener
gy. The Charles
H. Lundquist
College of
Business is work
installed now. He said that it is
valuable to get solar panels in
front of the public to show the
panels’ effectiveness.
ing on construction for the Lillis
Business Complex, which will be
50 percent more energy efficient
than state code requires. Along
with sensors that turn off lights,
external shades and light shelves
to regulate temperature and light
ing that will adjust to daylight lev
els, photovoltaic panels will be
installed. Photovoltaic panels
work along the same line as solar
panels, using the sun to produce
clean solar energy.
Business school Dean Phil
Romero said in a statement that
the curriculum of the school
reflects the values of the Pacific
Northwest business community.
“One of the strongest of those
values is the recognition of the
preciousness of our natural envi
ronment and the need to protect
those resources,” he said.
Contact the reporter
atalishaughnessy@dailyemerald.com.
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History
continued from page 7
Scofield said the function of
EGD is to bring environmental
issues to the community level
— addressing how development
effects the environment and
finding practical, environment
friendly alternatives to design
and energy consumption in ur
ban development.
"I want it to be
about more than
making a daisy
chain. We should be
thinking about these
issues 365 days a
year."
Kit Douglass
OSPIRG
campus organizer
Kit Douglass, campus organ
izer for the OSPIRG, said she
hoped this year’s Earth Day
would bring more attention to
legislation she said is being gut
ted by the current administra
tion. Douglass, one of the key
organizers of the Earth Day ac
tivities held on campus today,
said she hopes to urge students
and others to make Earth Day
every day.
“I want it to be about more
than making a daisy chain,”
Douglass said. “We should be
thinking about these issues 365
days a year.”
Contact the senior Pulse reporter at
ryanbornheimer@dailyemerald.com.
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