When Ecoterrorism Is Almost Justifiable

Hummers shouldn't be vandalized, but why should we all have to pay more for gas because some must drive a screaming symbol of American excess?

While I've never been a fan of ecoterrorism or terrorism of any sort, this news item is bound to make the environmentalist in each of us react by thinking some version of, "If ever a car owner deserved it..."

Today's Washington Post relates the story of a Washington, D.C., resident whose Hummer was attacked by two masked men with bats and a knife, smashing every window in the flamboyantly wasteful gas guzzler and scraping the message "For the environ" into the body of the truck.

What the two masked men did was illegal, and they should be tracked down and prosecuted. But we as a nation suffering from global warming should be asking whether it should also be illegal to drive a Hummer for recreational purposes. Gas guzzlers are a necessity in the military, in some farming operations, etc. But the fact is, increased demand for gas increases gas prices and affects us all. Why should we all have to pay more per gallon because some persons feel the need to prove themselves by driving a screaming symbol of American excess?

The most important reason to ban Hummers for street use is, of course, their huge environmental footprint. It's not just the gas they burn. The steel and other raw materials they consume are environmentally inexcusable.

By Bonnie Erbe