Can we put a freaking MORATORIUM on car racing now?

[fudge stripe cookays]

Is there any more wasteful, more quintessentially SELFISH use of natural resources and polluting of the environment?

I have never hated the stupid NASCAR crap more than I do right now. Our gas supplies are dwindling to almost nothing, we're paying out the nose for what we do have, our oceans are getting warmer and warmer, which will lead to more Katrinas in the next few years.

I know an easy way to put gas and oxygen back into circulation. It's a simple solution. Stop organized car racing. Forever.

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[Spinzonner]

1. Drop in the barrel

OTOH, if we could get the spectators to carpool to the races ...

[fudge stripe cookays]

19. Enough drops add up.

Mother Teresa:

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

[shapiro]

2. Can we also ban SKI TRIPS?

We can cancel flights to ski areas, cancel flights to Hawaii, cancel flights to Jamaica, close all the theme parks, and then limit home computers to 2 hours per day!

[JuniperLea]

5. Might just have to do that!

We are living in times that are unlike any other and we need to set priorities. A car race or a ski trip are like elective surgery. Those in dire need should have surgery first. You have to remember that our food sources require petroleum too! Everything we need to survive. A ski trip is not a survival tool.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JuniperLea]

15. Only the "base" will be able to afford joy riding soon anyway...

We need to concentrate on people who do not vote, period, instead of trying to sway people who already vote. That is the real untapped resource.

[fudge stripe cookays]

9. We'll probably be doing that, very soon.

These are getting to be desperate times. Been to get gas in the last 2 days?

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[1932]

3. Doesn't CART use ethanol?

And why single out car racing? Much more fuel is probably used by fans driving to NFL games and driving home on one sunday than is used by all the cars and spectators at all the car races in the US on any Sunday.

[TroglodyteScholar]

4. I agree with you, but try convincing these folks.......

There are MILLIONS of fans of this "sport" and they pack out gigantic venues. I'm guessing we won't see the end of racing until there's literally no gas to use on it.

[JuniperLea]

6. We should use those tracks as refugee camps...

any wide open space is needed.

[fudge stripe cookays]

7. I know.

That's what scares me.

There are no alternative plans being made. No alternate transportation sources being explored.

This will just keep up until there's nothing left. And when I think of this giant waste, I feel sick to my stomach.

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[Wickerman]

8. I am no NASCAR fan

I prefer open wheel racing - but...

Different fuel is used for racing than for passenger cars. I believe it is comprised of high levels of ethonal but someone better familiar with the chemical properties of fuel should answer that.

Selfish? Not really. Most safety advances that we enjoy in our cars today came from racing. Seatbelts, mirrors, etc.

Aerodynamics are constantly improved in racing and passed down to passenger cars and those aid in fuel savings for you and me.

[ohio_liberal]

11. NASCAR uses

112-octane leaded gasoline

[fudge stripe cookays]

14. High levels of ethanol...

What's the rest? Would it be....some form of petroleum product? If so, your argument is moot.

I could give a damn what benefits have been derived from it so far. I'm talking about RIGHT NOW. And right now, wasting that kind of gas driving round and around in circles while others in various areas can't even fill their cars to go to work (to get a paycheck to feed their families) is WASTEFUL.

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[Karmadillo]

10. Can't run the Class War effectively without lots of circuses.

We're currently trying to get people used to less bread. A reduction in circuses can come later.

[getmeouttahere]

13. Agreed, but it would be like getting more gun control....

it ain't gonna happen. At least we can clean out the gene pool a little, when the NASCAR repukes crash and burn! Sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone who gets killed driving a vehicle 200 mph.

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. Yeah, I know.

Sad isn't it?
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[Botany]

17. My solution ......

give NASCAR fans a chair on a freeway overpass and they can watch cars
go by all day

then take to a place where they can see people changing tires & oil

then to an E.R. where they can see an 'mublance bring in hurt people

[fudge stripe cookays]

18. By Jove!

I think you've got it!

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[libertypirate]

20. car racing is not the problem....

Let's not make it the problem.

[fudge stripe cookays]

31. It IS a problem.

I'm MAKING it my problem.

If it isn't for you, then you haven't been hit hard enough by gas prices yet.

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[truebrit71]

21. Let's ban air travel too.....

There is less fuel used in an entire Formula One season than ONE 747 from Heathrow to New York.

Let's ban air travel, ALL cars, and go back to horse and buggy....

:eyes:

[fudge stripe cookays]

24. Yes, but...

air travel fulfills necessary purposes, such as getting people from one place to another for business travel or to care for sick relatives, or seeing people they love after long absences, or visiting somewhere they've never traveled.

Car racing is watching cars go around in a circle.

Amazing.

[truebrit71]

26. Yeah because things like car safety aren't necessary right?

Seat belts and rear-view mirrors are descended directly from race-cars...as is the massive advance in tyre safety....

[fudge stripe cookays]

32. They might...

have served a purpose years ago, but they no longer do. They WASTE FUEL.

These answers about planes using more fuel or racing causing safety changes forget the fact that travel about the country has many reasons: family, business, or leisure.

Car racing has one: WASTE.

[Telly Savalas]

27. A large percentage of air travel is for recreation.

A European vacation is just as unnecessary as NASCAR, yet you don't hear anyone around here complaining about that. Here's a great post on the matter: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2048548&mesg_id=2048736

In fact, I think that guy's accusations of classism are strengthened by the fact that you hear virtually nothing at DU about how urban development needs to be done on a human scale to facilitate walking and public transit as a primary means of transportation. Urban sprawl contributes to the wasting of natural resources much, much more than NASCAR does.

[fudge stripe cookays]

29. I'm not condoning urban sprawl one bit.

I think it's heinous what is being done to our cities and suburbs. I don't want to live in one, but it's all we could afford when we bought our house.

I also think there's a big difference between air travel for leisure and watching cars drive in a circle.

Air travel actually lets people see something outside their own backyards, promoting better understanding of the larger world. NASCAR lets people watch cars drive around in a circle.

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[Telly Savalas]

35. Flying to go visit Disneyland is more socially redeeming than NASCAR?

Given that air travel consumes much more fuel than NASCAR, do you think it should be necessary for vacationers to provide documentation that proves that their trip has positive cultural value? After all, the stereotypical "ugly American" tourist is being much more wasteful than a NASCAR fan and isn't really getting a more enriching experience.

I know that tiny drops in the bucket add up, but there are numerous drops that are a hell of a lot larger than NASCAR. Hence I find it curious that many DUers fixate on NASCAR instead of those other issues. So rather than trying to pin the blame on the so called rednecks, why not press the progressive movement into promoting policies that actually make a difference like sane city planning, public transportation, and alternative fuel? Complaining about NASCAR while these matters are unattended is like trying to swat a fly when there are a bunch of rabid lions in your house.

[SoCalDem]

22. What America does for "entertainment purposes" is SACRED.

Why?

1. because we 'deserve' to be entertained
2. because advertisers NEED to advertise
3. because a well-entertained populace will complain less

[fudge stripe cookays]

23. Exactly. n/t

[lutefisk]

25. How about college football? Huge attendance numbers.

Take something from blue state spectators, too. Wouldn't want to seem prejudiced against the South.

[fudge stripe cookays]

33. Not a good topic for me to address....

since I hate football.

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[sierrajim]

28. Oh please this sounds so asinine

People in this Country use more fuel in one day going to the store for that one thing they forgot rather than doing without for a couple of days than race cars use in one season.

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. It sounds asinine...

until we run out of gas. When people are struggling to feed themselves because there is no food on grocery shelves, we'll see how cavalier everyone is.

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[LTR]

34. Tell ya what

Let's just ban entertainment altogether.

We don't need any fun in our lives.

:sarcasm:

[Telly Savalas]

36. Let's compromise...

we'll only ban entertainment that I don't like. If I like it, then we'll allow it.

[pimpbot]

37. How many barrels of oil does it take to make a fudge striped cookie?

I think we should ban cookie production until this crisis is over. I dont like them. However, I do like working on my car and making it go fast. I will drink less beers to compenstate for the extra money spent on gas.

[Moderator]

38. Locking...

This is flamebait.