Here's what I don't get about people in the Midwest...

[Fishindude77]

Y'all are so into nature but you wreck it. What do I mean by this? You drive gas guzzling, polluting trucks even to Walmart. Then you litter on the way home after buying a bunch of cheap consumerist crap that'll end up in the dumpster in <1 year.

Yep, I drive an F-150 4wd, live five miles from work, but can be there in ten minutes. Most folks I know of that live in metro areas drive 30-60 minutes one way. Who's pumping out more pollution with their vehicle? I don't litter, but frequently pick it up, and don't buy and waste any more consumer junk that you.


Instead of admiring nature, you cluttering it up by having junk piles all around your house. Whenever Obama does something to help the environment, you say he's a communist. You look down on Prius's even though they are helping the planet in a profound way. You scoff at Tesla even though all-electric is the future (have fun arguing that with me).

I live on a farm and look out over hundreds of acres of green trees and plants, deer and turkeys run through my yard, and it's dark when we turn off the lights. You live in a noise filled, man made, artificially illuminated concrete and asphalt mess. Obama does suck, and so do electric cars. You despise coal fired energy, and fail to realize if they took it away tomorrow, 70% of us wouldn't have lights.

You eat so much garbage, you can barely even walk outside to appreciate this 'farm/country' lifestyle you 'live'. You spill chemicals on the ground as you work around your hick hobby farm and don't care even though you ARE damaging the environment in a very direct way.

I've got a freezer and pantry filled with wild game meat, fish, garden grown vegetables and fruit that I grew, harvested, processed and preserved myself. You buy overpriced junk at Whole Foods labeled "grass fed" and "organic" when in fact you have no idea where it came from. On my hick hobby farm I've planted in excess of 20,000 trees and built two fish ponds. I think that helps things more than your "Environmental" license plate and "Save the Planet" bumper sticker.

You insist on living out in the middle of nowhere even though you have to drive into town every day and thus damaging the environment even further. You looooove the country life but you're wrecking it. What gives? People from California have far more respect for nature - even if you call them yuppies.

I live out there to stay away from nut jobs like you and your polluted, noisy, traffic filled mess. Many days I don't even go to town. Your idea of respect for nature is setting your recyclables out by the curb. Have you ever even planted a tree?

[FrugalFish]

On my hick hobby farm I've planted in excess of 20,000 trees and built two fish ponds.

Here in CA, when we plant a tree, we refer to it as a "carbon offset." It makes us feel special, almost like we are jet-setting celebrity who can justify our wasteful lifestyle. Planting "carbon offsets" entitles us to make more pollution- because we now feel good about our bad habits.

But seriously, I lived through the whole conservation era of the 1970's (in CA) and am a bit baffled as to why self-proclaimed environmentalists in general do not press for conservation. Instead the focus seems to be on making and using more. FWIW, I live not far from a HUGE, environmentally destroying solar complex-- hideous, ugly panels as far as the eye can see. The first time I saw it, I thought I was actually going to vomit. It is suspected that this beast has unleashed a monster known as valley fever (soil borne and set loose when they plowed the fragile topsoil), not to mention destroyed what some of us can appreciate as a very beautiful and fragile ecosystem for a minimum of hundreds of years (providing they tore it down tomorrow).

[Spiffster]

Fishindude77 is pretty much spot on other than the electric cars suck comment I really like my Volt... and I didnt buy it to save the world (lol), make a statement, or anything like that. I just like the car.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Most people in the Midwest U.S. live in urban areas, not on farms or otherwise rural.

Really, EMIgnorance, where do you get your perceptions of the Midwest?

May I point out that elsewhere you say you are preparing to take a trip by air? Does not your air flight more than wipe out the pollution and resource savings you and I both may otherwise make today?

Please, do tell more about yourself.

--Joan,
in the city with the arch, in the state with the nation's first conservation department and totally awesome department of natural resources.

[creditcardfree]

Riverwed, I lived in Iowa for the last nine years...miss it so much! And I did live in or near the two largest cities. Now that I'm in the Southeast, I'm amazed at how many people don't know where Iowa is, how to spell it, or how many people think we lived on a farm. Not all Iowans are farmers!! But we love those who are.

I find the OP comments very rigid and uninformed. It is usually unwise to make heaping generalizations about a group of people.

[riverwed070707]

Riverwed, I lived in Iowa for the last nine years...miss it so much! And I did live in or near the two largest cities. Now that I'm in the Southeast, I'm amazed at how many people don't know where Iowa is, how to spell it, or how many people think we lived on a farm. Not all Iowans are farmers!! But we love those who are.

I find the OP comments very rigid and uninformed. It is usually unwise to make heaping generalizations about a group of people.

My favorite is when people say "oh i've heard of Iowa. You grow a lot of potatoes" Corn and beans actually. You might be thinking of Idaho. Clearly they don't take geography as seriously on the coasts as we do here in the midwest.

[ExcuseMyIgnorance]

I read through this entire thread thoroughly. I'd like to multi-quote everyone but that may break something lol.

First off, y'all are taking the post a little too seriously. Probably my mistake. I seemed too serious.

And in fact I do live in the Midwest. I grew up in a town of 4oo-ish people. I'd say I'm an authority on rural Midwestern towns. I've been to a llllot of them.

Someone was hating Tesla's for using coal-powered energy. Do some research on Tesla and you'll see how silly the statement is. First off, Tesla does want to eventually run 100% off solar power. But in the mean time, it's far more efficient to burn dinosaurs at coal plants and turn it into electricity than to burn dinosaurs in each individual car. It's something like 3x more efficient. Plus... environmental concerns aside, there's no way we can keep using nonrenewables forever. I'm not much of an environmentalist but I still embrace Tesla. The Model S is the best car ever made. Consumer Reports will tell you that. Oh, and Tesla's are FANTASTIC in snow. Do some research, person who insulted Tesla. You're embarrassing yourself.

Yuppie... watch Duck Dynasty.

I haven't spent much time in CA, you're correct. I had a GF from CA for a few years if that helps lol.

Some people in the Midwest are fantastic. Most of them, actually. But there is something off when so many claim to love nature but are seriously damaging their surroundings.

Rants aren't healthy. I've read they actually just make us angrier. Seems true. I'm trying not to have them. It's like a problem. But it's a problem I can get over in time.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I had to go to Wikipedia to confirm it, but Duck Dynasty is video'd in Louisiana, which is not in the midwest. I assure you that this midwestern woman, having never seen even a split second of that program, is not picking up lingo from Duck Dynasty. Why are you?

If you wanted to post about Tesla, why didn't you make your post about Tesla?

And how did that airflight go? Do you need a "carbon footprint" calculation to see how many Tesla miles you wiped out?

[ua_guy]

I read through this entire thread thoroughly. I'd like to multi-quote everyone but that may break something lol.

First off, y'all are taking the post a little too seriously. Probably my mistake. I seemed too serious.

And in fact I do live in the Midwest. I grew up in a town of 4oo-ish people. I'd say I'm an authority on rural Midwestern towns. I've been to a llllot of them.

Someone was hating Tesla's for using coal-powered energy. Do some research on Tesla and you'll see how silly the statement is. First off, Tesla does want to eventually run 100% off solar power. But in the mean time, it's far more efficient to burn dinosaurs at coal plants and turn it into electricity than to burn dinosaurs in each individual car. It's something like 3x more efficient. Plus... environmental concerns aside, there's no way we can keep using nonrenewables forever. I'm not much of an environmentalist but I still embrace Tesla. The Model S is the best car ever made. Consumer Reports will tell you that. Oh, and Tesla's are FANTASTIC in snow. Do some research, person who insulted Tesla. You're embarrassing yourself.

Yuppie... watch Duck Dynasty.

I haven't spent much time in CA, you're correct. I had a GF from CA for a few years if that helps lol.

Some people in the Midwest are fantastic. Most of them, actually. But there is something off when so many claim to love nature but are seriously damaging their surroundings.

Rants aren't healthy. I've read they actually just make us angrier. Seems true. I'm trying not to have them. It's like a problem. But it's a problem I can get over in time.

Sorry...you're just not getting / are wrong about Tesla. Great cars, but worthless to those of us who actually need a workhorse vehicle. They don't have the ground clearance to run off-road or on ungroomed roads in the snow. Not enough range to get me back and forth to see my family during the year. Can't haul 1500lbs of firewood in the trunk, and they can't tow for ****. Also not spending $50k on a car just to supposedly save the earth.

The rest of your post...kinda delusional.

[maynard]

Dont feed the trolls