(Written in November 2009)
After lunch I went to the dump, then to Gov Gallen to walk the dog. I had just started up the snowy road, when a guy who’d just arrived and been looking at my car, called out to ask about “55 for polar bears”. He had a pretty good idea what it was about. He knew a lot about Polar Bears, said they were in fact grizzlies and would be able to adapt to living on land. He had lived in Alaska for 5 years, and was a very dedicated environmentalist. Talking to him got me all the way to the picnic table — I probably wouldn’t have gotten beyond the top of the dip — and I felt much better after talking to someone who cared so much.
My “55 for Polar Bears” bumpersticker was made by Tim Castleman, Founder of the Drive 55 Conservation Project. I had read somewhere, was never able to find it again, that if the whole country went back to the 55 mph speed limit, we would save the amount of oil we import from the Persian Gulf. I remember driving 55 back in 1970. I was at school in Davis, California, and occasionally drove to the Bay area. It took 1 hour at 70mph, and an hour and a half at 55mph. But I noticed that after driving 70 I was so stressed out that I needed at least 30 minutes rest afterward, but not when I drove slower. But of course, when the speed limit changed back, I started driving faster again. (No time to waste, right?) In 2003 I bought a Honda Civic Hybrid. It had a clever LED display that showed how many miles per gallon I had averaged over the number of miles since I last reset the counter. So I experimented. Got on the highway, up to 55mph and reset the counter, and after about 40 miles I was averaging 55mpg. Then I tried 60 and 65 and saw how the mileage dropped. So I started driving 55 on the highway. I discovered, to my surprise, that instead of having less time, there seemed to be more space in my life. Trying to track down the figures for mileage and the amount of oil imported from the Persian Gulf, I found the Drive 55 Project, and suggested the bumperstickers which they made for me.
The connection with Polar Bears? Drive slower —> save gas —> slow global warming —> keep that polar ice solid.