Inconsiderate Non-Smokers

[Racket_Man]

Why diesel vehicles in particular? On-highway engines meeting the 2007 North American emission standards can (in some smoggy areas) give off exhaust that is cleaner than the air they take in, and things were tightened up even further for 2010.

I was not espessicallly picking on desiels but when I did have to sit in rush hour traffic the desiels WERE the ones putting out all that black and smelly smoke giving me a MAJOR headache

even today sitting in rush hour bumper to bumper traffic is not fun. and not all big trucks adhere to up to date standards.

my point with my post was the hypocritical nature of the "I HAVE A RIGHT TO FRESH AIR" type persons. they want all of the conviences of our modern world like plastics, cars, sufficent energy/electricity, NIMBY, etc. BUT refuse to really participate in the cleaning up of the air and water and land. they just find some conveniant scapegoat like smokers to blame.

what about all of the illness, sickness, cancer and death that has been caused over the last 150 years by all of the chemicals, polluntants, greenhouse gases, toxins, etc. dumped into the air water and land by HUMANS and oh by the way the smokers have only cause a mere small fraction of that nasty stuff in the air land and water (execpt for maybe in enclosed spaces like buildings and airplanes)???

What about the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of TONS of toxic crap that are already there. that is ONE HUGE clean up that wil NEVER happen cause we as humans like our cheap and convient stuff and cheap stuff comes at a price we constantly ignore until it is too late.

[Ginger Tea]

BlaqueKatt, I'll try to remember all that when I get home next year and it's snowing out and I need to go get food at the supermarket. I'll walk the two miles instead of driving (driving would take maybe 3-4 minutes. Walking would take much longer. Then after, I get all the food for my parents, my sister, and I, I'll have someone watch some of the bags while I make the trip home back and forth to get everything.

Well I don't think anyone would be expected to do a weekly shop and just cary it home, being a non driver I would walk there and taxi back if I was getting a crap tonne of food for the month, but as I live in a shared house I have limited freezer space* but as I cycle to work (never took driving lessons) I cannot carry too much from the supermarket I pass each way, but I can make many smaller stops every odd day.

*Our old fridge/freezer broke and hardly anyone was using the fridge half as we had a separate fridge so I asked the land lord to get a full size freezer instead, nope he got a fridge/freezer and this one is smaller than the last and it's meant for 6-7 people to share.

[Greenday]

BlaqueKatt, I'll try to remember all that when I get home next year and it's snowing out and I need to go get food at the supermarket. I'll walk the two miles instead of driving (driving would take maybe 3-4 minutes. Walking would take much longer. Then after, I get all the food for my parents, my sister, and I, I'll have someone watch some of the bags while I make the trip home back and forth to get everything.

I do blame people who use their cars to drive a block down the street from their house. That's really no big deal. But I don't live in a city where everything you need is right around the block.

[blas87]

While we shouldn't ignore pollution, I think the main thing about smoking is that it is stinky, it is toxic fumes, and for people who don't smoke, I can understand that they don't like to be around it. And that, I cannot fault them for.

My only issue is people who throw a fit about people who smoke outdoors, or people even being forbidden to smoke in their cars. It's not like they are hurting anyone but themselves if they are all smoking together or alone in their car.

[AdminAssistant]

My current 6 mile commute(one way) takes me 30 minutes, by car it's 25-so wow I spend an extra 10 minutes getting to work my exercise *every day.

Personally, I prefer to not exercise in temps that are below freezing or in excess of 100F. Sure, I could walk to campus. It would take 30 minutes. Or 5-10 minutes by car. A bike might be a bit faster than walking, but most of the hills there are too steep to bike, which would mean walking the bike.

Sorry, I'd rather drive. You wanna get serious about pollution? I mean, *really* serious about pollution? Go over to India and China where the factories are belching out tons and tons of unfiltered smog.

But I guess that's hard. Much easier to be an environmentalist snob who looks down on people who take advantage of modern conveniences.

[kibbles]

I hate the pitchfork toting ex-smokers more than non-smokers.

Don't pretend you never smoked and you never once smelled like an ashtray, and act like you're better than people who smoke because you quit.

They are even more dramatic with the coughing and wild arm flaring than the average non-smoker.

I had totally forgotten about that blas but I totally agree. I think it's great if someone can quit, but because someone was able to quit in x amount of time is not necessarily the same timetable for everyone and if smokers are being respectful than they should be shown respect as well.

[BlaqueKatt]

Well, then, pollute the shit out of the atmosphere! Why be the first ones to make an effort to do anything about pollution (even though smoking is easily the easiest one to stop).

no, not being dependent on a vehicle for trips under 5 miles is.

But a surprising number of car trips could easily be made by bike. Nearly half of all trips in the United States are three miles or less; more than a quarter are less than a mile.

so that's around 75% of car trips.
3 miles by bike=15 minutes
1 mile=5 minutes
my two mile previous commute was around 10 minutes, by car due to all the traffic for my coworkers that lived within a block of me-20-30 minutes.

My current 6 mile commute(one way) takes me 30 minutes, by car it's 25-so wow I spend an extra 10 minutes getting to work my exercise *every day.


in the US there are now 752 motor vehicles for every 1,000 people
A vehicle produces 20 POUNDS of CO2 for every gallon of gasoline burned.

Most ozone pollution is caused by motor vehicles, which account for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog)

Most cars on the road carry only one person. In fact, we have so much extra room in our 140 million cars that everyone in Western Europe could fit in them with us." If every commuter car in the U.S. carried just one more person, we'd save eight billion gallons of gas a year.

and here's some info on how much fuel is used between motorcycles, cars, and trucks/SUVs per year(it's a pro motorcycle website)

*20 minutes if aerobic activity 3x per week is the minimum recommended, for basic health-I get an hour each day, and I don't have to pay a gym membership, nor do I have to worry about "not feeling like it", or being "unmotivated/too tired"-I don't do it I don't get to work, period.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Ugh, I hate the psycho ex smokers, too. -.-

What really ticks me off is people who go and sit right next to you on a bench, or stand next to where you are, and do this: *pathetic cough* Especially when coupled with waving hands and an expression on the face as tho they've just seen a bulldog licking its bum.

I once had a woman claim that she was having an asthma attack due to my smoke. I promptly called bullshit on her claim, as one of my cousins is an asthmatic and I know full well what an asthma attack sounds like... and it's not *pathetic cough*. -.-

[blas87]

What's more annoying that them yet are the social or "occasional" smokers who get annoyed by the habitual smokers. Because they have the addiction more under control than the habitual smoker, they feel they have a right to make remarks or gestures.

Dude, you may only smoke one cigarette a week, or half a pack once a month when you go out drinking, you're still a god damned smoker. Get over yourself. Don't flare your arms, roll your eyes at me, or tell me that I need to "fucking quit already!", when next month, you'll be lighting up while you're drunk.

Yeah, friends and bf, I am talking to YOU!

[Peppergirl]

I hate the pitchfork toting ex-smokers more than non-smokers.

Don't pretend you never smoked and you never once smelled like an ashtray, and act like you're better than people who smoke because you quit.

They are even more dramatic with the coughing and wild arm flaring than the average non-smoker.

THIS!

My mom is one of these obnoxious ex smokers. Drives me insane. My dad used to smoke too, but he doesn't act like that.

I've promised all my still-smoking friends that I will never, EVER act like this and it's a promise I know I'll be able to keep.

[blas87]

Ding ding. All it took was the loophole of our breaks being paid to make it so that we cannot leave the property.

[RavenStarr]

"At least I can still smoke in my car!"

.

Not where blas works.

[Andara Bledin]

And while we're at it, would you guys please stop getting tetchy if you have to go a few hours without a cigarette? I need food to survive, but I can go several hours without getting something to eat.

Actually, it's a physical dependency, and the "tetchiness" is directly related to physiological effects taking place in the body, in addition to psychological factors.

Telling a smoker to "get over it" is about the same as telling someone who's suffering low blood sugar to "get over it." The only material difference is that a smoker directly caused the condition in themselves.

^-.-^

[guywithashovel]

I tried smoking when I was a teenager, but I've never picked it up as a habit. I don't like the way it smells on my clothes and skin. Plus, I have enough sinus problems as it is. I can't imagine how bad they'd be if I smoked.

I'm considerate to smokers. I don't make exaggerated coughs or gasps whenever I'm around smokers. After all, several of my relatives smoke. They're pretty considerate about it, too.

However, I don't buy the notion that smokers are a persecuted group. A while ago, I read a novel in which smokers were described as (paraphrased) "the lepers of modern society." That's going off the deep end. Also going off the deep end are these bumper stickers that say "At least I can still smoke in my car!"

Seriously, grow up. Being overly dramtic is kind of cute in teenagers, but when adults are that way, it's just pathetic. And while we're at it, would you guys please stop getting tetchy if you have to go a few hours without a cigarette? I need food to survive, but I can go several hours without getting something to eat.

[Andara Bledin]

Well, then, pollute the shit out of the atmosphere! Why be the first ones to make an effort to do anything about pollution (even though smoking is easily the easiest one to stop).

Smoking, in the grand scheme of pollution, is completely and utterly irrelevant.

One car in one day can easily produce more "pollution" than a pack-a-day smoker can over the course of their lifetime. Walking down a busy street regularly will do more damage to your lungs and lung capacity than living with a smoker.

It's amazing how much of stuff that we (in general) also do we're willing to put up with, and how intolerant we are of things that others do that we don't approve of, completely out of proportion to the reality of the situation.

I'm a non-smoker. Tried it once, determined that it was as disgusting an experience as I expected, and never went back. That said, I support a person's right to choose to smoke so long as they do so in a respectful manner.

^-.-^