Date:         Fri, 9 Apr 1999 21:06:58 -0400
Reply-To:     "Robert A. Alexander" <satcong@VOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Robert A. Alexander" <satcong@VOL.COM>
Subject:      EMISSIONS CONSIDERATIONS!/FRI
Comments: To: "Vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM" <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

COMRADE VOLKS - Joel Walker and I have been discussing ways to lessen
the impact of driving old Vanagons which are polluting the crap out of
Mother Gaia!  Unca Joel just faxed me an article from his copy of one of
the more popular journals he subscribes to, "GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH
LETTERS", concerning how homeowners & lawn-service companies are
routinely "wounding" the grass of our nation, resulting in the wounded
grass (AND WEEDS!) releasing some 1.6 million tons of acetone, yearly,
into our atmosphere, in addition to to such neat stuff as methanol,
hexanal, acetaldehyde and butatone!!!  THIS, in addition to all that
crap the lawn mowers used, which are "wounding" our grass & weeds, spew
out into the atmosphere.  What's WORSE is that whenever you much
veggies, you are swallowing most of these same dangerous chemicals!

Now, Joel & I think that we ought to have a program in this country of
"pollution vouchers", which could be swapped/traded for "credits".
Neither of us believe in "mowing" our grass.  Hell, I've been sited four
times in the past five years by my town's officials for "failure to
maintain lawn" at my clinic & my home.  My trying to explain to them
that the vegetation on my properties is for the important purpose of
"carbon storage" doesn't seem to satisfy them, either.

What Joel & I figure is that by our never cutting our grass (weeds), we
ARE making more of a contribution to cleaning up our atmosphere than the
majority of Americans, so we should get special consideration in driving
our Vanagons.  Maybe a rebate on our fuel costs?

BOB - WA4RRN
'85GL - "Bourgeois"
http://www.yardwheat.org