The Debated and Hated SUV
Since the early 1990s, the car market has become saturated with sport utility vehicles. While SUV’s have been enthusiastically received by a wide spectrum of the demographic – everyone from teenagers to soccer moms -- not all are excited by its arrival. Some of the current complaints with SUVs have to do with their ridiculous size and relative fuel inefficiency. Others criticize the vehicles as being unsafe, and certainly unnecessary, for the tasks for which they are commonly used. But even with the recent campaigns to educate the public on the possible physical and environmental risks posed by the automobiles, SUV purchases continue to be on the rise. Indeed, with car sales on the decline, and the SUV being seen as a possible savior -- or at least band-aid -- for the struggling motor industry, any movement to ban SUVs in the near future is unlikely.
There have been many arguments made for and against SUV’s. Anti-SUV groups have made good points by closely entwining logos and pathos arguments. Often anti-SUV arguments use crash statistics and environmental research to make there clams. While their use of statistics is good, anti-SUV arguments can err on the side of being so emotional they create a pathos fallacy. SUV advocates make arguments also based on statistics, but they rely more heavily on pathos based argument. One of the most prevalent fallacies made in pro-SUV arguments is that of distraction by focusing on the anti-SUV groups rather than discussing the issue at hand. Both anti and pro groups have made fallacies, but they have also made several great arguments.
The desire for self-preservation is present in all people; this is why SUV safety is such a huge issue. “Ask a typic...
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...e. There are those that would ban SUVs, and others that would rather just regulate them. Those that proudly drive their SUVs feel that all the bad press is directed at them. In the end there are several good arguments made on both sides.
Works Cited
Davidson, Ross. “The Bully on the Block.” Salon. Dec. 8, 1997
http://www.salon.com/news/1997/12/08news2.html
Flint, Jerry. “The Holy War on SUVs.” Forbes. 03.03.2003. http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/0303/051.html
Kirn, Walter. “Why I Love My SUV.” Time. Feb 24, 2003 v161 i8 p42
Mencimer, Stephanie. “Bumper Mentality.” Washington Monthly. December 20, 2002
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14839
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
SUV Info Link, The. “Environmental Double Standards for Sport Utility Vehicles.”
http://www.suv.org/environ.html
Andrew Simms, a policy director and head of the Climate Change Program for the New Economics Foundation in England, presents his argument about the impact SUV’s have on our roadways, and the air we breathe. “Would You Buy a Car That Looked like This? “. The title alone gives great insight on what the article is going to be about, (vehicles). “They clog the streets and litter the pages of weekend colour *supplements. Sport utility vehicles or SUV’s have become badges of middle class aspiration” (Simms 542). Simms opening statement not only gives his opinion on how SUV’s are the new trend, but he also paints a picture of what we see every day driving down our roadways. Simms also compares the tobacco industry’s gap between image and reality to that of SUV’s; stating that the cause and consequences of climate change resemble smoking and cancer. Simms comparison between SUV’s and cigarettes shows how dangerous he believes SUV’s are.
“Americans’ Love Affair with Cars, Trucks and SUVS Continues.” USA Today. USA Today, 30 August 2003. Web. 5 January 2012.
The majority of people, especially in America, cannot go about their daily lives without a car. Automobiles have instilled themselves in peoples’ lives and shown their usefulness since their debut in 1769. Since then, humans have redesigned and refined the automobile thousands of times, each time making the vehicle more efficient and economical than before. Now as the world approaches an ethical decision to dwarf all others, many people look toward automotives for yet another change. The emergence of the hypercar due to ecological turmoil exemplifies the change the world has demanded. Hypercars alter everything people know about automotives, modern ecology, and fuel efficiency. Not only do hypercars offer a solution to many ecological problems humans are faced with now, they also represent the only logical area for the automotive industry, and by some stretch American society, to expand.
In the year of 1880 a spontaneous event took place which piqued the interest of young woman and girls in competing in a competition which was solely made up upon having good looks; this competition is called a beauty pageant. Approximately 700,000 pageants take place a year all over the world, but the first pageant ever originated in Delaware in the United States. Although pageants claim to be an event which promises to help bring world peace, they are actually a very costly event which showcases young children in inappropriate clothing, acting much older than their age. To add to all of the negativities, mothers of these pageant beauties are manipulatively living their childhood dreams through their own child. Because beauty pageants can be detrimental to a young child’s physical and emotional psyche, they should be banned for children under the age of 12.
...ture a risk-taking species. In ancient times we took risks just to eat. Later we took huge risks by setting out in little wooden ships to explore the earth's surface. We continued as we sought to fly, travel faster than the speed of sound and to head off into space. We rely on increasingly more complex equipment and constantly strive to design and manufacture faster and even more elaborate devices. It goes without saying that every effort is made to ensure our "safety"; to keep us from harm or danger. Every time you slide behind the wheel of your vehicle you are taking a risk. Driving is the riskiest activity in our lives. It is an inherently "unsafe" environment. The most perfect vehicles on the best designed highways on beautiful sunny days driven by fallible human beings crash into each other. The only way to drive "safely" (as we are all admonished to do!) is to learn more about the process. Learn more about your vehicle and how to maintain it; learn how to use your eyes to look far down the road; learn to spot problems before they happen; and also learn to deal with emergency situations. In most cases it's the human element that fails. After all, safe is only as safe does.
The world of beauty pageants is dramatic, heartbreaking, and downright hateful. Villines says “[c]hildren learn a host of unhealthy values, including the desire to defeat their competition at all costs”. (qtd. in “Beauty Pageants and Children: It’s Not Always Pretty” 6). A child should never have to go through the pressure that is put on them when entering a pageant nor should they learn to try to bring everyone down to get what they want. The pageant world can change a child for the worst. Unfortunately, it causes most of these children to become a sexual image at such a young age. Cartwright stated in her article about seeing pictures in French Vogue of, “a ten-year old model lying [o]n a sea animal print wearing a chest revealing gold dress, stilettos and heavy make-up”. (qtd. in “Child Beauty Pageants” 1). How could this child’s parents allow her to look so grown and sexy when she is just a baby? The answer to that is simple, the parents gain from it too.
Childhood beauty pageants interfere with healthy child development in many different ways including physically and mentally. More than three thousand pageants a year are held in the United States in which more than one hundred thousand kids under the age of twelve compete (Giroux 39). Some pageants are known to last up to half of a day. With the pageants being so long, contestants resort to drinking energy drinks to stay awake. Some mothers give their children energy drinks and excessive amounts of caffeine so they stay alive and prepared for the judges. “A 2011 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that excessive caffeine intake could lead to neurological and cardiovascular problems for young children. Psychologists also warn that caffeine can have behavioral and mood-altering effects on children (and may cause anxiety, lower attention spans, and create dependency)” (Wolfe 434). When children are contestants in beauty pageants, they learn to believe that those might be the roles they play in the adult society in the future years. Many people argue that child beauty pageants are a disgrace and should no longer be allowed because take away the innocence of the child competing. “Karen Steinhauser, Around the time of JonBenets murder, Karen Steinhauser, Denvers chief deputy district attorney, stated “It’s impossible to look at these photos and not see a terribly exploited little girl” (Hollandsworth). Denvers chief deputy was talking about the photos she saw of young JonBenet with a face filled with make up and hair done up like a grown woman. The feelings that Denvers chief deputy had felt are feelings that many people still feel today about child beauty pageants.
All mothers want their daughters to be successful and beautiful, but there is a point where it does go too far. Mark Sichel a New York based licensed clinical social worker stated "little girls are supposed to play with dolls, not be dolls" (Triggs).Younger and younger girls are becoming exposed to the immoral ways of the world. Some girls as young as 1 month old are put in pageants. Others have no choice because this is what their parents want for them repeatedly they are told "keep smiling" "point your toes" instead of "wash your hands" or "say please". This pageant world has taken over more than a few weekends it consumes their entire lives. As the popular TLC reality series "Toddlers and Tiaras" has reignited controversy over a culture made notorious by the JonBenet Ramsey tragedy , the parents behind these pageants continue to go to the extreme lengths to win ( Triggs ).Fake eyelashes spray tans and waxed eyebrows, these are few of the things that are done to make a pageant girl perfect. This is not appropriate for a 5 year old, even worse is there behavior and attitudes. Their beha...
These children are being treated like tiny exotic dancers, it’s destroying their emotional health. And there’s a few reasons for it. Beauty competitions like these ruin young girls self esteem during a crucial part of their emotional development. They go to a beauty pageant and try their hardest and get psyched up, just to be let down and told that they're not enough, ruining their self esteem. Many supporters of beauty pageants say that beauty pageants raise girls self esteem and make them proud of their bodies. However, making a little girl diet, exercise and dress like an adult doesn't tell them that they should be proud of their bodies. Furthermore, when someone loses after they tried really hard, they get an overwhelming sense of failure. The immediate response to failure is to dissect what was done and find what was done wrong. And in a beauty pageant there's only one thing to put the blame on. Appearance. “My legs are too thick. My nose is too big. My arms are too flabby.” This drop in self esteem causes a whole new predicament; eating disorders. Worldwide over seventy million people suffer from an eating disorder, and ninety percent of those people are between the ages of seven and twenty five. (National Institute for Mental Health) At such a crucial time in the emotional development of a child, is it really appropriate to subject them to judgment on such a large scale? The answer to
A Recent study by a Global research firm shows some interesting information about Indian SUV Market .It predicts that by the year 2020, the SUV Sales growth will overtake sales growth of passenger vehicle in Indian market. The main reason behind this change could be economic growth and infrastructure development.
Today, people use their own personal vehicles to travel more than ever before. Personal transportation is no longer considered a luxury; it is now considered a necessity. The number of cars in the United States has been growing steadily since the 1970s. The number of miles traveled by cars has risen nearly 150 percent, yet the United States population has only grown roughly 40 percent during that time (hybridcars.com, Driving Trends). Although it may seem like we are advancing into the future, in reality, we are moving backwards from the effects these vehicles have on our bodies and the environment. The pollution produced by these vehicles has brought us to the day where we must find other modes of transportation that cause less harm to the world in which we live. Advances in technology have developed hybrid vehicles to try and slow down the amount of pollution. Driving a hybrid vehicle, instead of a conventional gas powered vehicle, can reduce the amount of pollution that affects our lives and the environment around us.
Supporters of beauty pageants would say pageants raise self-esteem and has a powerful message to young women in general (“Beauty Pageants”). They believe that pageants boost girls’ self-esteem and celebrate the beauty of all women (“Beauty Pageants”). Although, critics would argue that the only self-esteem it raises is the females in the pageant, the young women who watch end up with low self-esteem. Opponents would also claim that the contests objectify women, and create a homogeneous, unattainable ideal of beauty that promotes poor self-image in them (“Beauty Pageants”). Watching beauty pageants on television makes girls think that if they do not have their hair done perfectly, wear make-up, and their bodies do not look a certain way that they will not fit
In a world where padded bras and skimpy clothes are available for children ages eight and younger, parents spend small fortunes on make-up, costumes, and hair extensions for their child to win beauty pageants. In 1996, 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey—a pageant regular—was murdered, bringing national attention to the child beauty pageant circuit (Ralston). This case received national attention, not only because JonBenet was found bludgeoned in her own home, but because of the many images released of her that showed a sexualized child wearing expensive costumes and being made up to look two decades older (Harvey). Children should not be allowed to compete in beauty pageants because they teach children that
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