Driving in my Prius this morning to a dentist appointment, I felt like such a fraud. Saying one thing to the world on the outside, but being really someone else on the inside. The Prius was not even my idea. Prad was the one to insist that we go green with our car fleet – three total, not including the kids’ cars – What struck me most, was that I could have walked instead. All it would have taken, was for me to get up one half hour earlier. The power of habit is so strong, and the laziness too. There was an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday, about “Toyota Hybrid Makes a Statement, and That Sells”. In short, it says that more than half (yes, 57%) of the Prius buyers purchased their car because “it makes a statement about me”. Higher fuel economy and lower emissions came only as distant third and fifth (36% and 25%).
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La Marguerite 
It’s true that you could’ve walked. But don’t you have kids and a husband to take care of. That would have added at least another hour to your appointment. I’m saying this because I have the same internal conversation with myself daily. I’m about to buy a bike so that will save time and guilt. Plus, if we’re talking about image, I’ll look pretty cool on my bike and people will see how cool it is to ride a bike and maybe start doing it too. Love your blogs! Keep em coming.
Thanks Trista. Send me a picture of you on your bike. I will put it up on my blog. Where are you from?
Prius have become very popular with the liberal middle classes here in London. And that’s just fine. If the Prius image sells for its greeness then Toyota have done their job well. Personally I think the boot space is a little on the small side.
Yeah, you coulda walked. I go through the same thing — do well on one aspect (transit) only to drop the ball somewhere else (leaving this computer on overnight, e.g.).
Don’t beat yourself up. Going green is an opportunity, not a penance! Habits are hard to change and you have the added burden of going against the grain of a world relentlessly marketing convenience and disposability to you.
Your kids will learn well from the example of parents who lived out their convictions. The market will learn quickly from someone whose dollars reward sellers who can let you live green.