Shooting ourselves

First let me make this clear, it is utterly crucial that we take care of our environment and our world, we only get one and if we totally screw this one up….well then we are screwed. But are we willing to push this so far, so fast that we are willing to sacrifice our freedoms and our economy. For example, our government wants to penalize people who buy SUVs’ or performance cars. First of all, this is a freedom we have to buy whatever vehicle we desire if it meets all crash standards and emission standards. What about the people whose life dictates that they buy a truck or SUV for work, have a big camper, or whose jobs necessitates these types of vehicles? Should they be punished with extra taxes? Secondly, there are so many ridiculous regulations of automakers now that are costing them billions of dollars. I understand the importance of fuel economy but there are those in Washington who are trying to implement these rules who are clueless to the automotive industry. For example, a certain secretary of transportation was unaware that it takes over five years for once a vehicle becomes a concept until it is brought out for sale to the public, and this same person wants to implement fuel mileage regulations way to quickly that cause these automakers to scramble, it causes them to spend more money that they don’t have and it is going to force them to raise the cost of their vehicles further worsening our current economic state.