Couch potatoes

There was a time when people would go for a walk, enjoy nature and talk to each other.

Today we entertain ourselves by watching others (who are paid to get out of their couches)

So, where would our society be if we had to worry that the airshows (for instance) spew out pollution and endanger thousands?

The only upside is that kids are driven to places where they may get some exersize, and some parents also sign up for a fat-reducing class as well. But even those efforts seem to require consumption of fossil fuels.

Justified only on battery or pedal power

Call me a wet blanket, but I'd like to see all car racing stopped - unless with battery-driven or pedal-powered vehicles. That we should also still be having airshows I see, also, as insanity.

In any event, it's mainly about money, without regard to the environment.

When the Indie car races are imposed on downtown Vancouver, it isn't only the fuel consumed by the races themselves but the huge amount of extra fuel burned in all the diverted traffic.

If you're that addicted to car racing, get a video game. The environment will love you for it - and there are always those bicycle races.

Green F1

The only really green thing about the sport is that a whole lot of money is involved, much to do with advertising and marketing.

I do appreciate F1 though.

My 'green' thinking on the subject is that if you can bus/metro/car pool to the actual race, as at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal this weekend, its a start.

Also, if we give up our cars, perhaps we can get our driving fix at race tracks, rather than on local roads and highways?

Criticism could be directed at all sports. NHL, MLB, NFL, etc.

Finally we're saved

Ms. Richmond hits the nail on the head rather smartly. Each race car pumps out 50 tons of CO2 per season. 50 TONS! If C02 wasn't killing off the planet, it probably wouldn't matter. Unfortunately, life isn't predictable. And now it matters. A LOT. Organizations that can reduce huge portions of our total emissions...should. This is basic moral logic that is unavoidable. If you can do great harm, you have more responsibility to stop the harm than one who does minimal harm. And thus must the Nascar industry reflect on how it will choose to behave in these most difficult of times. Kudos to the Tyee for continuing to publish some of BC's greatest coverage!

Racing's contribution over-stated

I think that the advances that have come from auto racing have been exaggerated in order to help justify the sport. Fuel injection, for instance, came before racing, with the diesel engine. The industry would not have stood still without racing.

Profit determines, mainly, what the auto industry gives us, and what it withholds.

Finally, after over a hundred years of auto production, anti-idling technology is being looked at. With years of traffic gridlock occurring in most major cities and hours of mile-long, idling traffic at border crossings, can we believe that the necessity of anti-idling technology hasn't, long ago, occurred to the industry?

Oh for heaven's sake...

Okay, science says we need to cut down on our carbon emissions, and F1 racing produces carbon emissions... but lets have a bit of perspective, people.

Firstly, 50 tons of carbon emissions works out to burning the equivalent of about 20,000 litres of gasoline. Sure, that is a lot for one car, but probably about the same as any ten single-passenger vehicle commuters (even in reasonably efficient cars) might burn in a year. And keep in mind that a Boeing 747-400ER has a fuel capacity of over 200,000 litres. One 747 flight from Vancouver to Australia will burn about as much fuel as TEN F1 cars running all season!

The fuel burned to get the teams to the race, to get the specators to the race, and to power the televisions of those watching the race (let alone the computers of those of us posting comments about the race!) make the F1 car's fuel consumption almost insignificant in comparison.

And that would be the case whether it was a car race, a bicycle race, or a rock concert. In fact, I'm sure if you examined CO2 emissions per spectator (including television viewers) you would find that F1 racing actually has a much lower total CO2 emission per fan than many, many other forms of entertainment.

If you want to critique F1, there are many much better critiques (like, it can be kind of boring for long periods) than going after it for carbon emissions.

And if you really want to see some good, local, low-carbon emissions racing, may I recommend the Gastown Grand Prix. Stand close to the track and feel the power of the pelleton as it blows past you at 50km/h. Just don't drive down there to watch!

lots of arguments

There are lots of arguments about not having races and huge spectator sporting events (and concerts): building/heating GM place, hockey rinks etc.; traffic/congestion created by thousands of people going to and leaving one place at the same time; air travel of the spectators, the players and the staff etc.

dtengineering speaks about the fuel associated with air travel as putting F1 racing in perspective:

In fact, F1 racing requires even more burning of fossil fuel than is used by the race car. The F1s travel by air, and there are usually at least 3 F1s per team plus extra engins tools, staff and associated wives and hangers-on with each race. The races seem to go from one distant point on the globe to the next - huge costs in transportation. Buiding and maintaining an F1 course also takes huge amounts of carbon and land to be covered with crushed rock concrete and asphalt.

Though I have never attended a race, I have watched F1 races on TV, so I have contributed to the spending of Carbon by encouraging advertisers to sponsor these events. Yet F1 fuel useage/ CO2 emissions pale in comparison to the total consumption of carbon by stock car / indy car/ drag races etc. that go on week after week across North America.

fun city?

About what the auto industry withholds:
Volkswagen worked hard to get one car ready for the retirement of its head honcho, because he had promised that they would develop a car that would drive 100 KM on one liter of gas.

He got the opportunity to drive it and in fact used about only .8 liters to cover that 100 km!
That is about 10 times better than most "economy cars"!

BUT, what does Volkswagen brag about: they brag about a souped up 560 horsepower Golf!
This totally insane creation gets the headlines!

This attitude holds for practically every manufacturer in the world, They are the one who insert ads about the glory of speed!

Going back to the races: the saying always was "win on sunday, and sell cars on Monday"

Getting the brand name highligthed is the idea, not the possible trickle-down benefits to the family auto.

I used to live next to the Vancpouver Indy, and endured the screaming engines for long long days, as well as all the yahoo's who thundered up and down our streets, yeah , great fun if you live in Surrey and only visit Vancouver to let off steam!

People of the No Fun City

Such poor excuses for trashing F1. You may not like it, but it's liked enough by millions around the world to justify its existence. Typical of Vancouverites- allowing a sanctimonious few to dictate how we should live ourl lives. Just like the previous, COPE administration that made us the 'no fun city' because of noise and mess. Great cities are supposed to be exciting.

Look if you want the peace and quiet of old Vancouver then move to Kitimat. It's too late to pine for the past.

And those of you who think F1's contribution to auto technology is overrated simply don't know what you are talking about. Talk to an auto engineer and you will see that fuel injection was refined through decades of racing. And as I said, all the electronics used to manage engines saw racing development.

Of course, the sheer sexiness and paegentry of the F1 circus eludes all of you who prefer to lead Vancouver into the dull world of politically correct politics.

you call that fun?

Exactly! as I pointed out in an earlier post, thousands of families have fled the big city!

So if you want a city that only has one-track minds, you are getting there fast.

The supposed diversity is seen mostly in the small restaurants, that try to water down their dishes for our taste.

The people who had enough of outsiders entering the city at every "event" only to get drunk and create problems, either have left or are wishing they could!

Try living on Beach Avenue as I did, it is amazing how fast the glorious view is the only benefit to the heavy rent! y
Your street is closed down only too frequently and you have to park your vehicle elswehere if you did not time it right.
The beach is close, but it is populated like an anthill with people all over. the idea of a peaceful walk simply is not on anymore!

Forget about wandering around in your own city after dark as well.

Realize you are being monitored by hidden camera's every few steps, as if that has stopped any crime?

Yep, Vancouver has become the playground for Yuppies and the trap for poor people who are not able to get jobs in Kitimat.

Hang in there Bobby

Gradually, the no-fun crowd are moving on to places like Nelson. Their nostalgia for a rural outpost drives them nuts. The gradual transformation of Vancouver into an interesting cosmopolitan city has begun with the great choices and quality of restaurants. It wasn't long ago that this was quite different. People are moving in from all over and the old Vancouver will die off.

F1 might have attractive women employed by promoters in pit-lane before the race but this is the only time you'll see them. It's north american football that has cheerleaders bouncing throughout. Just goes to show how this story was denigrated by adding the grabbed buxom blonde shot, taken before the race at the Australian Grand Prix.

F1 is brilliant, in as much as it combines painstaking and costly R&D into value-added spectacularly successful entertainment. The mechanics and engineers have to produce working innovations quickly, not just factory prototypes, the engines have to be ever more fuel efficient due to the pit stops and the advertisers and tv audience helps pay for the whole thing. Automotive advances are transfered to consumer vehicles in efficiency, economy and safety. These are added benefits that we all enjoy.

As far as I can see it's a win all around.

Realisticman is Right On!

Yes, I can see that Vancouver is slowly, but surely transforming itself into cosmopolitan city. No, not NY or London, but Vancouver- in its own distinct character. I'll be happy when all these no fun types, especially those at City Hall, leave town and allow real culture to ferment. And that means accepting some mess and noise as a small price to pay for having interesting things to do.

Indeed, the late night bar hours in Granville Street were messy, but it's becoming more organized as bars and police understand how to handle things. If NY can do it why can't Vancouver? Yet you still have these people who just want to everyone to stare at trees and squirrels. NY has great nightlife and all round cultural events and great parks all at the same time. Why can't we?

But, yes, Vancouver's dining scene simply gets better each year and is attracting international attention. There are lots of entrepreneurial people in town who have so many ideas to make this town fun. I hope they get their chance. I've always wanted Vancouver to be more like Montreal.

I am disappointed that The Tyee would commission such an unbalanced, poorly researched and ignorant feature by Richmond. She ignores any of F1's positive points and the fact that it is a huge enterprise with a massive following around the world.

Yeoman service

Well, I can guarantee you Yeoman that if you were a mechanic for an F1 team and your drivers had to frequently come into the pits for more fuel, and consequently keep loosing the race badly, because you hadn't designed an engine that was using very little fuel, then you would be fired for not performing yeoman service.

The engine manufacturers don't spend millions on this sport just for fun. They know full well that F1 R&D can pay off and that fuel efficiency helps move product in their showrooms.