The Limits of Environmental Responsibility

So I'm on the train headed home the other evening. During rush hour, so the train is pretty crowded. However, this particular car is more crowded than others because of one family. It's like Jon and Kate plus Eight except (1) this family isn't famous; (2) this family is still together; and (3) wonder of wonders, I think they actually had eight separate births...didn't see any that looked like multiples. The kids ranged in age from infancy to probably junior high/high school.

On the one hand, I applaud these parents' instilling in their children a commitment to the environment and lowering their carbon footprint. You've seen me write about being greener before. I've stopped receiving (even free) issues of magazines I don't make time to read, gotten removed from catalog mailing lists since you can see everything online, switched the subscriptions I could to my Kindle (you know I couldn't help bringing it up) and even thought about getting a bike.

On the other hand, if you have eight young children, it is your duty -- nay, your mandate -- to get a car. Yeah, I said it. I don't want to be on the train next to your eight loud kids. I know you didn't pay for all of them to get on the train and that savings (plus the millions you must be saving by not buying birth control) should help you save up for a family car. Remember the public transit saying "small enough to ride for free is small enough to ride on your knee"? Between these two parents they didn't have enough knees to seat their kids so they need a car. If they had eight well-mannered children (well, seven since the infant was actually making the least amount of noise) I wouldn't be so upset. But the children were so loud, so rambunctious and running all over the train car...they needed to be buckled into the backseat of a mini-van watching DVDs in seat headrests. Would that be as green? No. But sometimes environmental responsibility goes beyond Mother Earth and all the way to common courtesy by making the train environment a little nicer.

That bike ride is looking better and better.