Point taken. I agree it's important to realize one's own contributions to the degradation of the environment. But, my decision to drive the country in an old van was in fact made as a positive step to decrease my environmental footprint. I left a house I didn't own; one filled with Petro-Chemical products and fueled by Natural Gas 7- 8 months out of the year in a VW Van. This van was manufactured in a country that's "share of electricity from renewable energy has increased from 6.3 percent in 2000 to over 14 percent in 2007. More than 9 billion euros (US$11.31 billion) was invested in new renewable energy installations in Germany in 2006. Some 240,000 people in Germany were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2006, especially in small and medium sized companies. Over half of these jobs are attributed to the Renewable Energy Sources Act." My van is also my house -retrofitted with a solar panel for our power needs- and we have and will be living in it while I volunteer building sustainable houses made from recycled materials in Nicaragua, after we're done Spanish School in Guatemala. This in my mind is a less impact than planes and hotels. No one is perfect, but you do the best you can with what your given. I don't think that U.S. Auto Manufacturers have done the best they can with what they've been given; many opportunities to move in a direction that is more "green" and sustainable. So, in my mind the bailout is unjust, unfair and a waste of taxpayers money that could go into better, greener projects for future generations. Not only that but it will set a precedent for all failing corporations to follow suite; a move that in my opinion will slowly lead to nationalization of many major institutions (Banks, Auto Manufacturers, Etc..). Basically to me, it's like feeding your gambling addicted grandmother with quarters instead of a phone number for help.