After having spent several truck stop diner dinners hidden in a corner booth, I finally got the nerve to eat in the center ring, among the gristle and chop of the trucking community. The diner counter, or feed trough, offers some immediate benefits: faster service, better back support and the opportunity for some casual conversations with truckers. These folks are more than a little willing to chew your ear. When you’ve been driving for 5 hours and stop at a greasy spoon, you’re jonesing for some human interaction. And at the counter, it’s a grease-charged free-for-all - somebody initiates the conversation and everyone within ear shot chimes in. It’s like the male version of the beauty salon, except we’re here to feed.
So I stopped just east of Kansas City at the TravelCenters of America around 11:30AM and had the counter to myself. The waitress called me “Hon(ey)” and I knew I was in good hands. I thought I would grab some Internet time using my monthly TravelCenters account ($20/month), so I plopped down the laptop and started working. A 70’s compilation tape coasted softly through the overhead squak box. Truckers soon poured in, looking me up and down as if I was some alien sitting at their counter. Sure enough, one of them asked me, “What kind of computer is that?” Not too many Apple Macs in the midwest, I guess. Then he showed me his cell phone wallpaper - a couple of topless, top-heavy girls with some country song providing the only support. Yee-haw! He asked if I knew who the girls were and to his amazement, I did not. The conversation then easily turned to Internet porn, gambling, jobs, alien encounters and finally to the purpose for my being here - conservation. Funny thing is, I almost never get to talk conservation from the start - I must first put in the time to learn what is important to people. It feels really awkward if I start with conservation - the reaction I elicit is the same reaction I experience when approached by a religious zealot or over-eager salesman who doesn’t bother getting to know me - they just assume I need what they are selling. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against either of these two groups. But how can you know if someone needs what your selling until you get to know them?
Everyone’s ears perked up when the stranger with the MacTop stated his purpose. My cell phone porn pimp wanted to know what kind of resources I was trying to save. Not once did I mention ‘climate change’, yet one fella from Texas volunteered, “I don’t believe that global warming thing.” In his mind, his scientists had the numbers and credentials to refute the consensus of scientists interviewed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Of course, I could not argue with his scientists since he did not know where they lived or worked. And it occurred to me that this is the great disconnect in this debate. That’s right, the debate is not over, at least not in Texas. Even if he had produced the names of these scientists, what was I going to say? “My 10,000 scientists trump your 5,000 scientists!” But as I quizzed him more, I began to see there were deeper-rooted causes for his belief - Al Gore and his election tampering laments, politicians in general, governmental over-spending and PETA’s extreme tactics. I think the PETA comment was a test to see if I was good people or not, since it was a little off topic.
So I changed the subject to climate change - to unusual weather patterns - and nearly everyone had a local story of bizarre weather conditions. I added that there was a snow storm 4 weeks ago in Montana. Overall, there seems to have been an increase in numbers and intensity of storms nationwide over previous years but still, this type of data is weaker evidence since one year’s weather can be an anomaly. Still, it’s ironic that the weaker ‘local storm evidence’ would have more sway than the masses of scientific opinion on long-term trends.
We live in a cynical, post-Nixon world where, I believe, fact and fiction are too easily confused and distorted. Add to the mix that we live in an growing information society and people compensate for the growing information divide by disbelieving the whole lot. In this world, you only believe what you can see first-hand or what comes out of the mouthes of people you trust, or just like a lot. And while we live in a global economy, people are still locally focused. Despite his global warming misgivings, the doubting Texan is ironically involved in conserving his local bass fishing waters. This makes Mongo happy!
I’m not a scientist and I don’t pretend to believe everything I hear about climate change or that the sky will fall if we do nothing. But given the good chance that man is altering the earth’s climate, doing something is better than doing nothing. And while it might seem hypocritical that a man talking conservation of resources like gasoline is driving cross country, I couldn’t have done this any other way. I don’t have the money to buy media to catch people’s eyeballs from home. I gotta use my sweat equity and my time to build interest in conservation, one locality at a time. Plus, I didn’t commute to work for a year so think of this as my commute - 15,000 miles in 16 months works out to roughly 50 miles a day. Plus I’m driving a hybrid SUV getting approximately 30 MPG. Plus I am collecting other people’s recyceable bottles . Can you tell I’m a little torn? Maybe I’ll try life without a car when I get home. Now there’s a challenge!
Trucker Coffee Tip: Add a topper of Vanilla Ice Cream to add some jazz to your coffee when you find yourself at a truck stop without an espresso machine. Those truckers are creative!
