Plastic free: Motor Oil
Last year I took the pledge to take transit to work so MyLittleCar and I could reduce our CO2 emissions. From my new home, the commute to work takes 45-60 minutes via skytrain and bus, one way. But that’s okay, ‘cuz it’s better for the environment.
Secretly, I’m also hoping, that by taking transit I might be able to prolong the life of MyLittleCar who in car years, is quite ancient.
Oh, I know, it would be even better for the environment if I traded in my 18-year old car for a ‘good-for-the-environment’ Prius or a SmartCar, but I’m also very conscious that a whole lot of Mother Earth’s resources go into producing a car. Is it ethical to get rid of a perfectly good car (that only has 150,000 kilometers on it) and use more of Earth’s resources just to have the ‘newer better’ model? One of my pet enviropeeves is the whole ‘trade up to a newer model every 2 years’ mentality. To me, it’s the ultimate symbol of excessive consumerism and our disposable society mentality that’s causing the devastation of the planet.
And truthfully, (hold onto your shorts, ‘cuz this is where, instead of sounding like a WhackedOutEcoFreak who has grown balls, as EnviroWoman often does, I sound like a WhackedOutCrazyLady who’s lost her marbles…) I LOVE MyLittleCar. I just couldn’t bear the thought of it ever ending up in the hands of some TestosteroneTwit who might use it for one of those crash-em-up car derbys.
MyLittleCar deserves better. It’s been a faithful companion through life’s adventures and transitions. Loyal. True Blue. Trustworthy. Dependable. So like an old race-horse, it deserves a nice quiet retirement in the parkade pasture, only being taken out for a ride on the weekends.
EnviroWoman is also hoping that MyLittleCar will last long enough that it can be replaced with an electric car when those become widely available and affordable.
In the meantime, I need to take good care of MyLittleCar. And I do. Every year it passes the AirCare Test with a wide margin so I must be doing something right.
Last weekend, when MyLittleCar accompanied me on an errand, it had a nasty knock in the engine. When I checked under the hood I discovered, not only did it need oil, but also a new oil cap. EnviroWoman had a FewFriesShortOfAHappyMeal moment and not returned the oil cap to it’s locked position the last time she checked the oil. Now it was gonzo.
This proved to be a blessing in disguise.
For months now EnviroWoman has been searching for plastic-free motor oil. All to no avail. I remember metal cans of STP motor oil years ago, but nowadays, all motor oil comes in plastic containers. Instead of continuing my futile oil search, it was now time to take action.
So, I phoned my trusted mechanic Jerry, and scheduled MyLittleCar for an oil change, oil filter, and new oil cap.
Now you might recall, when I took MyLittleCar to the autobody shop to get the dent from a HitAndLeaveANote repaired, I was told the repair and repaint wasn’t possible without using plastic. So I had to cancel MyLittleCar’s visit to the auto spa. It’s just gonna have to wait until 2008 to get beautified.
But, ya gotta love my mechanic Jerry, because when I told him of EnviroWoman’s NoNewPlasticPledge, and asked if there was any way he could do an oil change without using plastic he said ‘Sure, we have a big underground tank of oil, and that’s what we’ll use.’ (Ya gotta love people who get on board with a crazy chick’s New Year’s Resolution, don’t ya?)
And the HorseshoesUpTheAss good luck continued. Because Jerry even was able to find an all metal oil cap.
So now, MyLittleCar is all gassed up. And oiled up. With no place to go.
So here’s how things add up:
Category: Motor OilLessons Learned:
SAINT: Jerry at Granville & Avery Autobody, here in LaLaLand. Not just a wonderfully honest and excellent mechanic, but a guy whose willing to cater to a WhackedOutEcoFreak. If you ever need to shop for a new mechanic, call Jerry. I've been going to him for 13 years
Price: More expensive than changing or topping up the oil yourself
Quality: The same
SINNERs: Shell Nautilus/Formula, Motor Master, PJ1, Troy Bilt, Quaker State, Mobil, Havoline, Autolab, Pennzoil, Castrol, Valvoline
- The real problem isn’t the car. We like to blame others for the muck our planet is in. We point the finger at cars and say ‘There’s too many cars, it’s their fault.' We point the finger at car makers and say ‘They don’t make green cars, it’s their fault.’ We point the finger at cows and say ‘There are too many COWS, that fart, it’s their fault.' Some whackos even say ‘There’s too many people making and using plastic, it’s their fault.' Silly us…the real cause of global warming, and disappearing ocean life, and pine-park beetle ravaged forests, and endangered species and probably almost all the other ailments in the world….is that there are too many humans. And that’s our fault. What we really need to do, each and every one of us… is just stop breeding.
