Last week I drove 110 miles round trip to ride Goat Camp in the White Tanks Mountain Park on the far west side of the Valley. i am not even sure what town it is in.   So I thought, if i drive the Prius i will pay $6 entry fee plus 2 gallons gas, for a total of about $12.   Driving the truck would be 5 gallons and likely carpooling with someone, for a net expense of $21.   The Prius only holds one bike, so can’t be used for carpooling. If I carpool, my rider would hit with the entry fee, so my cost would be $15, my rider’s $6, and I would save my rider about 3 gallons in gas. Net gain to my rider is about $9, net loss to me is $3.

For my time, money and my contribution to the environment the Prius is the way to go.   For my rider and I collectively, carpooling is a net $6 advantage.   For environment, the gallonage is a wash.   The Parks and Rec Department loses $6, actually suggesting the Parks Dept — which supports the environment — would have its best interests served by not carpooling.

From a financial point of view, the offset of the Parks Dept makes carpooling an absolutely equivalent decision.   A case could be made that total utility is furthered by one less car on the road, and 2 people having pleasant conversation and not isolated in their cars, but the impact of both issues is of nominal value at best in the big picture.

The fate of the planet hangs in such a precarious balance.