pudge's Journal: Pride in Ignorance

Barack Obama said people who are making fun of him "take pride in being ignorant."

The problem is that the facts do not back up his claim that everyone inflating their tires would save 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

The claim is based on a 2001 estimate by the Department of Transportation that 1/4 of cars and 1/3 of SUVs have significantly underinflated tires. They then attribute the same percentage of miles to those vehicles, and do a simple calculation.

The problems should be obvious. First, at the estimate was made, gas cost a whole lot less, and chances are, many drivers are already far more conscientious about proper inflation now than they were in 2001.

Second, there is no way to know how many miles those underinflated tires account for. People who drive more probably tend to care better for their vehicles, so if we had to guess, we should say that these underinflated tires are the ones less likely to be driven on.

And of course, that's all assuming that the original estimate was a decent one to begin with, and there's many huge problems inherent in such estimates.

So: no. Obama is not right to say that we can save 200,000 barrels per day by proper inflation, if for no other reason because he simply can't know, because the data doesn't actually show it.

That said, it's still a very good idea to check your tire inflation and keep your car well-tuned, as these things can contribute significantly to better mileage. But it's not a very good idea of accusing people of ignorance for making fun of your claims that can't be backed up by the facts.

Cross-posted on <pudge/*>.