When making decisions in life, how do you choose between your desire to live and your values when they contradict each other?

If we all lived like that doctor, we would be driving around in armored tanks. I don’t believe his simplification in that example.

That said, there is always some compromise, because everyone’s existence is going to have some impact on the Earth. So, you move forward balancing as best you can striving to implement your values when and how you can.

We have to accept that our lifestyles carry a certain amount of risk no matter our decisions. My chances of getting knifed on the way to work are greater by virtue of taking public transportation than if I drove my vehicle every day. However I am still going to take public transportation because it’s the more reasonable choice.

A person’s chances of being involved in a car accident are relatively low to start with however large vehicle are not immune to driver casualties either because large vehicles tend to roll.

I say, stick to your true self.

This dude is an physiCIAN, not a physiCIST. I love how he ignores data and replaces it with his opinion: ”Despite all the data from the government on crash test safety, I can say unequivocally that in a 2-car accident, the person in the larger car always fairs [sic] better.”

Sounds like total BS to me.

To answer your question, I wouldn’t want to live in a world where people make decisions based on their own needs and abandon any sense of moral responsibility. (Around here, we call those people Republicans.) This assumes that your safety and comfort are more important than everyone else’s.

I will gladly accept an increased risk of harm to myself in exchange for the certainty that what I’m doing is morally correct.

Remember that your ideas of values are always only defined by what you do, not by what anyone else says, does, or thinks. Just think about each situation and go with what you feel is the right thing to do. Life is nothing if not filled with compromise. People don’t like being considered contrary to their beliefs, but ultimately, your values/actions are solely yours, and yours alone to shape.

I’ve found that usually there is a solution as long as I’m creative. The SUV example- buy a diesel and convert it to biodiesel. It’s all how you look at it.

Well in a real situation, it depends. Am I making any kind of stand, or a silent exit if I choose my morals and die?

I for one side with science in the issue of global warming, and I accept climate change as a reality, but not warming in this case, nor that it is man-made as science does not seem to support these ideas. Insult my intelligence as you will, but your time would be better showing me evidence, because I won’t argue with facts. So far the facts seem to imply this is a left-thinking clusterfuck of madness, a political movement gone way too far.

If you are doing it right, the way you live reflects your real values. In your Hummer vs Prius debate it has nothing to do with crash tests or crumple zones or anything anybody else says or writes. It is what your values really are. You want to think you are good because of environmental awareness but you feel your safety requires you drive a big gas guzzler.

Just man up. Admit your priority value is your safety, that doesn’t make you bad, that’s just who you are. The bad thing is claiming values that really are not who you are just because others say you should.

According to that way of thinking, we should all just walk. It’s safer and healthier.

Use common sense and always be aware of the consequences of the choices you make.