Page 6 Don’t Let the Advertisers outsell you! I am sure mostly everyone reading this believes they think for themselves. I, however, beg to differ. An American is exposed to about 3,000 commercial mes- sagés a day, according to Business Week. Beyond the scope of the traditional broadcast and print media, ads are found in classrooms, doctor’s offices, the plots ‘of feature films, and yes, even on hot dogs. “Well, what’s wrong with that? This is America, isn’t it?” It isn’t the concept of the ads, it’s the concept they promote, the concept of over consumption. The advertiser’s main goal is to convince people all over the world, that there is a solution to any insecurity you may have, and it can be yours...for a small price. : When you examine that price, however, you see it is far from small. Advertise- ments are printed on a substantial amount of the world’s paper, most often the high- est quality a.k.a most heavily processed. US newspapers typically contain 65% advertisements, which are responsible The Lions Eye Ryan Stewart Chris Bakey Theresa Merrit Accounting Civil Engineer- Business ing : Staying at home Visiting main cam- having a good Working pus, going to the time” while my parents are in Aruba beach and camping March 7, 2007 Angelle Green Samantha Jon Carassai HDFS Matthews Business Nutrition Nothing Going to Disney- : ~ Chillen with my world friends The Decline and Fall of the Detriot Empire By Jason Hellerman for Canada cutting down 42,000 acres of Lion's Eye Staff Writer primeval forests each year. That is roughly-dmp5006@psu.edu the size of the District of Columbia, the capital of our nation. Paper production involves much more than forest damage. An immense amount of energy goes into One possible cause of the rapid decline of American automo- bile sales could be the rising price of gasoline. Currently, Ford is only equipped with two hybrid vehicles: the Escape, and the it, which goes hand in hand with pollution Mercury Mariner. They do have a line of fuel cell cars, including outputs. Here is some more food for thought. A world full of consumer societies is ecologically impossible. Citizens of these the Ford F150, and the Ford Fusion. These cars are much more expensive than their traditional counterparts and do not offer the fuel efficiency of any of the leading Asian models. Though Japanese cars seem to be taking the market by storm nations consume 10 times as much energy With Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and newcomer Scion outsell- as their developing country counterparts, as well as 10 times the timber, 13 times the iron and steel, 14 times the paper, 18 times the synthetic chemicals, and 19 times the aluminum. Consumer societies ing the competition at a record pace, there is room for German manufacturers to steal the rest of Detroit’s thunder. Many German manufacturers have hopped on the environmental bandwagon and developed cars that get 28 miles to the gallon on average. What German and Asian manufacturers have done is also price these gas take the lion’s share of the output from the saving models less than American car manufacturers, making it world’s mines, petroleum refineries, paper hard to pass up such a deal. Currently, Volkswagen has three fuel mills and other high impact industrial plants. In turn, these nations account for most of the resource depletion, environ- mental pollution and habitat degradation that humans are responsible for world wide. I don’t know about you, but I think this is one achievement I will be leaving off of my resume. Advertising’s main job is to manufac- ture wants. They employ psychologists to use images of sexual virility, eternal youth, social belonging, individual free- dom and lifestyle that are the most detri- mental to our planet. Think for yourself, or at least think about the true cost of the next ad you see. ¥ Raquel Silano One way to see where you stand in this lon over consumptive world is to figure out what your ecological footprint is. Go to www.earthday.net/footprint/. economy cars priced fewer than 17,000 dollars. With such competition it’s hard to believe that Ford, Chrysler, and Chevrolet have hung on so long. Much of the American car market is dealt in the mass sale of trucks, not only to the con- sumer but also to the business in need of hauling and shipping. The American market also holds a monopoly on the “rebirthing” industry. Every couple of years, American car companies take one of their classic models and give it a new age spin, like what Ford. has done with the Mustang. While riding the success of the Mus- Lion’s Eye Editorial Board Contributing staff: Raquel Silano, Charles Harrison, Jason Editor-in-Chief- Dr. Andrew Walter D.D. Managing Editor- John Miller Features Editor- Kat Specht | Photo Editor- Brittany Neimeth Associate Editor-Christina Felizzi Layout Manager- Patrick Scan- Bryan Drissel SIOR: Joseph Biscontini phone: 610-952-2602, office: Copy Editor- Dave Pondelick 202 Commons Hellerman, Victor Abu Boahene, TEMPORARY STAFF ADVI- Contact the Lion’s Eye e-mail: DrAndrew Walter@psu.edu, tele- tang, Ford has plans on reviving the Thunderbird, as well as other models in order to generate buzz. Not to be outdone, Dodge has revitalized the Charger, which looks technically sound and deliv- ers the horsepower close to that of its predecessor. Yet American automakers are still losing its younger consumer. > Some think that Detroit is just out of style with it’s younger demographic. Revitalizing old cars and making slower new ones has caused many of today’s youth to ignore their efforts and buy the competitors because they are easier to put modifications in and cheaper. Chevrolet looks to rupture this trend by releasing its 2008 Camaro and marketing it as the new car for a new genera- tion. Just like the Camaro was marketed to the new consumer’s parents, Chevy plans on marketing to the kids. Only time will tell if a new generation buys in to this plow, given that the ‘08 Camaro is equipped with only six cylinders, yet gets the filel economy of an eight. : To maintain their competitive edge, look for more layoffs and - new design teams brought to Detroit in order to sort out how they manage to re-establish themselves as an automobile powerhouse. In the near future it looks as if American companies must buckle down and go with the ever-flowing trend of less muscle and more conservation. Until they choose to acknowledge a broader buying . market, they will forever be trailing the out of town competi- tion. Remember when clothes were made in America, along with Nike’s, footballs, and the best basketball players? Well people, it looks as if times are changing once again; at least we still have the Louisville slugger. :
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers