More Bicycles than Cars by 30,000 - Let's move forward without congress

[Merrill]

Some are making the right decisions in a big way. Yes we want to break the mideast stranglehold on our economy and cut wayyyyyyyback on pollution. So we accomplish both by cutting wayyyyyyyyback on demand by using considerable less. Oil pollutes no matter if it's domestic or foreign that is the message. WE DO NOT NEED MORE OIL WE NEED TO USE LESS no matter the price or source.

This household many times walks to town and back which is only 3-4 miles round trip which is truly far more fun and interesting than driving. Oh yes we use our bicycles as well cuz they are so much easier to park. We've traveled further on foot
but 3-4 round trip miles are most frequent. Our excursions include visiting friends,shopping,dining out and from time to time we go for a brew or a night cap.
On quite chilly days bundling up is the key. In the end as we discovered it is mind over matter. Most humans are quite capable of doing this type of walking and biking with reasonable frequency.

Enjoy yourselves


Brings in more bicycles than cars by 30,000
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425823/975671

[terip64]

1. Welcome! I am 16 miles round trip to town but love the idea!

[zeemike]

2. GReat idea, and a healthy one too

Another one that could be done is to vow not to buy a new car until we have a plug in electric available.
If you must buy a car or truck get a used one. If Detroit can't sell there gas using cars they will have to give us what we want or go out of business, ether way we win.

[Apollo11]

5. If the electricity comes from a renewable source

like wind, tidal or solar power, then it would be a "green" vehicle.

But if it comes from a power plant using oil, coal or gas -- then you're not really helping the environment. In fact - it's probably better to drive a smaller car with good mileage, or if you can afford it - a hybrid.

The best for the planet is to buy fewer cars and drive less miles. But buying a new car is "good" for the economy - and jobs.

In the end the only way to change human behavior is to make driving more expensive. Taxing gasoline is the obvious way. Also increasing taxes on the purchase of new trucks, SUVs and other cars (related to their engine size and CO2 emissions per mile).

Then we need to look at how much meat and dairy products we produce. Methane from livestock is a greater cause of global warming than CO2 from transportation.

So drive less miles, eat less meat, drink less milk ...

[twilight_sailing]

7. I won't vow

but I can wait.

[Mika]

3. I ride to and from work every day.

Nothing clears my mind after a nasty workday better than a bike ride.

Good for NZ.

[Pierzin]

4. Biking gets you in shape!! welcome to DU!!

Merrill,
I am a bicyclist also. It is a challenge at times to get things done without a car, but onward I plod.(or pedal, if you prefer) I could get a car, but quite honestly I do not need one. I have arranged my life so that I don't need a car.
I live in the city, and if I want something I either walk there or I take the bus. Many of the busses where I live run on electric and/or gas power, so I like that.
Ever since seeing An Inconvenient Truth and Who Killed the Electric Car?, I have become more concerned(and radical) every day. I visited Europe as a teenager, and when I came back, my initial reaction was, Why isn't America more like them? Couldn't America learn more from Europe? Why do American city planners allow so much suburban sprawl? Since that epiphanous moment at the naive age of 15, I have followed stories about transit and urban planning. To tie all this together, I applaud everyone who does not drive two minutes to get to a shopping mall.
I wish the electric car would come into vogue in a big way. For that to happen, we would need a nothing short of a earth-shaking, cataclysmic shifting series of events to get all the players involved on board and moving forward.
We have had the technology for electric cars. It is not 5 years in the future. It is here now, and always has been, since the earliest days of cars.
America consumes far too much of the worlds resources. The next generation will hopefully change that if our planet is to survive. When I came back from Europe I did not realize it but the epiphany I had I now liken to the Native Americans philosophy of leave the earth as you found it. This is in direct contrast to the traditional Western European(and American) habit of changing everything, whether in the name of God, Progress, development or what have you.
What can be done about the blight of suburban sprawl? What can be done about global warming? You, my friend are the answer. Yes, we need more bicycles on the road. I am tired of riding through town and practically getting driven out of the road by a passing car.
Sorry if i went off topic, but they are all interconnected.
:D :hi:

[donsu]

6. I'll second that - but some city's laws need changed to protect bike riders

nt

[jcrew2001]

8. cancer

you can get testicular cancer from riding a bike too much - look at lance armstrong.

[Pierzin]

10. you are an idiot

[jcrew2001]

12. u are

there's a high rate of testicular cancer among prof cyclers, not just lance - that or they're all on steroids.

[stray cat]

9. I'd be hit by a car within a week around here

[Sapere aude]

11. I'm sending my old bike to the bike shop to get put back into shape.

Along with down sizing and getting out of debt I will ride my bike more for short trips to the grocery etc. as long as I can carry what I need.