Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
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Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
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Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#2> Most journeys made by motor vehicle are short enough that they could instead be made by human power.
That’s heavily dependent on where you live, I think. I have a 40 minute commute to work.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#3One big problem with cycling is riding in rain or cold weather. If only there was a canopy that I could put on my bike in a few minutes and then go out for ride, that'd be so awesome! Even something permanent would be good but then you start turning it into a car and now human power is not enough to drive this vehicle. A covered single seat vehicle that is mostly human powered with some electric assist when needed and gyro stabilization would be my dream commute vehicle
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#4Ow. This article is kind of a gut punch.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#5Wow I'm an avid cyclist (though not by the definition of this article, since I take the subway to work and back (there's no alternative)) and I had never heard of a velomobile. That is really cool.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#6> Most journeys made by motor vehicle are short enough that they could instead be made by human power. That’s heavily dependent on where you live, I think. I have a 40 minute commute to work.
The time is a misleading metric. My commute is easily in the twenty minute timeframe by car, but also only twenty minutes by bike.
Not that I think this is an answer for everyone. I certainly recommend it, but as in so many things, it is no panacea.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#7No car is ever going to be as green as a bicycle. Forget cars. A motorcycle is probably the smallest powered vehicle that is street legal. Smallest one still will weigh at least 250lb. Moving just that mass alone, you’ve blown your energy budget vs a bicycle.
Oh I suppose you could argue about the environmental cost of producing the extra calories consumed by the cyclist. Growing and transporting that grass fed steak after all is going to require a whole lot of energy too. And not the clean kind. But you are still already operating at such a handicap, that there is no way a motorcycle, let alone a car, could compete.
On the other hand, unless the entire place is for bicycles only, what is the cost in human life for accidents caused by cycle-car interactions? Or the productivity cost for not showing up to work on rainy snowy days? I guess all you valley dwellers should probably cycle to work to save the planet for us all. We will applaud you from our AWD monstrosities here in the North East.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#8Though I would argue with some of the author's assumptions about carbon footprints and power grid challenges, he's right that fewer cars ultimately means a better environment and less carbon. No argument with that.
However... As much as I'd love to just tell everyone to ride a bike to work, or the grocery store, or to drop off their kids, or whatever, the reality is that in most cities (especially US cities) a car is a requirement. City planners assumed everyone would have one, engineers overbuilt roads for them to the detriment of walking or biking, and businesses and residential areas are often far apart from each other.
In order to achieve a more efficient transportation system, we'll have to redesign and rebuild our cities, and that simply isn't a realistic short term goal. We should work on that, reset our standards, change our zoning laws, and encourage denser living spaces that are built for people instead of cars, but we have to recognize this will take decades.
So in the mean time, solar panels and an electric car DO have a material impact on carbon emissions, and I'd encourage everyone to begin that migration until such time as we live in cities that don't require cars.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#9No car is ever going to be as green as a bicycle. Forget cars. A motorcycle is probably the smallest powered vehicle that is street legal. Smallest one still will weigh at least 250lb. Moving just that mass alone, you’ve blown your energy budget vs a bicycle. Oh I suppose you could argue about the environmental cost of producing the extra calories consumed by the cyclist. Growing and transporting that grass fed steak…
Forget cars. A motorcycle is probably the smallest powered vehicle that is street legal. Smallest one still will weigh at least 250lb. Moving just that mass alone, you’ve blown your energy budget vs a bicycle.
Electric bicycles are much lighter than 250 lb, and are definitely street legal.
Re: Driving a "Green car" vs cycling
#10No car is ever going to be as green as a bicycle. Forget cars. A motorcycle is probably the smallest powered vehicle that is street legal. Smallest one still will weigh at least 250lb. Moving just that mass alone, you’ve blown your energy budget vs a bicycle. Oh I suppose you could argue about the environmental cost of producing the extra calories consumed by the cyclist. Growing and transporting that grass fed steak…
Forget cars. A motorcycle is probably the smallest powered vehicle that is street legal. Smallest one still will weigh at least 250lb. Moving just that mass alone, you’ve blown your energy budget vs a bicycle. Electric bicycles are much lighter than 250 lb, and are definitely street legal.
But that’s a bicycle.