The AP reports this morning that GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner said in a speech at their annual meeting today that GM is considering dropping production of the Hummer. Wow! What a startling chain of events this spring. I mean, this is mere conjecture, but if GM really does eliminate the Hummer from its lineup, that represents a major shift in American’s purchasing habits.

The really surprising thing to me is the way that gasoline prices have skyrocketed so quickly.

There are news reports every day about how bicycle sales are through the roof because of such high prices, as in here, here, and here.

So, as of today, bikes are in and hummers are out. Not a bad picture, from my perspective…

(Photo credit: Gary Malerba, AP)

(photo courtesy of 1world2wheels.org)

Trek has launched a sustainability website called 1 World 2 Wheels. This is their attempt to show people how to commute to and from work by bicycle. They have lots of useful information and great instructional videos.

We have been impressed by the selection of bikes that Trek has added to its lineup recently. However, while they have the basics covered, the number of options is limited. We need bikes that have the basics covered and that look good when we hop on and ride. For example, why not nice-looking fenders on the Lime? Still not offered for 2008? Hmmm…

~ms

Wow. What an amazing way to send a strong message. Check out the Green Hummer, a bicycle publicity vehicle designed and built by some students down in Savannah, Georgia.

(photo courtesy of thegreenhummerproject.org)

Here’s a quote from their website that seemed quite apt:

When we ride the Green Hummer, we become part of our city. We have no illusions of flying through an empty city, devoid of traffic, parking problems, pedestrians, or street life like the drivers in television commercials. We expect people to talk to us. People ask questions, tourists ask for directions, traffic goes slower than we can pedal. We accept and expect little delays, and it’s okay. We don’t look for confrontations; we enjoy ourselves in our vehicle.

Now THAT is a commute to look forward to!

~ms

Specialized Bicycles recently hosted a contest entitled Innovate or Die, in which contestants were encouraged to create a machine that is powered by pedals and “transforms pedal energy into new and useful purposes.”

The Winner, shown in the video above, is definitely worth a prize. What a great idea! Way to go guys!

~ms

Tired of being stuck in traffic? You’re not alone. As most commuters can attest, traffic congestion continues to worsen in American cities, according to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute. The 2007 Urban Mobility Report, which is based on 2005 figures, found that the nation’s drivers are wasting almost a whole work week–38 hours a year–stuck in traffic.

That equates to 4.2 billion hours and 2.9 billion gallons of gas, for a total of a $78 billion drain on the U.S. economy. That equates to 58 billion pounds of CO2 emissions per year from just gridlock alone.

Americans have more reasons than ever to start looking into alternative transportation options like riding a bicycle.

~ms

Walmart has always prided itself with being able to turn the whole company on a dime. For decades, this company has relentlessly pursued low prices for their customers. Many have criticized Walmart for their impact on the environment.

Meet the new ‘Sustainable’ Walmart. Criticize all you want, but it is crucially important that any company that wants to change their environmental impact, especially one as large as Walmart, have everyone on board with the idea. Many companies market themselves as “green,” but this yields little insight into the true support for the environment in the corporate board room.

This company appears to be diving head-first into sustainability, based on recent press releases and their website.

With that, we invite you to watch this movie the company has recently produced. If their heart is not in this one, they certainly do a good job faking it. Decide for yourself:

Go to the Walmart Sustainability Movie

~ms

So many people are talking about sustainability these days. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what is good, bad, or somewhere between on the ’sustainability scale’.

Dario Hidalgo, over at The City Fix, has done a little preliminary number crunching. He suggests that simply increasing efficiency of our automobile and truck fleet is not the answer to all of our problems.

We couldn’t agree more.

Sure, more hybrids on the road would be good for the environment, but will they really solve our global warming problem? Not likely.

According to the excellent reporting done for the Consumed Series from American Public Media, Americans have doubled their rate of consumption over the past 20 years. That has certainly made transportation an even bigger factor in our global carbon emissions footprint.

We simply have to take a look at ourselves and decide what really matters and what can be, well, reduced. One way to reduce consumption is to ride a bicycle to work. Riding to work will unquestionably reduce your carbon footprint.

Bicycles are the most efficient trade-off between the speed of an automobile and the emissions-free benefit of using the human body to move about. Let’s not forget that riding back and forth is cheaper and good for your health.

Ride a bike to work. Your kids will thank you for it.

~ms

Got a minute?

Check out the new Consumer Consequences game from American Public Media. The radio program Marketplace, produced by APM, gives excellent sustainability coverage and this is an extension of that.

The game is a flash-type interactive game where you have an opportunity to learn about your global footprint. It is an interesting way to find out if your habits are truly sustainable. The makers give kudos to velocommuters, so here’s an opportunity to pat yourself on the back, folks!

We found out that our coffee habits could use a little reigning in… OK, maybe we could find something else to fix first! (Wish we could source the java locally…)

~ms

Apparently so, according to a recent piece in the English Daily Mail. Citing research in a recent British Government Department of Transport’s National Travel Survey, the piece describes the recent trend in cycling in the U.K:

The poll shows that the richest fifth of the population cycle on average five times as far in a year as the poorest fifth.

It also found that those with less money are unlikely to consider cycling as a way of getting around, despite the fact they are less likely to have a car to use instead.

Poorer people appear more concerned about the stigma of riding a bike, fearing that others will view it as a sign of inferiority.

Apparently, people who are more affluent have more time to worry about global warming and are not worried about being considered inferior.

Aha, this is where velocommuter can help!

Biking to work is not only cool, but it is trend-setting and sexy, too! People who ride bikes are superior to their car-driving counterparts. Otherwise, they’d be out there with you, enjoying that crisp morning air.

Zara Philips and actress Penelope Cruz take to their bikes. (Photo credit: Daily Mail)

Velocommuters have absolutely nothing to feel inferior about. We’re lookin’ good!

~ms

That is a great question!

Mosy on over to the Department of Energy’s website and find the answer yourself, or, if you want, read on…

So, what goes in, must come out, right? Carbon (in gasoline) goes into your SUV’s gas tank and goes out the tailpipe. When one atom of carbon leaves the tailpipe on your SUV, it has become linked up with two oxygen atoms (”CO₂” refers to this combination of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms in each molecule of Carbon Dioxide).

So, since the gasoline you pumped into your SUV’s gas tank was about 87% carbon, the carbon in a gallon of that gasoline weighed 5.5 pounds (6.3 lbs. x .87) - before it was burned in the engine.

If you multiply the weight of the carbon (5.5 pounds) by 3.7 (see image below to get a rough idea of why you multiply here), you get 20 pounds of CO₂.

So, here is one more reason why you need to ride your bike to work. Every single gallon of gas that you burn driving your car emits 20 pounds of climate-warming carbon dioxide. It doesn’t seem fair, does it?

But hey, enough science already!

~ms