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
