Comments on: New Report: Climate Change and Bicycling

By: Does Your Commuter Bike have a Name? | VividLife.me

Does Your Commuter Bike have a Name? | VividLife.me — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:56:10 +0000

[...] dinner. Run to the post office? Drop off kids at sports practice? Approximately 40% of all trips in the US are two miles or less. Considering that each trip in the car is contributing to issues [...]

By: 10 More Cool Bike Stories [& VIDEOS] – Planetsave.com: climate change and environmental news

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:02:32 +0000

[...] 8. New Report: Climate Change and Bicycling [...]

By: khal spencer

khal spencer — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:35:13 +0000

Another paper.Didn’t see this in the white paper references.

Commentary

Promoting physical activity and reducing climate change: Opportunities to replace
short car trips with active transportation
Edward Maibach, Linda Steg, Jillian Anable

Preventive Medicine 49 (2009) 326–327

By: Darren

Darren — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:32:33 +0000

To your last point, Khal, let me clarify. I mean to say that bicycling advocate organizations are experts at bicycle promotion, education, and accommodation — not climate science. Cities, especially, are looking to find ways to promote bicycling to reduce GHG emissions and they want to know from bicycling advocates how to do that.

By: Khal Spencer

Khal Spencer — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:29:20 +0000

I’ve read through half so far and its a good document that people should consider. My concern is that we should not hitch bicycling too closely to political hot-button issues during this election cycle. For example:

http://environment.about.com/b/2010/09/15/odonnell-win-in-delaware-puts-all-gop-senate-hopefuls-in-climate-denier-camp.htm

Be it resource conservation, public health, health care cost reduction, congestion mitigation, reducing infrastructure costs pushed by SOVs, or urban mobility, there are enough persuasive issues on which one will catch less flak.

One question. The blog says that advocates should “…offer your advice as an expert..” I would caution readers not to proclaim themselves experts on anything unless they have the credentials to back it up.

By: Does Your Commuter Bike have a Name? « 3BL Media's Commentary and News

Does Your Commuter Bike have a Name? « 3BL Media's Commentary and News — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:03:33 +0000

[...] Run to the post office? Drop off kids at sports practice? Approximately 40% of all trips in the US are two miles or less. Considering that each trip in the car is contributing to [...]

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:12:11 +0000

Bicycling advocacy organizations are members of the League as well. This research is targeted at them. They are free to use it, or not, depending on their own interests and strategies.

By: khal spencer

khal spencer — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:38:42 +0000

At the risk of being obstreperous, LAB’s primary mission is to promote cycling, as in its mission statement. Hitching LAB to the climate change movement may be seen as a strategic move and if it works, that is good. But such a move is not central to supporting LAB’s membership and can indeed backfire if in the short term, these various programs get tied in knots or stopped in their tracks during political changes that may occur this fall or by challenges based on state interference with the interstate commerce clause.

Mind you, I am in wholehearted agreement with many of the proposals in the “climate change and bicycling” document because as I said, these support broadly agreed upon moves towards conservation, less pollution, and less fossil fuel dependence and therefore can benefit cycling as well as decrease GHG emissions anyway.

My own opinions are here.

http://labikes.blogspot.com/2010/07/who-cooked-planet.html

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:27:38 +0000

Lead with your chin, Khal? More like catch up. Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota recommend high density planning or smart growth policies in their state climate action plans. Arizona, Wisconsin, and Vermont include inter-modal connectivity or transit‐oriented development in theirs. The reason is that to get measurable reductions in GHG, you need to have comprehensive policies, of which bicycling is a part.

By: khal spencer

khal spencer — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:16:26 +0000

I’d be careful on this one. Some of these programs are going to be target rich environments on the Hill and in state capitols. I think we should concentrate on more limited goals such as ensuring new and existing development is optimized for bicycling (see John Allen’s work) while not tying us too tightly to specific high density growth plans. Those give a lot of people the willies and are sure to earn us enemies in high places.

Certainly as a nation we need to optimize present and future urban and rural designs around a paradigm that conserves what will be increasingly expensive and scarce fossil fuels. Electric vehicles don’t solve the problem either as long as electricity is coal, oil, and gas-generated. All of these fuel sources are tied not only to GHG emissions but other environmental degradation (heavy metal releases, hydrofracturing effects on groundwater, oil spills, etc.)

Greenhouse gas emissions definitely need to be curbed, and resource conservation and GHG reductions go hand in glove. I’m just not willing to lead with my chin, and suggest we work these issues carefully and intelligently.