It is remarkable, very valuable information

The Solution to Pollution
http://www.ecohustler.co.uk/2011/05/27/the-solution-to-pollution/

Why bikes shouldn’t have to follow the rules of the road
http://www.ecohustler.co.uk/2011/05/11/why-bikes-shouldn%E2%80%99t-have-to-follow-the-rules-of-the-road/

A Critical Mass of dissent… on wheels
http://www.ecohustler.co.uk/2011/05/11/a-critical-mass-of-dissent%E2%80%A6-on-wheels/

I found ‘em. They’re everywhere. Just look around. You’ll see them too. They bump into each other like bumbling idiots. In the process they kill thousands of people (43,443 in the U.S. alone in 2005) and maim millions (2,699,000) more every year. The carcasses of small animals they leave in their wake is heartbreaking.

How many trees have been axed, how much arable land has been rendered useless except for their fleeting rights of passage? They leak toxic substances onto roads, driveways, and parking lots which accounts for 70% of our water pollution from runoff. They poison our air so badly that by the afternoon whole skylines magically disappear. 8,000 pounds of carbon and 700 pounds of air pollution were generated to make each one. They create wars over oil. From Arctic ice core samples, National Geographic has discovered that in 1850, prior to our insatiable appetite for burning fossil fuels, the Earth’s oxygen content was 30%. It’s now down to 19%. At 12% the human mind can no longer rationalize and we won’t be able to figure our way out of this mess.

But we love them, or so we’re told by Madison Avenue. They throw daggers of fear into our hearts if our children get anywhere near one that’s moving. Think of all the places our naturally-provided means (legs) of freedom of movement has been restricted just to allow these death machines to roam freely. They have more rights than people do and have turned millions of square miles of our land into ‘don’t walk there or you may get killed’ zones.

They pile up in junkyards by the billions–what to do with all that waste? The old tires, batteries, filters, used oil, the list is endless. When they get stuck, the operators get so angry they gun down other operators.

I hope that one day we Americans will learn from the more advanced (certainly more forward-thinking) people like the Europeans that non-polluting, efficient, and safe means of mass public transportation is what we need to work toward for a sustainable future for our children and theirs.

I for one will continue to walk, roller blade, bike, and bus it around. I hope you’ll think about it too.

Frank Gubasta
Fort Myers, FL

i unfortunately live in the US where everybody thinks it is their right to drive a Suburban.

I am sick and tired of arguing with irate drivers about my right to share a public road.

Sadly, running red lights is NOT a “victimless” crime. As Pogo might have mused, “There is a victim and he is us…”

Running red lights is the social/transportation equivalent of sticking your middle finger up the nose of every motorist waiting for that light to turn green and shouting “F$%# YOU” in their ear as you zoom by.

I believe this one act of legal disobedience does more to harm our “reputation” with “the public” than any other behavior.

Does it make sense to do it? I can’t argue with the author’s “logic” – nobody coming… you’re not going to get clobbered… why not? Besides, “pedestrians” cross against lights all the time.

In the U.S., bikes preceded cars on the roads. In the Bike Boom of the late 1800′s cycle events made the society pages of the New York Times and cyclists banded together to generate the power and momentum of “The Good Roads Movement” which made political hay and got roads paved. Bicycles were recognized as “vehicles” and given the same basic rights and responsibilities as other vehicles in most states.

There is a movement afoot though to remove bikes from the roads – to create facilities for bikes like paths and trails and force us to ride there. This “right” to ride on the roadways is not absolute, and many of us fight every day to keep it in the law, and make sure public officials don’t forget that we have this right.

So, I encourage you to practice “safe bike.” Our “image” and “reputation” ARE important… it’s what drives politicians in their decision making process when considering new laws – more restrictive laws. Under the “parens patriae” guise “protecting” cyclists, politicians often find the “safest” place for us is OFF the roads…

Good Luck & Good Riding!

Steve Magas
The Bike Lawyer
OhioBikeLawyer -dot-com

I guess I no longer need to be anonymous. When I wrote the text which Josh put in his blog post above, I wanted anonymity as at the same time I was writing to people involved in the Cycling City in Bristol and the cycling towns across the UK. I invited inviting all of them to come on study tours and see how things are done in the Netherlands.

Not one of of them replied at all – even to find out the price or to establish whether I was offering anything of interest.

The people I linked to back then could still do a good job. The Bristol Better By Bike link, on the other hand, now has a completely different life…

We need to repeat over and over again 5 or 6 short statements in several different media. When challenged on a particular statement, never explain, simply refer to another statement as proof.

Autos kill.

Autos cause asthma.

Autos cause global warming.

Trains are clean.

Trains are clean and comfortable.

i also have a solution to the problem in mind.
admit it, we will never be able to outnumber the moronic car-users or hope to convert more than a tiny percentage of them to our logic.
what we have working on our side is the fact that petrol will not last forever. it has to end and it is already getting more and more expensive. which is fantastic.
now what we can do, is hasten the process. buy as much petrol as you can afford and pour it down the drain. if all of us start doing that, our ideology will reach mass consciousness and will generate demand for non-polluting modes of transport across the world.

I’m not saying any of this just to be contentious, I’m just kind of throwing some other viewpoints/arguments out there. Godspeed!

This isn’t the only time I’ve seen some cyclists run red lights at busy crossings either, and I don’t understand the mentality behind it. To think the highway code does not apply to cyclists is not only actually wrong, and dangerous, it’s also extremely arrogant – especially when pedestrians have to jump out the way of cyclists powering through crossings as if they have a right to be there when people are crossing.

If you run a red light, no matter what vehicle you’re in: car, cycle, motorbike, tractor, whatever, expect a traffic accident. I have no sympathy for cyclists who knowingly run reds and then get injured or killed, sorry; it’s their own fault.

Support your stance. Flying is the highest source of personal emissions and yet, in terms of impact on our personal wellbeing – one of the easiest to reduce. Compared for example to car use – much harder to cut that out – particularly if you have kids.

There is a movement starting in New Zealand – see http://intersect.ning.com/group/flightlessbirds

I wonder how many others there are around the world?

Tom