informative bike video
Some cool person sent this video to me. Very cool. My only comment which is quite cynical is: big business is not able to capitalize yet on bike commuting. Maybe some big business will put up an electrical fence and charge a toll for bike usage on the side of the turnpike..
It is so obvious that advanced cultures like those in Europe or South America see the benifit of introducing bicycle lanes into the traffic plan of the urban environment. Where as in the US the knee jerk reaction, I can hear all the old cronies saying is, who is going to pay for this? Don't raise my taxes for any stinking bike paths. No need to digress on how much is spent ummmmm you know, that area over there...that war thing...
A colleague of mine at work said it best the other day when we were talking about this subject, well not this specifically but related kind of, in that the US pop news/media is so preoccupied with sunnis and shiites and hezbollah or what gay people are doing, oh and don't forget about the position on religious icons at public buildings and whatever other wedge issue you want to bring up; and that is like a little kid lighting a firecracker on a frog that is placed on a railroad track. Howver, unknown to the kid is that there is a train coming down the track at that very moment! That train is the environment! I think it is so humorous how emotional people get when the environment or terms surrounding it come up in casual conversation. My other colleague-friend had another great perspective on this and that was that it is simple, people get uptight about environmental issues because it is very similar to religious beliefs or dogma of a given religion. My thoughts are looking at the funny thing of it all and that is noone can agree on the level of detail of interpretation because there is no common "bible" no "koran" on the environment, no document or tradition inspired by a profit or a martyr on the topic. Well not exactly anyway... there is always interpretations and i am sure green peace probably has something, but aren't they just a bunch of radicals anyway????.. and then that is where the entire communication break down begins in the first place. :-)
The irony again is how quickly another federal highway is planned and constructed but bike lanes are for those "tree huggin sissys". The US needs a planned change immediately! Move from the fossil fuel base economy of the last 100 years to one of energy diversity. The change, has to be driven by YOU! Another funny thing about americans, everyone always says how the "government" screws up everything, from the old funny business of buying 100 dollar toilet seats to more recently with Medicare and Social Security. Even with this collective distain for uncle sam's administrattive prowess the general populace holds contempt for those going it alone driving the change and seems to prefer a "public fix" to the particular problem. Before I go on not getting to the point. It is very easy to be a stick in the mud and just go along for the ride of life. But we as humans are stewards of this planet and until we collectively grasp that concept and begin to balance our economic and industrial needs with our eco-sustainability needs the train will not switch tracks and no matter how fun you think blowing that frog up on the tracks is at that moment only a moment later........(nothing).
So.. anyway.. check this video out.
Bike Lanes Campaign
It is so obvious that advanced cultures like those in Europe or South America see the benifit of introducing bicycle lanes into the traffic plan of the urban environment. Where as in the US the knee jerk reaction, I can hear all the old cronies saying is, who is going to pay for this? Don't raise my taxes for any stinking bike paths. No need to digress on how much is spent ummmmm you know, that area over there...that war thing...
A colleague of mine at work said it best the other day when we were talking about this subject, well not this specifically but related kind of, in that the US pop news/media is so preoccupied with sunnis and shiites and hezbollah or what gay people are doing, oh and don't forget about the position on religious icons at public buildings and whatever other wedge issue you want to bring up; and that is like a little kid lighting a firecracker on a frog that is placed on a railroad track. Howver, unknown to the kid is that there is a train coming down the track at that very moment! That train is the environment! I think it is so humorous how emotional people get when the environment or terms surrounding it come up in casual conversation. My other colleague-friend had another great perspective on this and that was that it is simple, people get uptight about environmental issues because it is very similar to religious beliefs or dogma of a given religion. My thoughts are looking at the funny thing of it all and that is noone can agree on the level of detail of interpretation because there is no common "bible" no "koran" on the environment, no document or tradition inspired by a profit or a martyr on the topic. Well not exactly anyway... there is always interpretations and i am sure green peace probably has something, but aren't they just a bunch of radicals anyway????.. and then that is where the entire communication break down begins in the first place. :-)
The irony again is how quickly another federal highway is planned and constructed but bike lanes are for those "tree huggin sissys". The US needs a planned change immediately! Move from the fossil fuel base economy of the last 100 years to one of energy diversity. The change, has to be driven by YOU! Another funny thing about americans, everyone always says how the "government" screws up everything, from the old funny business of buying 100 dollar toilet seats to more recently with Medicare and Social Security. Even with this collective distain for uncle sam's administrattive prowess the general populace holds contempt for those going it alone driving the change and seems to prefer a "public fix" to the particular problem. Before I go on not getting to the point. It is very easy to be a stick in the mud and just go along for the ride of life. But we as humans are stewards of this planet and until we collectively grasp that concept and begin to balance our economic and industrial needs with our eco-sustainability needs the train will not switch tracks and no matter how fun you think blowing that frog up on the tracks is at that moment only a moment later........(nothing).
So.. anyway.. check this video out.
posted by flockjcu at 4:18 PM
4 Comments:
Jim -
It's not cynical to say that the reason that non-fuel means of transportation aren't widely deployed is because big business can't make money on them...it's the truth!
But, unfortunately, the amount of fossil fuels burned for the transport of goods via train and truck makes what commuters (even pleasure drivers) do exhaust-wise look like nothing.
Build a train or truck that can pull the tonnage a diesel or two can, and build it green, and it'll help.
But onto the biking side of things - you, and all of us, are products of our upbrining. Steel-town Cleveland didn't come up as a 'bike-friendly' place because it was split right down the middle from the start - WEST SIIIIDE. lol
There are MANY US cities that are more friendly to bikers - the US capital being a major one.
It's easier in Europe because things aren't so sprawled out, and it's a necessity in larger cities due to increasing gridlock.
The midwest (and by extension, midwest capitalists) might not be there yet.
Plus, snowplows really cut down on the aerodynamics of a road bike, and the RTA can't make it on time when it's 72 and sunny ;)
enter the realist....
accept or create...that is choice
well put defense Paul..
Nevertheless, now is the time to make it a bike friendly place!!!
booyah - you in Europe or Slavic Village? :)
slavic village!! let's go for sushi!
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