Are bicycles really green?

Hello again,

This week in my communication theory class we were allowed to blog about any topic we want, and so of course I had to choose bicycles. As I get on my Bicycle, in the spring, summer and fall, with the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and a feeling of freedom I wonder why people do not ride their bicycle more often! For me bicycles have always been a way to get out doors and enjoy all that nature has too offer. To me they have always seemed to be the most efficient, environmentally friendly mode of transport as you do not burn up precious natural resources such as oil and you do not create harmful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. As I look at the picture below I would say my assumptions and thoughts are fairly evident. Not only to me but to many others bicycles are seen as a sustainable vehicle that reduces congestion and supports a green lifestyle and a green society (Horton, 2009). The idea that bicycles are beneficial to environmental sustainability

(Copenhagenize, 2012) What seems like the best answer to you? what causes less congestion, environmental impacts while maintaining it's efficiency .

 When I did some further research into the idea that bikes are a valid way to reduce the environmental harm caused by a community or city I found some interesting ideas. I came across an article (Ulrich, 2006) that suggested that maybe riding a bike is not as environmentally conscious as I might have originally thought. The article conveys that if human-powered transportation were to be implemented by the masses there might be little to no beneficial effect due to the fact that as a society we are rather sedentary and if all of us were to become more active we would eat more food which would then require increased production, negating the benefit we thought we were producing from riding our bikes in the first place. To me this was shocking as it was something that I had never considered before, how could the "behind the scenes" things change the effectiveness of the idea you are trying to implement.

After reading through this article I realized I needed to consider one of the golden rules we have learned in my communication class and that is to be a critical thinker of what we read. Although this article has the appearance that it is a valid paper, it is properly cited and has lots of citations through out, I still needed to dive deeper and really think about what they were saying. After searching around a bit more I found many community plans that cater to the idea that cycling leads to an overall healthier society and environment such as the Calgary Cycling Plan. After reading some of the community documents I did not see why they would take it upon themselves to educate the public and provide the information if it did not come from a valid source. In saying this I have decided that although the article by Ulrich may make some valid statements it's not bad to ride my bicycle if it makes me happy and healthy because I'm not doing anymore damage to the environment than if I drove a car, I'm just not having as much of benefit as I may have once thought I was.

After reading papers such as these I am able to start piecing together all the different individual lessons we have learned in ALES 204 such as those that ensure we use our heads instead of believing everything we read because they look like they are valid, making sure we have an open mind when we come across new information, as well as ensuring we dive deeper into subjects we do not understand so we do not just getting a surface view of the idea because it may not reflect the entirety of the argument or issue.   For more thoughts on critical thinking and critical literacy check out Jessie Bales blog post Finding the Truth in an Ocean of Lies.

References:

From Copenhagenize (2012), Retrieved March 23, 2012 from http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/02/street-cars-named-desire.html


Horton, D. (2009). Environmentalism and the bicycle. Retrieved from http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpress.com/article-environmentalism-and-the-bicycle/


Ulrich, K. (2006). The environmental paradox of bicycling. Retrieved from http://dionysus.psych.wisc.edu/lit/Topics/Environment/ulrich-cycling-enviro-jul06.pdf