I just though I might mention there are quite a few people talking about the environment and its issues at Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com). Now would be the perfect opportunity to stop in and educate those asking questions on the benefits of cycling. They are running the topic all weekend. I have been on there suggesting cycling as often as I can without looking like I was being pushy about it.

Just thought you might be interested.

Rod

sounds interesting. i do not plan on commenting, however, as i'd prefer not to register with yahoo! besides, i'm pretty much burned out for the moment on environmental topics (such as locally a san francisco judge's ruling (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/24/BAG7QJJSR71.DTL) that blocks *any* implementation of that city's bicycle plan (http://bicycle.sfgov.org/site/dptbike_index.asp?id=29438)) until the issue is sorted out in court. a couple "groups" (http://www.sfcityscape.com/log_06_04-06.html#0627) ("citizens for adequate review," or CAR--coincidence or intentional? you tell me--and "99 percent") seek to halt any improvements to SF's cycling infrastructure (no bike lane debate, okay? ;)) by perversely using the california environmental quality act (CEQA) (reform of which is a topic for another thread on another day, and probably another forum) to thwart improving conditions for bicyclists on the grounds that making it easier and safer for cyclists to get around would degrade the environment because it would be slightly more difficult ((automobile) lane removal is one project) for people to freely motor about the streets of the second-densest city in the US. btw, it should come as no surprise that the point man (http://district5diary.blogspot.com/) for the effort is no friend of cyclists.


anyway, back to the topic at hand:

again, while i do not intend to add anything to the yahoo! discussion, i was curious enough to click the link and read some of the comments over there, among which i read:

I really dont belive that this global thing is a real issue. The only things that are actualy distroying our world is violence and sin. the only reason that people want to stop us from driving cars is for more control. if the green people tree huggers stoped us from driveing cars, they would still drive them. they want to stop us from getting oil to make fuel with so they ram the ships in the ocean. now tell me how that is good. that could cause an oil spill. the creator of this planet isnt going to let us distroy it. I read in the owners manuel to life, that he was going to distroy the earth by fire sometime soon. that will get rid of all the violence at once. if you really wana help the planet stop fighting stealing and prematerail sex. also same sex marage croupts earth to. the french have records to prove that the hole in the atmosfeer was there long befor we knew about it. its allways been there and it gets bigger and smaller on its own. the cars we drive help our invorment they produce carbon dioxide that plants need to grow. more plants = more oxygen for us to brethe. so its not hurting to drive a car its helping enviroment. the gas thing is a scam. big shots jack the price so they can profit. its all part of suply and demand, if they make u belive that we are short on oil they can make it cost more. its all lies. no one could hurt the world in any way that would distroy it completly. that would stop the creator from getting to do that later. so dont wory. and do like our money says. Trust In God.
really, how can you can a rational discussion with someone like adam_squires? i can only hope that adam is faithfully portraying an ignorant, conservative "person of faith" in mockery, and is not actually one himself. (NOTE: in no way do i mean to imply that religious persons are necessarily ignorant or conservative, so don't flame away. plzkthx :o .)

i also want to add that it seems like a lot of people tend to view many things or issues (traffic congestion, for example) in life as being separate from everything else. however, traffic congestion is connected to transportation, which is connected to land-use, which is connected to environmental quality, which is connected to public health, and on and on and on. i cannot tell whether this is because people genuinely view nothing as being interrelated or if they do understand everything *is* interrelated but choose to compartmentalize everything into neat little packages because it's maybe easier to deal with hot topics piecemeal. of course, the problem with dealing everything on an issue-to-issue basis is that we risk losing sight of the bigger picture.

Wow, what ever happened to "God helps those who help themselves"?

BOIP's post concerns me on a couple of levels: first, why would anyone put that much time and effort into stopping bike lanes?! That seems really irrational to me; even if YOU don't ride bikes, if someone else rides one, it's one less car on the road for you to deal with. It's a win-win for everyone, unless you're trying to sell gas, I guess, or houses in distant suburbs. Second, that clearly insane guy that BOIP quoted is indicative of a trend in Christianity that's bothered me for some time: right-wing nut-cases have done an excellent job of spreading the perception that, to be a Christian, you practically have to be a Fascist. Which is, of course, the opposite of the truth. I'm a practicing Christian, and I'm politically liberal, and so are many other Christians who don't appear on Fox News. Jesus was not a southern white Republican. Christianity is ENTIRELY consistent with environmentalism; we're called to be stewards of the Earth, not its despoilers. I pray that Bill Frist, Dick Cheney and their ilk have a place waiting for them in the deepest levels of Hell right now, right next to Hitler and Bill O'Reilley... By the way, go see that Al Gore movie, and urge others to see it, too. Gore's arguments are not extreme in the least, are reasonable and convincing, and are something that even conservatives can warm up to (pun intended). We should all remind ourselves, from time to time, of the big picture. There's also a decent, though not great, website that goes with the film: climatecrisis.net. Among other things, it has a section that helps you estimate how much carbon you contribute to the atmosphere. (It's pretty amazing how much difference the absence of one car can make...)

that clearly insane guy that BOIP quoted is indicative of a trend in Christianity that's bothered me for some time: right-wing nut-cases have done an excellent job of spreading the perception that, to be a Christian, you practically have to be a Fascist. Which is, of course, the opposite of the truth.

Christian clergy in the 30's & 40's did a great job providing religious rationalizations for National Socialism and other Fascist flavors, so it's not like it hasn't happened before. I suppose it isn't too surprising that people quickly forget these things.

They're removing parking in large areas to provide bike lanes. This would seem counter to creating an environment where businesses can thrive, and provides a huge amount of bad feeling towards the cyclists that this plan caters toward.

I don't know anything about this plan, and I haven't lived in the San Francisco area for quite a few years, so I can't really comment about it, but one of the main people behind the opposition is definetely anti-bike.... his comments about people should not be biking in the city because it's too dangerous are pretty insane! I left a post on one of his blogs... but he's got it moderated... I'd bet it never gets allowed on.

Gore's arguments are not extreme in the least, are reasonable and convincing, and are something that even conservatives can warm up to (pun intended). We should all remind ourselves, from time to time, of the big picture. There's also a decent, though not great, website that goes with the film: climatecrisis.net. Among other things, it has a section that helps you estimate how much carbon you contribute to the atmosphere. (It's pretty amazing how much difference the absence of one car can make...)

Has anyone read "An Inconvenient Truth? (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594865671/qid=1151944489/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-8372704-2927921?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)"

Good stuff. Highly recommended.

adam_squires


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There is no reply for that level of stupidity.

I pray that Bill Frist, Dick Cheney and their ilk have a place waiting for them in the deepest levels of Hell right now, right next to Hitler and Bill O'Reilley...

I believe they're headed for the "Special" section of hell reserved for child-molesters and people who talk during movies (tell me someone knows where that line came from)

I'm with you on christianity having an almost assigned (but oft ignored) role as environmental shepards As much work as christians of all denominations can get done for homeless/etc, think of what they ought to be able to do with a united environmental effort. Although its been done locallly for a while, my understanding is that the Catholic church is finally getting around to thinking about this on at least a (US) national if not international scale.