Originally Posted by Expatriate
It seems silly to me. I work in the transport industry, and our main clients are 2 aluminium smelters. They blast huge holes in the ground, and use giant earth moving machines to remove the raw materials. It's heated in giant crucibles to a molten form, then anodes are dropped in and massive amount of voltage are applied to purify the metal. The ingots, logs, and slabs are then loaded by forklifts onto trucks, and are brought to our yard. We load it into containers, and rail it by electric train to the wharf, where more heavy equipment loads it onto boats that will deliver it around the world. I can't name our customers, but I can assure you that the bike you're riding has at least one or more component on it that came from the ground here. And bikes still have rubber tyres. Sure, it's not as wasteful as a car, but the environmental impact is there.
Food for thought.
Very good point! I've thought about this a lot. Refining aluminum takes 1/6 of the world's electricity. There is no way to have absolutely no environmental impact if you live. I've just tried to minamize as much as possible and try to work toward a more sustainable society. I can't speak for anyone else but it is wastefullness that is the irritating part of our society. And when you get in a box to sleep (your home), then move yourself to another box(your job) in a box (your car) it can distance you from society. I think the contempt really stems from the motorists almost killing us and being openly hostile because of their anoniminity because they are in a car that they own so they feel safe to do whatever they want. Some car-free feel they are helping society (as I do, even though I'm just car-lite) so this hostility toward us is then resented. I don't think most motorsits think "hey, by that cyclist not driving they are not using gas and reducing demand for it, therefor they are lowering prices for me." Most likely they think "what does this guy think he's doing on
MY road?"
What I have described is the reactions of any minority before it has been accepted by society. Some people express themselves with contempt toward the majority. The industrail revolution has given emense power to the common man that has never been seen throughout history. Now (surprise surprise) when anyone can have great power without it being necessary to think about their actions to survive they can act like jerks. That's part of why some people resent the car culture. But, since oil production will peak in our lifetime (in almost all expert's estimates) I think the healthiest thing for anti-car advocates can do is just be happy with what they are doing and enjoy the many benefits of biking instead. Just my horribly written and organized thoughts (ADD makes for some jumbled writing; sorry about that).