I understand the point you make, and I tend to agree: where you invest your money has political and environmental consequences. Whether we like it or not, we all vote with our wallet when we contribute money to Exxon, Walmart, etc... So, let's make our vote count for a progressive and sustainable future, and buy Bianchi/Trek/Raleigh/Specialized.
Investing in oil, however, is unavoidable. Consider this:
A) Roughly 25% of people's income is invested in food (2005 data)
B) Per capita, 400 gallons of oil are used each year to feed each American (1994).
Thus, we can roughly argue that each American, every year, invests 25% of their income to consume oil in order to sustain life. That's a TON of money, and a TON of oil:
C) There are 304,059,724 people in the United States (2009)
D) Thus, according to the 1994 data, that means 121 billion gallons of gas are burnt to feed the entire US population.
E) At $2.50 a gallon, that means
the United States spends $304 billion on gasoline JUST TO EAT, much less drive to work.
Don't get me wrong: I agree with Chucky. We should make an effort to minimize our oil consumption. But it would be nieve to think that riding our bikes will negate our oil-footprint.
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http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/fossil-fuels.cfm
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/S...ntofIncome.htm