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Cycling and the environment
I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I saw this on Performance's site and thought it was cool.
Link
Originally Posted by Performance
In a year, a typical North American car will add close to 5 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere
The average number of barrels of oil consumed daily in the US is 17 million Driving consumes 43% of those barrels of oil Over the last 20 years the average length of a commute has increased 40%, miles driven has increased over 50% and time spent in traffic has increased 225% According to the Federal Department of Energy more than 50% of the working population in the US lives within 5 miles of the place they work Although more than 60% of all trips are 5 miles or less fewer than 1% are actually made by bicycle One fourth of all trips people make are one mile or less, yet three fourths of these short trips are made by car A four mile round trip by bicycle prevents the production of 15 lbs of air pollution A seven mile commute by bicycle instead of car each day saves almost 9 pounds of hydrocarbons, more than 66 pounds of carbon monoxide, 4.4 pounds of oxides of nitrogen and 1319 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually If just one out of every 10 commuters who now drive to work switched to bicycling, the savings would amount to 2 billion gallons per year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25.4 million tons 8 bicycles can be parked in the space required for just one car Traffic jams in the 29 major US cities cost commuters an estimated $24.3 billion each year The typical American family spends $8000 a year to own and operate a car, when you count the car payments, gas, oil, maintenance and repairs, licenses, parking and insurance The cost of operating a car is 94 cents a mile vs. 13 cents a mile for a bicycle Bicycling instead of driving a car is worth between $8.20 and $48.40 an hour |
Cool link. When I talk to my family and friends about bike commuting these are just the sorts of stats that give them pause BEFORE they write me off as being crazy or eccentric.
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13 cents per mile for a bicycle? That sounds quite steep.
I ride about 75 miles per week. My bike cost $349, 5 years ago. I'm assuming it will last another 5. I'm not factoring in the "new bike bug." I get my bike professionally tuned up every 6 months ($70). I've never needed a professional repair, but let's assume the average user needs one about twice a year (roughly $100?) Repairs/adjustments at home, cleaning, etc: about $10/month. I spend about $40/ month on clothing and accessories, but they aren't necessary (it's more like a money-feeding hobby) - but we'll count it. I'm not going to count burritos to fuel my body - I haven't lost weight and I'm not eating any more than before I started biking. Do some fuzzy math, and it works out to about $.06/mile. It probably varies wildly, but that's for me. But -- and here's the important part -- the cost to operate a bike does not need to correspond with the number of miles you put on it. I could be riding three times as far, and the cost would go up only marginally (tire replacemenet, lube, tune). It's not like gas, where there's a noticeable relationship between how far you go and how much it costs. That's what I like about biking: it's not a vending machine where you have to keep putting money in to make it go. |
Great link. I'll have to copy that and send it to my mother. I've been trying to get her to bike commute, since she professes to be such an environmentalist, yet drives 1 mile to the train station, takes the train, then walks the remaining two blocks.
She also drives 4 miles to the gym, then spends 30 minutes "warming up" on an exercise cycle. Funny. |
Originally Posted by bbonnn
13 cents per mile for a bicycle? That sounds quite steep.
Now, a lot of that was initial layout. I'm still going through chains and brake pads, and I had a spate of beginning-of-dark-commuting light problems this week, but I'm not buying new frame pumps, racks, panniers, or clothes. So though I think 13 cents a mile is a pretty good number now, it's going down constantly. However, I think it's probably driven up by people who, though they don't spend much, don't go very many miles a year either. And also by people who buy $2500 bikes to commute 3 miles (I have seen a couple). |
Awesome stats (though upsetting!). So the figure for a car is now up to $8k/year, godo to know (I usually quote $7k/year).
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Wow, had no idea Americans were so lazy.
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http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulric...viro-jul06.pdf
if i were to agree with this, the true environmentalist would not exercise. i don't agree. |
Don't forget other things - a car has four tires, each of which is made up of a huge ammount of rubber compared to a bicycle tire. Bicycles save rubber (which is made from oil).
A bicycle still has to be manufactured, so there is still a considerable ammount of polution linked to bicycles - but obviously it is a lot less to refine and manufacture 25-30lbs. of bicycle as compared to 5000 to 8000lbs. or so of automobile. And when a bicycle is junked - only 25-30lbs. of material is left rotting, instead of several thousand pounds. |
Originally Posted by aMull
Wow, had no idea Americans were so lazy.
erm, *cough* ahem... |
Originally Posted by podman
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulric...viro-jul06.pdf
if i were to agree with this, the true environmentalist would not exercise. i don't agree. w/ the exception of food, cycling is a per-capita reduction of consumption across the board. |
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