Two Wheels vs. Four

How far do I have to ride my bike to pay back its carbon footprint?
By Brian Palmer
Posted Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011, at 10:13 AM ET

The environmental benefits of biking to workI'm thinking about switching my daily commute from four wheels to two. But I'm concerned about all the energy it takes to manufacture and ship a new bicycle. How many miles would I need to substitute a bike for my car before I've gone "carbon neutral"?

http://www.slate.com/id/2300676/

Great question.
I also wonder what is more damaging to the enviroment, keeping your old Ford F-150 with 10mpg on the road or buying a new Prius that gets 30mpg. It costs a lot of energy to make a new car and a lot of waste.

You know, I question the benefits of an electric car. Manufacturing, maintaining, and replacing those batteries is about as far from "green" as you can get - very caustic stuff! Not to mention all the coal-fired power plants that charge up those batteries. Seems to me they're just replacing one not-so-green energy dependency with another.

cydl wrote: You know, I question the benefits of an electric car. Manufacturing, maintaining, and replacing those batteries is about as far from "green" as you can get - very caustic stuff! Not to mention all the coal-fired power plants that charge up those batteries. Seems to me they're just replacing one not-so-green energy dependency with another.

Have to agree with you. I would love to see a impartial ecological study done comparing keeping a older model gasoline powered car versus building new that depends on the grid.
Or worse like the Chevy Volt that runs on electricity but also has a backup gasoline engine.

That polar bear in the Nissan Leaf commercial should have to pass by nuclear, coal and natural gas power plants.

Honestly? I think the hybrids are a gimmick to make the "fasionably green" feel smug and trendy.

If you're actually serious about using less resources, don't buy a new car at all, buy a used one. Better yet, don't buy another car at all. Go from three cars to two, or two cars to one. Drive less. You don't have to jump in your car 12 times a week or more as I see some neighbors do who aren't even commuting to work. If you live in a city, it's more economical and "greener" to be carless altogether and maybe rent one the one or two days a month you actually need it.

neptunechimney wrote: How far do I have to ride my bike to pay back its carbon footprint?
How many miles would I need to substitute a bike for my car before I've gone "carbon neutral"?

A more interesting question would be how far would Al Gore need to ride a bike to pay back his private jet's carbon footprint?

AV makes a good point. With just a bit of planning and foresight many people can eliminate several unnecessary trips every week. Saving gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and even reducing the all important "carbon footprint". Today, as I do every Friday, I will stop on my way home from work to pick up anything I need from KS or Safeway, so I won't need to make a trip there this weekend. It's really just about being smart and thinking ahead.

And then we have the 4 leggers debate.

Tell my husband! I asked him why he moved up here because he spent so much time down below.

I try to work at home and when I do go into the office, I do my best to get my errands done while I'm down there.

I want to stay in the mountains, not down in the traffic and heat.