Can bikes save the planet?

From the Redding Record Searchlight (California), 11.18.07:

If you missed it, Monday's Record Searchlight carried an Associated Press story...that has public health officials trying to link obesity rates in the United States and global warming.

One scientist interviewed calculated that if every American between 10 and 74 walked a half-hour a day instead of driving, the annual U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide would be cut by 64 million tons. Some 6.5 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved...and people would shed more than 3 billion pounds.

Interestingly enough, Trek recently rolled out a new campaign to get people riding called 1 World, 2 Wheels (www.1world2wheels.org). "The solution to some of the world's biggest problems is in your garage," the Trek literature said. The humble bicycle.

Trek will commit about $1.6 million over the next three years to support the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Community program and to fund trail development with the International Mountain Biking Association. The goal is to increase trips taken in the U.S. by bicycle to 5 percent, from the current 1 percent by 2017.

And with some 40 percent of all car trips taken in this country being less than 2 miles, it's an achievable goal. The directive, the hope of 1 World, 2 Wheels: If your destination is two miles or less, ride your bike.

Great article from NorCal touting the health and environmental benefits of bicycling for transportation.

Image: Web capture. Bicycle burning in San Diego fires, October 2007, a conflagration made worse by sprawl and car-dependent development.
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips