Better Arguments for Bikes

You read a lot these days about global warming, and the big debate between those who think it's human-caused and those who don't (there's a third camp who don't think it's happening at all, but they're clearly clueless so we'll ignore them). I am of the first group, because the logic of it is so simple: carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, we burn A LOT of fossil fuels. What other conclusion could you possibly come to? We obviously a hand in it.

But when it comes to doing anything about it, I have to wonder if it even matters. I am concerned about global warming but there are more obvious and tangible reasons to stop using so much energy (most of it fossil fuel energy). When you start talking to people about how our driving habits are truly bad habits, there are much better arguments to use than global warming, which seems not to hit close enough to home for most people to get motivated to change. Why not set aside this controversial issue which is generally too big in scope for the general public to really grasp, and instead aim for issues that affect everyone, every day?

Smog is a major problem in many American cities and cities around the world. Much (though not all) of it is created in your car's engine. I read that there is an epidemic of asthma among children these days. Don't you think it would be easier to motivate people to stop driving so much by using this very personal issue, rather than some controversial, overly-broad issue like global warming? There's no debate about smog, you can see it and you can smell it, its effects on our bodies is obvious, and the connection to automobiles is easily made.

Another issue is obesity. Again, there is a so-called epidemic of obesity among American children, as well as diabetes, though of course adults are dealing with both problems as well. With all the obvious health problems associated with obesity, as well as the general decrease in standard of living, this should be a major motivating factor for people, one we bike-activists and environmentally conscious individuals could use as part of our argument. While driving cars doesn't direclty cause obesity, the general lack of physical activity in our daily lives is a major factor. We probably spend 90% of our day either sitting or laying down, though that's just a guess. The point is, sitting for hours in a car while commuting to work, while inhaling any number of toxins is not good for one's waistline (apparently, there is an argument that toxic environments cause obesity, as the body tries to dilute the toxins in the fat). Even if you still have to work a desk job, incorporating some physical activity into your commute by bicycling to work (or school) could really help keep your weight down.

Anyways, the point of all this is that while I do worry about global warming, it doesn't seem to be a big motivator for people to change their actions. It's too big to really grasp. But when you live in a city with horrible air quality, and you're slowly growing fatter and fatter because you don't move except to walk to the fridge, well, these are the kinds of arguments that might get people biking more. You have to make it personal, and frankly, it's hard to REALLY make global warming a personal issue, because you can never say if that week of warm weather in January was caused by global warming. We CAN say for sure that smog is (in large part) caused by cars, and that obesity is (in large part) caused by an inactive lifestyle. There are probably countless other issues similar to these, all personally meaningful, that will have a larger impact on people than the global warming issue. I didn't even get into the personal and societal economic reasons that favor bikes and reduced energy use, which will probably end up being the reason people eventually stop driving so much, when gasoline costs $5 per gallon.