With the news that the government has failed to produce an energy/climate bill, it appears we the people are on our own once again. If we are to break our addiction to oil and mitigate the damage we are doing to our environment, then as individuals and families we are going to have to make the kinds of choices that may help us prosper as oil runs out and the earth’s climate changes.

Once again, the bicycle is a wondrous invention that can help.

(Actually, the whole “on our own” thing doesn’t really work. In a democratic republic such as ours, the government is us. We don’t have a climate/energy bill in large part because we failed to demand it.)

It is clear to me, even without hard data, that more people in Springfield are riding bicycles for all kinds of reasons. My hope is that new riders come to learn these things quickly:

1. Springfield’s urban core is a great place to ride a bicycle.
2. Riding a bicycle is safe, fun, convenient, healthy, and economical .
3. Using a bicycle as basic transportation here is very easy if one is not stuck in some hell-and-gone, car-centric, sprawling suburb.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle politics, cycling, green transportation, sustainability

“I’d like to join in on the blame game that has come to define our national approach to the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This isn’t BP’s or Transocean’s fault. It’s not the government’s fault. It’s my fault. I’m the one to blame and I’m sorry. It’s my fault because I haven’t digested the world’s in-your-face hints that maybe I ought to think about the future and change the unsustainable way I live my life. If the geopolitical, economic, and technological shifts of the 1990s didn’t do it; if the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 didn’t do it; if the current economic crisis didn’t do it; perhaps this oil spill will be the catalyst for me, as a citizen, to wean myself off of my petroleum-based lifestyle. ‘Citizen’ is the key word. It’s what we do as individuals that count. For those on the left, government regulation will not solve this problem. Government’s role should be to create an environment of opportunity that taps into the innovation and entrepreneurialism that define us as Americans. For those on the right, if you want less government and taxes, then decide what you’ll give up and what you’ll contribute. Here’s the bottom line: If we want to end our oil addiction, we, as citizens, need to pony up: bike to work, plant a garden, do something. So again, the oil spill is my fault. I’m sorry. I haven’t done my part. Now I have to convince my wife to give up her S.U.V. Mark Mykleby.”

I think the tricky part here is deciding what “our part” is. I say tricky because we can do anything that seems green and crow about it. For example, you can build a 5,600-square foot LEED certified house on 2.7 acres for two people and call yourself green. But you’re just kidding yourself. Mark Owen argues this same couple would be way greener just moving to New York City and living normally.

I had a few green inclinations in mind when I decided to walk and bicycle for basic transportation. But my real goal was simply to live what I hoped would be a better life and, perhaps, to get around town with less stress. That’s all worked out. And the greeness of it is just a bonus.

I think what I’m saying is: We not going to get more people burning calories instead of carbon by preaching green living (a few perhaps — those already inclined toward living car-lite in densely populated places, i.e. young people). I think we have to make walking and bicycling convenient enough so that people try these methods and then discover on their own all the other nifty benefits.

I’m not suggesting we should not try to live greener lives. I do think we ought not kid ourselves about what is really green living. Owens makes an excellent case that New Yorkers are the greenest of the green simply because they live in a dense urban environment. Taking re-usable grocery bags to the store is more than offset by, say, driving your Hummer to get there. Using energy-saving light bulbs is more than offset by your HD TV.

Making walking and bicycling a convenient transportation choice takes the sting of apocalypic fear out of going green. Who wants to give up their SUV because the world is going to hell so we all have to sacrifice to save it? Kiss your American lifestyle goodbye. Bummer, man. That’s a loss. Compare that to: Who wants to walk or ride a bicycle because it’s a great way to move around town and you’re life will be better? Hello new American lifestyle. Cool, man. That’s a win.

Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle politics, cycling, green transportation, sustainability, walking

Scattered thunderstorms here today, so I’m on foot. I’ll “celebrate” the day by pretty much just doing what I usually do — ever so steadily, if a bit slowly, downsizing my life into something more sustainable.

Technorati Tags: Earth Day, green revolution, green transportation, sustainability, walking

Let’s be clear about something first: I have nothing against electric bicycles. They serve a purpose for people who want or need them.

But, really, giving a green award to an electric bicycle is like giving a green award to a Hummer over a Prius. An electric bicycle is less green than a regular bicycle.

Now I understand we’re talking about a consumer electronics show here and that, well, to be in the show a gadget must use electricity and that if one is going to give a green award for a vehicle that uses electricity, then, well, giving it to this bicycle is a good thing, I suppose.

Just don’t expect me to praise this contraption as green. What it is is useful for those who need electric assistance. And, from the looks of it, the Eneloop bicycle has the kinds of features that I think a good utility bicycle ought to have (hoo-ray for that!). So, really, this appears to me to be an excellent choice for someone who wants or needs an electric-assist utility bicycle.

But green? Naaaaaaaa. I think we ought to guard that term a bit more jealously.

Technorati Tags: bicycle design, cycling, green transportation, sustainability, utility cycling

Like many other bicycle advocates, I have approached this question programmatically, i.e. identify a problem or opportunity and then dream up a program to satisfy it. Our Drive Less, Live More booklet is a good example of this. And so is the 1-mile Solution. The trainers at the advocacy training seminar in Little Rock (sponsored by the Alliance for Biking & Walking) last fall hammered pretty hard on the idea that advocates should learn to think in terms of campaigns rather than programs. The campaign we developed for the STAR Team: Encourage the city of Springfield to adopt a “complete streets” policy in 2010. We’re working on that right now.

But even the campaign paradigm is lacking a certain something. It’s been nagging at me for awhile now: Alternative transportation is not disconnected from a host of other urban (social, political, economic, cultural)  issues. So while well-designed programs and campaigns certainly keep the bean moving up the hill, there are multiple powerful forces at work dragging it back down the hill. A lot of very smart people around here know this, of course.

It’s time for me to get smart.

So I’ve decided to go back to school.

I’m taking a class at MSU called PLN100 Understanding Cities. And if that goes well, as I think it will, I may take try to earn a planning certificate.

I have no desire to change jobs. But I do want to start bringing something more to bear in my advocacy — something more than experience on the road and the ability to write and talk about it. I want background and context.

I’ll bring you along on the journey. Stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: 1-mile Solution, bicycle advocacy, bicycle culture, bicycle politics, cycling, green transportation, transportation, utility cycling