Textiles and Bicycles

Actually May is for bicycle. It’s National Bicycle Month.

The League of American Bicyclists has a great “50 ways to celebrate bike month” (pdf). My favorite is “wear spandex to your next board meeting”. I personally think board meetings should be like costume parties…but I guess the type As wouldn’t be so into that.

So with rising gas prices and a generally stagnating economy, bicycles have really been making it into the news lately and I thought I would share some of what I’ve been reading every once in a while.

The Chicago Sun Times has a great article about saving money with bicycles, highlighting one man that traded in the second car for a collection of old bikes that he’s fixed up — none of which were acquired for more than $10.

“My wife gets frustrated,” he said. “She’d rather have a second car. But the kids seamlessly just kind of bought into this lifestyle because that’s how we go to the park, to the Beverly Arts Center for classes like violin classes, to the local grocery store to pick up things. That’s how we go to the pool all summer, and so for them, it’s just a lifestyle that they kind of were just swept into.”

Raising your kids this way is possibly the best way to ensure we get that “lifestyle change” that is so essential to combat global warming. It may be hard to get to the baby boomers, but the new kids (including my own generation) are still malleable enough to convince of the responsibility and myriad benefits that come with a “low-carbon” lifestyle. Living without insane excess and prioritizing our health again — I hope this is the wave of the future.

Another comes from NECN.com, a New England news site, where the spotlight is also on those that are able to save money and reduce their carbon footprint by biking to work.

This one is rather interesting from Seattle, where a man actually was taken in for psychiatric evaluation after riding his bike down Interstate 5 in Seattle. I found this hilarious at first that we actually have started committing people for riding on highways, but it turns out he had other, more severe issues…

And a great one from the LA Times about the rising use of bicycles as a mode of transport in New York City, despite the often treacherous conditions (potholes, taxis, traffic). I actually never biked in New York except for fun because I felt like it was too stressful. But the article offers a lot of promise:

The number of bicyclists has grown by 75% during the last seven years, according to the city’s count. Soon an ambitious city plan will make it possible for riders to traverse Manhattan via dedicated bike lanes and circumnavigate the island along the waterfront. Sheltered bicycle parking and thousands of new public bike racks are already in place.

New York is, afterall, the greenest city in America. It’s great to see it getting better every day. I heard one city official once say that every new person that New York gains as a resident is a win for sustainability. I plan to be one of them again someday.

In my own news, I’ve decided it’s time to really connect green craft with bicycle. So there’s a project in the works that I’ll share soon…if it makes that transition from my brain to my hands. And doesn’t suck.

Ride it like you know you should. (shout-out to my shameless Khia fans)

I found this on the Gristmill blog, but in case you’re not a loyal Grist reader…this is amazing.

It’s a Hungarian ad…clearly in favor of biking. Apparently they build bikes differently out there. Vibrating seats perhaps.

The Grist post has some great comments mentioning some upcoming bicycle events that I encourage you all to take part in, like May 16th’s Bike to Work Day. I’m not sure if this is nationwide, the commenter mentions the one in San Francisco, but there will definitely be one in DC, courtesy of WABA and co-sponsored by the organization I work for. I will definitely be participating and hope that all of you can join in wherever you are. If you’re not a regular bike-to-worker it’s a great way to introduce yourself to it–and see how doable it can be even once in a while. If we could all try and substitute just one car trip a week with a walk or bike trip it would make a significant positive impact on our physical fitness, air and water quality, and that always looming problem of climate change.

Another event coming up on May 21st is the Ride of Silence, which is a silent, slow-paced ride in honor of those that have been injured or killed while riding on public roads. This is something I feel strongly about, because even with a fair amount of bike lanes in DC, car drivers (and pedestrians) are often oblivious to bikers. The 2 ton bubble that a car provides seems to give drivers a sufficiently dangerous air of invincibility. And they forget that those of us using that bubble-less form of transportation with infinite gas mileage are anything but invincible.

And lastly, on a happier note, if you’re in DC on May 23rd, head over to the Black Cat for…wait for it….

The Bike Prom!

No! Just kidding!

But I did just get this in my inbox:

Subject: A beautiful place to spend Earth day
From: Crate and Barrel

I’m going to go ahead and disagree.  I’m not sure I’m going to be reducing greenhouse gas emissions by buying a new couch at Crate and Barrel…even if it is made of sustainable wood…And just out of experience, you have to be careful with those sustainable wood farms.  I studied abroad in the Amazon several years ago and saw quite a few tree plantations on what used to be awe-inspiring rainforest.  We even did a little biodiversity study and found that the varieties and sheer numbers of bird species in secondary (new) forest were quite a bit less than primary (original) forest.

Now while I believe in eco-friendly wares, I don’t think I am “doing my part” (which I think about .2% of the population actually does and I’m not sure I know any of them) unless I’m drastically reducing my consumption (which I could use some serious work on).  I try and do more than what I think I can…I don’t own a car, I don’t use AC, I minimize general energy usage, and on and on…yet I did one of those carbon calculator things and it would still take 3 earths to support my lifestyle for everyone!! I struggle with this at work everyday: convincing people that you can’t just buy a hybrid and say the transportation sector has done its part.  You can’t just put in new windows and say the building sector has done its part. And you can’t be a consumer and think buying the same amount of crap with an eco-friendly label on it is even kind of enough.  It’s better than nothing, for sure.  But we’re beyond that.  We need more. Drastically more.  Or I guess we need less.  Drastically less.

I still think when we buy, we should all buy “green” when it’s available–just in serious moderation.

Happy Earth Day!

For one hour: the second annual Earth Hour.

This is a fantastic idea by the World Wildlife Fund to bring awareness to our energy use and the need for conservation.

So today, Saturday, March 29, from 8 to 9 p.m. (whatever zone you’re in) turn off the lights and unplug it all.

There are several cities that have signed on to do this citywide I guess–like surprisingly Atlanta and not so surprisingly Vancouver.

More than 30 million people will be taking part…be one of them.

So I’ve been eating more yogurt lately. My doctor told me to and it turns out it’s quite good–and educational.

This morning my yogurt told me that I could:

Fight climate change at the cellular level. Use your cell phone to check on companies’ climate practices before you purchase. Just text “cc” and the name of the company to 30644 for an instant reply.

So of course I tried it.

It took me 3 tries, but I finally found out that Sony ranks 6th out of 12 electronics companies, with Canon leading the way. I can then “learn how to change the world” at ClimateCounts.org

I do think it’s a good tool when you’re shopping and will be a great tool once it’s expanded. My first tries were with Patagonia (an outdoor gear company that I love because of their clear environmentalism and because it was started by a pretty cool man) and McDonalds. I figured the first would rank high because of their strong efforts to reduce their negative impact, but alas, they hadn’t been ranked yet. McDonalds hadn’t been either…maybe the fast food chains aren’t worth the time or something…with all that Amazon rainforest being cut down for cattle grazing to endlessly supply McDonalds with cheap meat.

I also tried some bigger yarn companies (Rowan, Berroco, etc), but none had been scored yet.

And so…I have to end on this point: we can’t save the world by shopping. But since none of us are going to stop shopping completely, this may evolve into a good green shopping aid. Yes?