another consumptive round of innocent behaviour...
Canada finally seems to be getting a little serious about adopting a more Kyoto-friendly environmental strategy in 2005. The federal budget, for example, has $1billion earmarked for “cost-effective initiatives” to reduce carbon emissions in industry. Of course, it seems somewhat likely that this money will be used to buy emission credits from countries which are “cleaner”, rather than actually doing something to make our industries sustainable. So where do us little people fit in? As a matter of fact, everywhere. After all, we shouldn’t think of Kyoto as a “governmental” policy, but rather as one for all energy use.
The reality is this: reducing emissions will require changing energy sources. The vast majority of the North American population has been willfully avoiding changing lifestyles, largely thanks to the efforts of oil lobby groups and reactionary conservatives. Note that neither of these groups represents the scientists who actively study the biosphere or industrial systems, and who have themselves been the principle catalysts for change in the media. Maybe I’m a bit wacky for this, but I’ll trust the biologists who study tree rings, ice cores, and coral formations for climate change rather than politicians and industrialists who have shareholders to address. Britain’s New Scientist magazine had a recent article on climate change which noted that 19 of the 20 warmest years on the scientific record have occurred since 1980: “the bottom line is that we will need to cut CO2 emissions by 70% to 80% simply to stabilise atmospheric CO2 concentrations”.
So, knowing that many shortsighted industries are going to drag their feet on this issue, isn’t it time that citizens became empowered and actually took control of their own negative influence on climate change? Over the next few articles, I’ll outline a few simple ways to – how can I say it – join the 21st century and not ignorantly pollute like all those pricks who lived in the 20th.
One of the more positive changes that you can make for both yourself and the environment would be to adopt cycling into your lifestyle. This alters the energy source that you use for transportation from the oil and gas in your car to the food that you eat daily. It’s really not as impossible as you think. I can speak from experience that once you attain even a marginal level of fitness, then every part of Hamilton is accessible by bike within an hour or two at the most. Those of us who ride regularly can get from Westdale to Stony Creek in about 30 minutes. Granted, it does take a bit of willpower to go riding when the weather’s not the best – winter tends to leave only a few diehards on bikes. But then there’s all that “character” that gets built if you do become a year-rounder. I’ve noticed over the years that most people are impressed by the callous disregard of personal safety in the face of extreme danger, and these same people are easily convinced that heavy rain or a cold wind are terminal challenges.
Naturally I don’t really expect every car off the road and every family on bikes all the time. There are indeed many times when a car is decent option, but I bet that if you are travelling alone in your car, then that moment is not one of them. How often are cars used when they are not required, like most work or school commutes, short trips to the corner store or a friend’s house, vacations along routes where buses or trains are available, or trips to city downtown areas? You can shop for almost everything you need by using a backpack. When you do buy large items, get a cab or use the bus. Hey parents: let your kids walk home with friends. Not to be a grandad or anything, but in my day friends and I either rode a school bus, biked, or walked the 1.5km to our french school almost every day. The few kids who had “nervous” parents would always be driven to school, and picked up immediately afterward so they couldn’t get into “trouble”. These kids grew up to be special people. Those of us who walked or rode never got accosted or abducted, because by and large our cities are safe places during the day.
There’s also the bonus of actually getting to see the scenery while you travel (a gift from rail travel as well, by the way...). Trust me, cycling through the wine country around St. Catherine’s is much nicer than going for a drive there, as you get to smell the grapes in the fields and not the gas in your tank. We are quite lucky to have a pretty extensive network of trails for cyclists in Southern Ontario, and accordingly one can get to any major city in a day trip.
There are two key problems, however, that might keep a lot of people from riding anywhere except in parks and on trails. Cars can pose a fair hazard, especially when you combine their inertia with driver error or arrogance. Many people that I have spoke with cite Hamilton’s manic drivers as the key reason why they themselves drive. It’s too dangerous to cycle on roads they say. I’ve been riding safely in the area for over 10 years now, and will admit that I have had a fair share of “incidents”. Usually these involve cars that don’t see you while turning or changing lanes. As a cyclist, make sure you are visible by getting some lights or reflective tape for your helmet. The easiest way to stay safe is to plan a route which uses as few large streets as possible.
To those drivers who think that bikes should not be on the road and want to make a point by “scaring” us: check the Highway Traffic Act, which hopefully you remember from driving school [aside: why aren’t drivers tested every few years to make sure they are actually fit and capable to drive?]. A bicycle is a vehicle, with the same rights and responsibilities as other users of the road; you may occupy any part of the lane if it is warranted by your safety. So if things are getting ridiculous on the road when you are riding, then slow cars down behind you, and make sure that they have to change lanes or wait to pass. Principally, you need to maintain a sense of calm. Enjoy the ride, but enjoy it by keeping aware of your surroundings. Nothing pisses drivers off more than cyclists who aren’t paying attention to what they are doing.
Sometimes, no matter what, there’s nothing you can do in the face of road rage. The other day, I was assaulted by a random middle age guy whose aggressive driving at the Main + Queen intersection caused me to impulsively throw a snowball at the back of his car (Little Man: that pop can you thought I threw at your car I had picked up to recycle, no more). Endangering other cars, he then spun around to try and teach me a lesson. Little Man: that cum-in-my-face of your spit was classy, and makes me wonder if you kiss your wife with the same lips. I chose to go home instead of fight you because I like challenges, and it was tougher for me to not care about what you did than give you a broken nose and a heart attack.
Problem #2 involves a larger project. Current urban developments are by and large car-specific, or in other words engineered with car traffic in mind to the exclusion of other forms of transport. Cycling is easy in cities that are not suburban track developments. As pointed out in a decent agit-prop documentary called The End of Suburbia, track developments can only exist when every citizen owns several cars and oil stays cheap. As such, for most people in these areas it’s virtually impossible to access public transit or commute with a bike. The only solution is to not purchase a home in these developments, and instead become more socially responsible in an urban setting. Developers aren’t evil men wasting the world’s resources on the most unsustainable communities that they can build. They build what makes them money, and right now a lot of people are buying into the suburban nightmare. If people stop buying, then companies will stop building.
Despite a few obstacles, riding is one of the most positive changes that you can make in your life. Think of it as cheap transportation with a lot of free exercise. Kids learn from example, so getting families riding at young ages is important. They have to get used to daily physical exertion in order not to get accustomed to laziness and obesity, which are arguably the biggest obstacles faced by sustainable transportation. Make a change, and you can feel a bit better that they might have a planet that’s in better shape then when our generation found it.
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