Philosopher Ivan Illich took the average amount of time people spend working to pay for their cars and the total miles driven each year, then divided that by the amount of time in one year. The quotient Illich came up with was four miles an hour, even less than the speed of riding a bike. Alan Streater Lower back pain is a common cause of visits to physicians, second only to the common cold. Bicycling exercises the small muscles that surround the spine, which are important in keeping the back strong and preventing injuries. Ecology Action News Burning one gallon of gasoline yields 22 pounds of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas.
Carbon monoxide causes suffocation and becomes the greenhouse gas.
We use 21.7 billion barrels of oil per year. At this rate, we will run out of reserves in approximately 45 years. If one in four people commuted just 5 miles a week on a bicycle, the air would be spared of 6.7 million tons of carbon dioxide. 9.1 pounds of hydrocarbons, 62.5 pounds of carbon monoxide, and 4.5 pounds of nitrogen oxides. Water sources are contaminated by tons of salts poured on highways and from oil dripped from cars.