RE: Life after the oil crash

I agree that, as transportation goes, the bicycle has to be the greatest
invention. However, given the option, most people will opt for a less
strenuous way to travel. Society (in North America, at least) frowns on the
use of the bicycle as mode of transportation and shows this by not including
bicycle paths in cities. Of course, putting in bicycle paths costs money
and encourages the use of bicycles and that reduces the use of gasoline. A
reduction is gasoline purchases reduces the amount of sales tax that cities
and provinces (or states) collect. Now, if the road tax were used to
maintain roads, that would be one thing but, in many jurisdictions, the road
tax is used for general revenue and governments are loath to give up any
source of income. So, maybe the problem lies with our elected officials
and, by extension, with us, the voters.

Chuck Vandergraaf

  _____

From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
Behalf Of Iain Strachan
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 11:20 AM
To: mrb22667@kansas.net
Cc: asa
Subject: Re: Life after the oil crash

On 10/27/05, mrb22667@kansas.net <mrb22667@kansas.net> wrote:

Calvin & Hobbes strip where Hobbes is musing about how Calvin's subversive
dad
thought of bicycles as being the pinnacle of transportation technology. I
would
surmise that Watterson was more than half serious with that wisecrack -- and
I
think I would actually make a serious defense of that!

I would say more than half serious. Listeners to BBC Radio 4 would agree
and voted the bicycle the greatest invention since 1800. See:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4513929.stm

The bicycle came way ahead of the transistor, the computer and the internet.
Simplicity of design, universality of use, and the ecological aspects were
deciding factors.

Health aspects would also be an important factor for me. Since starting to
cycle to work in April this year, I've shed 3stone in weight & started to
feel alive again (born again cyclist ? ;-)

Iain (feeling very grateful that work is only a 25 minute bike-ride from
home).
Received on Thu Oct 27 14:48:12 2005