High gas and pollution make many turn to bikes

By Anne Consroe

Greenhouse gas emissions and global warming seem to be the phrases of the year. But politics aside, they are important issues to examine.

The graph represents the contributing components of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States from 1990 to 2006. Over this sixteen year span, the primary greenhouse gas produced by Americans was carbon dioxide (CO2), representing approximately 85 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The largest source of CO2 was from the combustion of fossil fuels.

The graph above shows emissions by economic categories: agriculture, commercial, electricity generation, industry, residential and transportation. Transportation activities make up the second largest portion.

According to the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, over the past decade automobiles and light trucks have shown to be the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources, accounting for more than 60 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions from mobiles sources.

But there is an alternative: personal bicycles for short trips. With soaring gas prices, bicycles are quickly growing in popularity, especially in urban areas. Bicycle maintenance businesses are also springing up, as they are increasingly becoming more appealing to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs see such a business as a way to explore their passion for biking while taking advantage of this growing biking population. A small bike repair shop also has relatively low initial start-up investments, and allows the entrepreneur to invest as much time as he or she wants into the business.

Bicycle delivery services are also growing in popularity. Across the country, bikes are used to deliver groceries, newspapers, local businesses, messages, and courier services.

Bicycles are gaining momentum in suburban and urban areas across the country. Will you hop on?