Pollution - does it matter?
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Pollution may be a clear sign of life - maybe not-so intelligent - out there |
“The ironic thing ... even though we call them a biomarker for intelligent life, I like to think of it as a biomarker for unintelligent life,” Lin said. “I imagine alien civilizations, if they’re trying to measure our atmosphere, will see industrial pollution and say, ‘No intelligent life there.’ ”
Read the full July 24, 2014 article by Carolyn Y. Johnson on Boston Globe.
We choose to pollute.
On my daily riding through Concord you may see me dodging cars and taking the lane to get under the I93 underpass at Loudon Road. These maneuverings are not for the faint of heart. Often I will pass most of the cars waiting at the intersection because the exhaust from all these vehicles is pretty awful.
Several weeks ago I was riding with my kid on the back of the xtracycle when some guy in a truck yelled something like " If you loved your daughter, blah, blah, blah". I do love my kid and I want her future to be bright and healthy. I love this planet and our choices impact the earth. It is unsettling to sit in the exhaust of all the vehicles on the road. I wonder, where is the intelligent life?
When we choose a car for errands around town it makes an impact on the air. Diesel vehicles typically are the worst as they spew out their exhaust. Motorcycles, scooters, and older vehicles without catalytic converters are pretty awful to be behind. Vehicles with catalytic converters do improve the exhaust, and electric vehicles are clean at the tailpipe but there is still an energy impact to driving that goes beyond the tailpipe (see Electric cars are not THE answer).
Vaclav Smil analyzes the weight to payload ratio of transportation choices in the January 2015 issue of IEEE Spectrum. For a 154 lb passenger the vehicle to passenger ratio for a typical scenario of one passenger per vehicle is 25 to 40. For a bicycle the ratio is listed closer to 0.1.
In my case on a single speed the ratio is 0.2 whereas on the xtracycle it is 0.3. With my kid along on the xtracycle the ratio is back to about 0.2. In my car the respective ratios are 17 and 13 respectively.
The ratio for the typical one passenger trip is 12 for a Smart car, 26 for a light-duty car, 32 for a Ford F-150 and 39 for the Cadillac Escalade. Your ratio will vary (as will your fitness).
The CO2 output is no match for the bike vs car comparison. The energy consumption to move around in our transportation choices have a profound climate change impact. We can improve fitness andour footprint on climate change by choosing alternatives to driving whenever we can.
What change in transportation can you make?
[update addition 1/28/2015] What's your transportation weight ratio?
In my case on a single speed the ratio is 0.2 whereas on the xtracycle it is 0.3. With my kid along on the xtracycle the ratio is back to about 0.2. In my car the respective ratios are 17 and 13 respectively.
The ratio for the typical one passenger trip is 12 for a Smart car, 26 for a light-duty car, 32 for a Ford F-150 and 39 for the Cadillac Escalade. Your ratio will vary (as will your fitness).
The CO2 output is no match for the bike vs car comparison. The energy consumption to move around in our transportation choices have a profound climate change impact. We can improve fitness andour footprint on climate change by choosing alternatives to driving whenever we can.
What change in transportation can you make?
Today, Sunday September 21st, 2014 - people across the globe are marching to bring more awareness to climate change.
Choose a solution to pollution.
I ride every day I can so that my daughter will have a cleaner future. Join me in choosing alternatives to driving whenever you can.
Intelligent Life on Earth
Together, we'll have an impact on the planet.
