Change the World, Ride a Bike – Blog Action Day 2007

Today is Blog Action Day 2007.  The topic this year is “Environment”.  Most people, when they think of the environment, think of the world as a whole.  The globe is one big interconnected environment but the planet is made up of lots of smaller environments and even smaller microenvironments.  Each person lives in their own microenvironment.  Sure it is part of the larger environment but we can have the greatest impact on our own little piece of the pie.

Bicycling is one way to do that.  Bicycles can make a huge impact on the way you live.  When farmers in Africa get bicycles they are able to travel farther to market with their goods, which lets them make more money to support their families.  Aid workers in Africa are able to reach more patients in combating AIDS.  Children are able to go to schools that were too far away to walk to.  See, the environment in which you live in is not defined just by the weather.  It is everything that factors into you daily life. 

Cities like New York, or Chicago can all benefit from having more bicycles on the streets because bikes take up less space and they don’t pollute.  Major metropolitan areas all have problems with over crowded streets and smog caused by automobile traffic.  You can park 20+ bicycles in the same space as an SUV.  That same SUV can only carry 5-6 people.  That is 4 times as many people sharing the same space.  Those same 20 bicycles create ZERO smog. 

Your environment also has to do with your personal health.  If you are not healthy you may have a decreased productive life span.  You may have to depend on getting care from others just go about you day to day living.  As everyone knows by now, obesity has become the leading cause of a lot of the health problems in the U.S.  Obesity, Diabetes, heart disease, and possibly even some cancers can all be helped by staying active.  Bicycling is a great way to do that.  Its very low impact so it isn’t hard on the knees if you ride properly and its fun.  You don’t have to be Lance Armstrong to enjoy riding a bike and there are thousands of people who ride just for the fun of it everyday. 

There are millions of people who commute to work by bicycle everyday.  The numbers are far higher in other countries but in some parts of the U.S. the numbers a quite high as well.  Every time those people ride their bikes to work they are improving the world.  They are reducing congestion, reducing pollution, and reducing their waist line which results in healthier happier people.  So get out their and ride a bicycle, its good for you and the planet.