this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2023
37 points (95.1% liked)
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
5392 readers
229 users here now
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Been riding in America for decades. There is risk, but it's still a lot lower than the risk associated with inactivity. Ride, and ask local government for infrastructure change
Maybe. It really depends on your location. Biking on the only road out of my neighborhood would be all but suicide because there is no shoulder, it is high traffic, and places without enough forward visibility for cars to react in some places. It isn't due to lack of demand. I see plenty of people on bicycles in areas where it is reasonably safe to do som In other places I have lived, I agree with you.
I really hate blanket generalizations like:
That also assumes that the person is inactive otherwise. Some people make an effort to exercise, others have physically demanding jobs. It also assumes the level of risk where it will vary quite a bit depending on location.
Sounds like it lacks enough traffic calming to keep cars going a reasonable speed with the given visibility, even without accounting for bikes.
A protected (concrete, not flex poles) bike lane would do it some good simply by narrowing the road enough for people to drive properly on it.
Doesn't change your situation now though.
I've been around enough people and places to have seen that most Americans aren't exercising and to know that most of the places people have told me aren't good to ride actually are. There really are some people who do exercise, and some roads which aren't safe, but that's usually not what's going on.
I'd describe the usual as a combination intimidation, fear, and concern about social isolation for doing something unusual.