DrumBeat: May 19, 2007

Scientists link world's big dams to methane and global warming

Brazilian scientists say they have found evidence that the planet's large dams emit nearly 115 million tons of methane every year, a figure that would put the water-control structures among the top contributors of human-caused greenhouse gases.

In a study released earlier this month, the scientists claim the world's 52,000 dams contribute more than 4 percent of the warming impact linked to human activities. The study even suggests that dams and reservoirs are the single largest source of human-cased methane, a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

Lower emissions can cut gas prices, study finds

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday released a University of California study showing that the state can cut gasoline prices and stimulate the economy by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the production of transportation fuels.


What Is Wrong with this Picture?

Yes, the United States does need to invest more money on infrastructure. But without Fundamental Change in human settlement patterns, most of the spending would be squandered.


There’s a Hole in the Bucket

That does it. Time to set this record straight.

If I get one more email petition asking me not to buy gasoline on some day or another, or from one company or another, I'm gonna scream.


For big oil, future profits lie in big gas business

As competition for scarce petroleum resources intensifies and as oil-rich nations limit access to reserves, the multinational integrated majors are beginning to evolve from Big Oil into Big Gas.


Heavy Oil May Play Bigger Role in China's Oil Output Growth

China is showing increasing interest in developing its domestic reserves of heavy-grade crude oil as it struggles to line up energy supplies to feed its booming economy.


More oil firms move into costly oil sands

More oil firms are joining the rush to tap oil from sands in Canada's Alberta province, a costly process that may secure future output but needs higher oil prices to make money.


Mexican Oil Sails in Obsolete Tankers

State-run Petroleos Mexicanos operates five rundown tankers that should have been retired since late 2006, following a 12-month grace period granted in 2005.


An isthmus oil pipeline, why not in Thailand?

Malaysia's prime minister recently affirmed his government's intention to build a peninsula-spanning pipeline to pump oil from the Middle East. This ambitious project will lower crude oil transport costs to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan and avoid transport through Singapore and the Straits of Malacca. It will reduce the risks of tanker accidents and pirate attacks in the strait and enhance regional energy security.


Increase petrol price call urged

BAHRAIN must start charging higher prices for petrol and utilities such as electricity and water if the country is to improve its efforts to cut carbon emissions, according to experts who attended a high-profile environmental event.


Scottish Power considers clean coal conversions

Scottish Power is looking at converting its two biggest power stations to clean coal technology, the company said on Thursday.


Europe looks to a new generation of atomic energy

After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, most European nations turned away from nuclear power - but global warming has forced a change of heart.


Why We Keep On Truckin'

It's been a rough stretch of road for the U.S. auto industry. Last Monday, we learned that Daimler had sold Chrysler for scrap metal. President Bush vowed to start regulating tailpipe emissions. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced new low-carbon fuel standards, a firm shove to the entire transportation sector. And gas prices hit an all-time high -- bad news for carmakers that keep cranking out gas guzzlers. But probably the worst moment came the week before last, on the reality TV show "Survivor," when Yau-Man gave the pickup truck to Dreamz.


Rising gas prices may fuel minicars' popularity

Will Americans ever take to minicars the way people in many other parts of the world have?

And even then, would they ever embrace one as small as DaimlerChrysler's tiny Smart Fortwo?


KazMunaiGaz to sell refined products to world markets

Kazakhstan intends to sell refined products, not only crude, in the world markets. This is, undoubtedly, more profitable. To this end, over the past few years, the country has been trying to acquire, or build, a refinery abroad. However, so far it has been unsuccessful in “opening a window to Europe.” But Kazakhstan is not discouraged, and it is now looking southeast.


Dominican Republic: Fuels up again, gasoline at all-time high

Fuel prices have gone up yet again, and with an increase of RD$2.40 gasoline is at an all-time high price of RD$149.90.


Peak Oil Now? New Data Leads to Speculation

New data from the U.S. government shows something disturbing. We may be looking at the peak of oil production, right now.


High gas prices spur some families into taking action

Soaring gasoline prices recently led David Martin to seek out an alternative.

The rural Okmulgee County resident last week bought his wife Charlotte a 2001 Chevy Cavalier designed to run on either regular unleaded gasoline or compressed natural gas. Natural gas costs 94 cents a gallon, a price unseen by gasoline customers in at least six years.


A Return to the Land, for Fuel

Here on the West Side of Maui, where lush mountainsides and the warm waters of the Alalakeiki Channel juxtapose increasingly crowded roadways and a spate of new luxury hotels, the push for renewable energy has found an unlikely advocate: the chief executive of one of the most aggressive developers on the island.


Readers Sound Off on gas prices

The price of gas is hurting everyone, pushing up the cost of everything we have to buy. The price of food has gone up, the price of material for anything we do is up, transportation surcharges are up on deliveries. The people who drive to work are seeing shrinking incomes due to these costs. And the worst part is that the oil companies have created these oil supply shortages by shutting down refineries. OPEC has been saying for years that there's plenty of crude oil available. But the oil industry is causing the shortage on purpose.


Here's how Toronto could generate a little heat

This is where the new idea comes in: Why not clean the methane where it's produced and put it into one of the natural gas lines serving Toronto? Methane is, after all, the basic component of natural gas. It's a way of "transporting" the methane, and it would allow the city to install electricity generators where the heat they produce could be used.


Australia: Power cuts, bigger bills on the way

THE water shortage across eastern Australia is now so acute it has begun to affect power supplies, and the country is at risk of electricity shortages next year.

"I think we are in denial, and are going to have brownouts in NSW if we don't get snow this winter," a source within the electricity market told the Herald.

Coal and hydro power generation require very large amounts of water, and the Snowy scheme depends on it for 86 per cent of its generation capacity.


Last Light, by Alex Scarrow

After several years of research into an issue that affects us all, Alex Scarrow has written a chilling thriller that depicts in a harrowingly convincing way just how fragile our society really is, and how we are only a hair's breadth away from its collapse. It begins on a very normal Monday morning. But in the space of only a few days, the world's oil supplies have been severed and at a horrifying pace things begin to unravel everywhere. And this is no natural disaster: someone is behind this. Oil engineer Andy Sutherland is stranded in Iraq with a company of British soldiers, desperate to find a way home to his family, trapped as transport links and the very infrastructure of daily life begins to collapse around him.

Back in Britain, his wife Jenny is stuck in Manchester, fighting desperately against the rising chaos to get back to London, where their children are marooned as events begin to spiral out of control; riots, raging fires, looting, rape and murder. In the space of a week, London is transformed into a lawless and anarchic vision of Hell.


Ahmadinejad and the petrol paradox

He is the son of a blacksmith, portrays himself as a champion of the working man and was swept to power pledging to put Iran’s “oil income on people’s tables”. But despite high oil prices, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has failed to raise living standards. Moreover, Opec’s second biggest oil exporter is venturing into the controversial territory of petrol rationing — a politically sensitive but economically essential measure that has been stalled over for a decade.


Schwarzenegger Rejects BHP Billiton's LNG Proposal

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected BHP Billiton Ltd.'s proposed $800 million natural gas-import facility because it would harm the environment.


At Honda, nothing goes to waste

Honda, working with the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), a foundation established by the government and private companies, is jointly developing a new method of producing the alcohol fuel using the parts of crops that humans do not eat.


Refiners cash in on high gasoline prices

Record gasoline prices are changing the equation of the refining business, generating unprecedented profits for the companies that transform crude oil into fuel.


Gas prices high, well suck it up

Given that Canada is forced to sell petroleum to the U.S. at discount rates, thanks to Mulroney’s NAFTA deal, yes, we do pay more than we should.


Gas prices still climbing

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, Americans responded to skyrocketing prices by buying Toyotas and Mazdas and other gas-sipping imports. Now, while hybrid-electric Priuses have become status symbols since fuel prices started rising, gas guzzlers are still popular. Just ask Bill Hopper, owner of Hopper RV in Jacksonville, where a 31-foot used motor home costs $45,000, even though it gets 8 to 10 miles per gallon.


Ghana: Old manpower devices are back in vogue

There is a saying that necessity is the mother of all inventions, and Ghanaians struggling with the constant lights-out are certainly putting this into practice, with manpower appliances increasingly taking the place of electrical-powered goods.


There are ways to alleviate high gas prices, but action is needed

Who knows, maybe when our children are grown, they'll be driving cars powered by water or by the sun. The possibilities are endless, but in order to avoid pain at the pump, we have to continue moving forward, so one day there will be a solution.


UN: No excuse for lack of action on climate change

"There is no remaining excuse for the governments not to act on climate change. We have the existing technology to reduce emissions," said Yvo de Boer, the head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), at the end of a two-week conference in the western German city of Bonn.


Midwest mulls government help with gasoline crunch

Fuel marketers in the Midwest are considering asking for government help to ease a gasoline supply crunch that has pushed pump prices in the region well above the already record-high national average.

...Fuel marketers said they are mulling requesting waivers that would allow truckers to drive more hours to get additional supplies to the market, or permission to temporarily sell gasoline that doesn't meet federal environmental regulations.


Mexico Pemex Hopes Chicontepec Zone Can Stop Oil Output Fall

Mexico hopes to boost oil production at the under-developed Chicontepec area over the next decade to help offset declining output at the country's largest field, Cantarell.


Gunmen kidnap 3 Indians in Nigeria

Gunmen dynamited the front gate of a residential compound in southern Nigeria on Saturday and kidnapped three Indians in an attack that left one Nigerian dead, the military said.


Climate and the UN: A new bid for control?

At a recent United Nations debate, the UK argued that the Security Council should take a central role in responding to climate change. But, ask Felix Dodds and Richard Sherman in this week's Green Room, is this yet another way for rich nations to protect their own borders and interests?


Live Earth's hot air, burn oil instead: Daltrey

Rock legend Roger Daltrey blasted the forthcoming Live Earth event, saying exhausting the world's supply of oil would force more solutions to be found for climate change problems, in comments published Saturday.

The Who's singer questioned the value of the July 7 concerts and said a better idea would be to "burn all the oil" to force world leaders into action.

The transcript of this week's API conference call on gas prices is up:

http://www.energytomorrow.org/media_center/May_16_transcript.pdf

There are some errors in the transcript, but I intend to pull out excerpts and post them in an essay. There were 3 TODers on the call - Alan, Chris Miller (dryki), and myself.

That's it. I'm burning all my Who albums.
Isn't it great that rock stars get more media attention on peak oil then the learned editors of TOD.

How much oil is is sequestered in old albums?

I wonder how many G-5's it will take to get them there??

FF

I agree with Mr. Daltrey, this is just more profiteering off of climate change hype. Al Gore "played" here at the local arena for $250k with a $200k sponsorship from my company and did a second "show" that night in Calgary. He flew in and out of Canada with 1/2 million in one day without smashing a single guitar.

I wasn't offended when the company I worked for sponsored the Rolling Stones to play here last summer, but Al upset me. The corporate sponsorship for the Rolling Stones for two shows brought a huge economic gain to the city. Al has nothing to say worth the $75 ticket and the last thing he needs is to be subsidized by Saskatchewan.

Roger Daltry is on the right track; if all the oil is burnt, then the economy of the elite will be in shambles--it's all about class. At least that's what I think he's getting at having listened and wacthed The Who closely over their career

"I don't care about pollution
I'm an air-conditioned gypsy
that's my solution
watch the police and the tax man miss me"

"I don't wanna cause no fuss
but can I buy your magic bus?

I want it
I want it
I want it
I want it
... you CAN'T have it!"

...permission to temporarily sell gasoline that doesn't meet federal environmental regulations

I think that we saw this one coming.

Best Hopes for Smog,

Alan

Yeah. Was it Hirsh who predicted that we'd avoid economic collapse, via environmental devastation, or some such thing?

The first to go will be the environmental laws.

That's why I have said that global warming worries me more than peak oil. We will throw all kinds of environmental concerns right out the window when it is clear that energy is depleting. We will burn anything and everything (CTL, for instance) with little regard for the environmental consequences. Some of the "easiest" mitigation strategies for resource depletion are those with the most serious environmental impacts.

We will burn anything and everything...

I thought we were burning anything and everything now.

In a world powered by petroleum, this is the "heroin is a better recreational drug than crystal meth" discussion again. I think I used that analogy before in a comment on ethanol blend vs. straight gasoline emmisions. There is a difference, but neither one are exactly healthy.

I thought we were burning anything and everything now.

Not quite. We haven't chopped down all the national forests yet. We aren't drilling ANWR...yet. And most people aren't burning plastic bottles and PVC pipe for heat, or digging up the roads to burn the asphalt.

Yeah, but they weren't burning it. There was little environmental consequence to their actions.

but they weren't burning it.

I know, but with metal price increases, metal theft is on a drastic rise and it's a forewarning of what will happen with increased energy cost. I really can't see someone ripping up asphalt and burning it scaling to an environmental issue, North American people just aren't that ambitious, but $3-4 gasoline in bulk storage is pretty tempting.

In a warming climate, our best hope for saving the temperate forests is to keep the trees on a moderately wide spacing, so the root systems will be more resistant to drought, and to concentrate on growing the more drought resistant and heat resistant trees. This is where biomass harvest can be very beneficial. In my region, the more resistant trees are ponderosa pine and black oak. Most of the white fir will die out, one way or the other, at middle elevations.

LSU (Louisiana State University) Forestry Dept. is about 5 years away from widespread public offering of salt tolerant bald cypress trees.

A small scale project where cuttings were taken from the few surviving trees after salt water intrusion (canals to service oil fields often let in salt water). These cuttings were grafted (and seed collected from these same trees, pollinated from nearby survivors). A new generation of interbreed salt tolerant trees was exposed to salt stress in the greenhouse and survivors selected from that.

Seedlings from these selected survivors are available for selected planting today and the volume is ramping up quickly for general release.

Bald cypress trees in watery swamps accumulate soil around their roots and "knobs" and reclaim land. They also prevent soil erosion and they add significantly to the friction for high winds. The wood is quite valuable, which sets up future problems/decisions. Most of the old growth cypress was cut and ended up in New Orleans homes.

Clearly, new bald cypress plantings are a carbon sink (directly for the trees and indirectly for the accumulated organic matter around them that builds up into "soil"). And, after thinning in ~70 to 90 years, the wood will likely be used for furniture or housing, half of the carbon will stay sequestered.

However, the Corps of Engineers does not believe in biological controls and opposes planting them just offshore from levees.

Best Hopes for more bald cypress trees !

Alan

"digging up the roads to burn the asphalt"

Thanks for the tip. Will make my next winter more economical.

I assume the redwood forest will make up some juicy biofuel in a not so distant future .... suitable for the Mars rockets in 2030 or so

I already volunteered for that trip - due to obvious reasons discussed at this forum

The only glimmer of hope that I see is that the most important mitigation actions for both GW and PO are the same: energy efficiency + renewables. Those who are not convinced that GW is real might be convinced about PO, and those that are not conviced that PO is real might be convinced about GW.

Only?

What about population? What about contolling it?

What worries me most is that peak oil - since we are not preparing for it - will damage our economy to such an extent that we will not have the financial capacity to replace our coal fired power plants with clean energy before we reach the threshold temperature increase for the start of the disintegration of our icesheets in Greenland and West Antarctica. That point of no return is less than 1 degree C equal to less than 450 ppm CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

Listen to NASA climatologist James Hansen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0hHlxaYNb0

"We had in the last 30 years 1 degree F (= 0.5 degrees C) warming but there is another 1 degree F that's in the pipeline due to gases already in the atmosphere just because it takes the climate system time to respond to the changes in the atmosphere. And there is another 1 F in the pipeline because of energy infrastructure which is in place for example power plants and vehicles which we are not going to take off the road even if we decide that we have to address this problem...you have to gradually make changes....."

"Icesheets are not as immutable as we once thought. We now have this spectacular gravity satellite which measures the mass of the Greenland icesheet and it shows that it has been decreasing by 150 km3 per year over the last few years and of even greater concern is the Antarctic ice sheet has also been decreasing at about the same rate.."

And here are some videos:

Icemelt in Greenland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ujWi_P0QU

Glacier Melting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbQjukRmLSg&mode=related&search=

Arctic Sea Ice summer Minimum 1990 to 2049
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH8nJ5PMYhQ&mode=related&search=#

The economy will collapse by itself anyway without PO or Climate Change. What we are facing is multiple collapses; economic, energy, climate and ecological with geopolitical chaos thrown in for free. It is certainly possible that we could overcome one by itself, but not all together. Combined each one will block any mitigation of the others, meaning we will be sitting ducks, essentially defenceless. There is no escaping it, we're going to be in the grip of a positive feedback loop which is anything but positive for us.

Earth's natural defences against climate change 'beginning to fail'
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/climate_change/article2556466....

Climate change may force mass migration
http://www.hindu.com/seta/2007/05/17/stories/2007051700061500.htm

The entire system of civilisation is currently stuck on stupid and cannot respond to the multiple threats sensibly, so we're going to have to take the hit head-on.

"Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth." Albert Schweitzer

It's an accelerating race to the bottom.

--
Authentic learning ends where faith begins.
Are Humans Smarter Than Yeast?"

Since there aren't 16 fundamentally different kinds of smog, or whatever the number of boutique blends is up to now, I don't see the slightest harm in this. The formulation that corrupt legislators in state A demand in order to purchase votes by lining pockets will probably work just as well in state B as the trivially different formulation demanded by the corrupt legislators of state B. And, realistically, in most places, the overwrought concern over "smog" has become mainly something for people with too much time on their hands to worry over, like the endless oh-puhleeze postings about "toxins" over on Matt Savinar's site.

PaulS is exactly the sort of person representative of those who will see the world destroyed in order to fulfill their puerile neocon fantasies.

I have met so many relatively bright people who have this evil little bug in their minds that somehow protecting the environment is a political act designed not to protect but to enrich some group somewhere.

The problem is these people are bright enough to type, but not bright enough to think. Come the big dieoff, these people will be the parasites on society, and we will have to hunt them down like the vermin they are and mash them into roach paste.

Good luck, vermin.

Hey PaulS, have you ever been to the Inland Empire???

May I suggest that PaulS go and have his blood serum tested for toxins and post the results here. Otherwise, judging by this post and if I was him, I'd be worried that the results would prove beyond a doubt that he's so full of them that they're blinding him to the fact that we are all now practically certifiable as walking-talking hazardous waste sites.

Bicycle Friendly Cities

Five Communities Earn BFC Status
Cities from Austin, Texas to LaCrosse, Wis. Recognized for BicyCle Friendliness

Washington, DC – Five cities across the United States can celebrate Bike to Work Week with the news that the League of American Bicyclists has awarded them the coveted designation of “Bicycle Friendly Community.” The award, given at levels from Bronze to Platinum, recognizes those communities that are improving conditions for bicyclists and bicycling.

Five cities are awarded the BFC designation for the first time:

Silver

Austin, Texas
San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Bronze

LaCrosse, Wis.
Park City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Fifteen communities successfully renewed their designation.

Gold

Corvallis, Ore.

Silver

Fort Collins, Colo.
Scottsdale, Ariz.

Bronze

Ada County Highway District, Idaho
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Beaverton, Ore.
Bend, Ore.
Burlington, Vt.
Cary, N.C.
Chico, Calif.
Denver, Colo.
Mesa, Ariz.
Redmond, Wash.
Schaumburg, Ill.
Shawnee, Kan.

“We salute these communities for their tremendous commitment to improving conditions for bicyclists,” said Andy Clarke, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “They are making the streets safer for bicycling, educating bicyclists and motorists to share the road, promoting a wide range of bicycling activities and even stepping up the enforcement of traffic laws to protect bicyclists.”

Notable features of this round of applications include:

Austin, Texas recently updated their 1998 bicycle plan, and included $2 million in bicycle-specific funding. The city offers weekly Road I courses, has a maintenance hotline, and promotes bicycling year round.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. has a strong cycling culture and recently created a safe and fast route into downtown from the south side of town, allowing cyclists to avoid a high-volume, narrow right-of-way arterial.

LaCrosse, Wis. has a strong education program. All schools have extracurricular activities centered around cycling, and the school district provides bicycles and helmets for use at elementary schools.

Park City, Utah is a great town for mountain bicyclists, and understands the importance of connectivity in the bike network. The community also has a Complete Streets policy that will be implemented starting this year.

Salt Lake City, Utah has a great bicycle culture and a strong Complete Streets policy that was initiated by the mayor in January 2007. With improvements planned for its cycling infrastructure and great in-town mountain biking, this city has a lot to offer cyclists.

About the BFC Program & the League

The BFC program was initiated in 2003 and has received applications from more than 170 communities. Designations have been awarded to 63 cities and counties. Applicants complete a detailed on-line form with numerous questions in five key areas: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation/planning. Local cyclists, national experts, and League staff review the applications. To learn more, visit www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org.

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of 57 million American cyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org or www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org.

-------
One note. I have spent months on the Phoenix/Scottsdale border helping my parents in the winter months & holidays. Superb bike lanes I agree. But outside of a few dozen weekend recreational cyclists, I have noted just 3 apparent transportation bicyclists of work weekdays.

So even though Scottsdale makes the list, usage is FAR less than New Orleans for transportation bicycling. Still, it is good to have the infrastructure in place when TSHTF.

Best Hopes,

Alan

Excerpt from a related Press release

Notable features of this round of applications include:

Jackson, Wyo. has a fantastic master plan that outlines non-motorized modes-shift goals, the total number of paths and a complete streets guide for the entire county.

Carmel, Ind. took the League’s advice to heart during its first application. In the past two years it has made significant improvements, including raising $3.4 million for bicycling projects through a bond issue.

Louisville, Ky. has a bicycle master plan that is the envy of many cities, and has begun implementing it with pride. To see their aggressive plan for success, visit their Web site here: http://www.louisvilleky.gov/BikeLouisville/bikefriendly.htm

Roswell, Ga. spent almost $1.5 million on trails and paths for bicyclists and pedestrians during fiscal year 2006.

St. Petersburg, Fla. acquisitioned 2.1 miles of abandoned rail corridor to connect the popular Pinellas trail with downtown St. Petersburg. This acquisition was the result of a two-year effort.

Sacramento, Calif. constructed many new bike trails and lanes in newly developing areas of the city.

San Jose, Calif. invested $1.4 million in the River Oaks Bicyclist & Pedestrian Bridge in North San Jose, and the project was completed and opened in May 2006.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. has a solid infrastructure of existing trails, and the funding to maintain them through public bonds. The city also has an active community bicycle advisory committee.

Best Hopes for Non-Oil Transportation,

Alan

I recently spent nearly three years in Corvallis, OR, and did much biking. The cohesion of bike routes in that community is one thing I miss greatly (it's wonderful!)--and I currently reside in Beaverton. Biking here is ok, but I'm not sure I would have given it a bronze, given some of the challenges I have to face in places just to cycle a few miles. On some of my routes to specific parks and shopping, I sometimes have to pedal among the maelstrom of speeding SUVs and pickups that I would much rather be better isolated from. Anyway, at least there has been some decent effort here, but with room for further improvements.

I'm really tired of the drivers who swerve FAR into the bike lane after passing me. I'm sure that, sometimes (often?), this is an act of aggression. People driving large pickup trucks seem the most prone to doing this. :o|

-best,

Wolf

Once I was riding from Monterey to Santa Cruz, and an oncoming Gold Suburban pulled out into my lane at some distance away to pass a car in front of him. Once he had passed the car and could safely pull back in, he instead continued in my lane and kept accelerating toward my until rode my bicycle off the pavement--then he returned to his lane.

They don't like you. You're a threat. Among other things, you spent less money to be there than they did.

Can't really reconcile that list with this list... but here's the current list

http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/AllBicycleFriendlyCommunities.ht...

All Current Bicycle Friendly Communities

Platinum (1)
Davis, California (pdf)

Gold (7)
Boulder, Colorado (pdf)
Corvallis, Oregon (pdf)
Madison, Wisconsin
Palo Alto, California (pdf)
Portland, Oregon (pdf)
San Francisco, California
Tucson/Pima Eastern Region, Arizona (pdf)

Silver (12)

Austin, Texas
Bellingham, Washington

Chicago, Illinois (pdf)

Eugene, Oregon (pdf)
Folsom, California (pdf)
Fort Collins, Colorado (pdf)

Gainesville, Florida (pdf)
Jackson, Wyoming
San Luis Obsipo, Calif.
Santa Barbara, California (pdf)
Scottsdale, Arizona (pdf)
Tempe, Arizona (pdf)

Bronze (43)

Albuquerque, New Mexico (pdf)
Ann Arbor, Michigan (pdf)
Arlington, Virginia (pdf)
Ashland, Oregon (pdf)
Auburn, Alabama (pdf)
Beaverton, Oregon (pdf)
Bend, Oregon (pdf)
Bloomington, Indiana (pdf)
Boca Raton, Florida (pdf)
Brentwood, California
Brunswick, Maine (pdf)
Burlington, Vermont (pdf)
Carmel, Indiana
Carrboro, North Carolina (pdf)
Cary, North Carolina (pdf)
Chandler, Arizona (pdf)
Chattanooga, Tennessee (pdf)
Denver, Colorado (pdf)
Flagstaff, Arizona
Gilbert, Arizona (pdf)
LaCrosse, Wis.
Lawrence, Kansas (pdf)
Longmont, Colorado (pdf)
Louisville, Kentucky
Mesa, Arizona (pdf)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mountain View, California (pdf)
Orlando, Florida (pdf)
Park City , Utah
Presidio of San Francisco, CA
Redmond, Washington (pdf)
Roswell, Georgia
Sacramento, California
Salt Lake City, Utah
St. Petersburg, Florida
San Jose, California
Schaumburg, Illinois (pdf)
Shawnee, Kansas (pdf)
South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
South Sioux City, Nebraska
Sunnyvale, California
Vancouver, Washington (pdf)
Washington, DC (pdf)

I’m 55 now, and am within walking range of practically everything, so I haven’t driven a bike in years. But from the time I was in the seventh grade until about 15 years ago, I rode various 10-speed bicycles EVERYWHERE, for a total of approximately 50,000 miles. I rode a Schwinn Varsity for many years, and went from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe (via Echo Summit, US 50) on it, from SF to Clear Lake four or five times, up the California coast to Ft. Bragg (where I cheated and threw the bike on the Skunk Railway and rode over the hill to Willits) and then down back to SF, from SF to Yosemite, on which voyage I slept in a gaol and got hypothemia, as well as many other three and four day trips. All this was back in the 1970’s. And nobody riding ten-speeds back then really thought about bike-lanes or places being “bike-friendly”; bikers just got out on the damn road, and went wherever they pleased. Also I recall an article in an early ‘70s edition of “Bicycling!” magazine that panned bike lanes (then a new concept) as a bad thing that would lull their users into a false sense of security. And I have never had any of the negative experiences with motorists as those described above.

Antoinetta III