Biofuels are NOT the answer.

The full Time/CNN story here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html
March 27, 2008
-by Michael Grunwald

A few quotes from the article:

..."several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally disastrous. Even cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass, which has been promoted by eco-activists and eco-investors as well as by President Bush as the fuel of the future, looks less green than oil-derived gasoline."

"Meanwhile, by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year."

..."using land to grow fuel leads to the destruction of forests, wetlands and grasslands that store enormous amounts of carbon."

"The environmental cost of this cropland creep is now becoming apparent. One groundbreaking new study in Science concluded that when this deforestation effect is taken into account, corn ethanol and soy biodiesel produce about twice the emissions of gasoline."

"People don't want to believe renewable fuels could be bad," says the lead author, Tim Searchinger, a Princeton scholar and former Environmental Defense attorney. "But when you realize we're tearing down rain forests that store loads of carbon to grow crops that store much less carbon, it becomes obvious."

"Why is so much money still being poured into such a misguided enterprise? Like the scientists and environmentalists, many politicians genuinely believe biofuels can help decrease global warming. It makes intuitive sense: cars emit carbon no matter what fuel they burn, but the process of growing plants for fuel sucks some of that carbon out of the atmosphere."

"There was just one flaw in the calculation: the studies all credited fuel crops for sequestering carbon, but no one checked whether the crops would ultimately replace vegetation and soils that sucked up even more carbon. It was as if the science world assumed biofuels would be grown in parking lots. The deforestation of Indonesia has shown that's not the case. It turns out that the carbon lost when wilderness is razed overwhelms the gains from cleaner-burning fuels."

..."the market drives behavior, so without incentives to prevent deforestation, the Amazon is doomed. It's unfair to ask developing countries not to develop natural areas without compensation."

My guess is that there will not be a magic solution to the eventual decline of oil production to allow us to continue consuming the extraordinary amounts of energy that we have become accustomed to. There is always going to be an ugly side-effect of any energy source that allows us to do the amount of work that we are able to with cheap oil.

As far as I am concerned, biofuel should be the burrito that you eat after your bike ride.

Man, this wind really blows.

The commute yesterday was rather windy. I actually ride into the wind both ways...it comes from the east as the sun warms up the air, then in the evening the wind blows from the west/southwest off the ocean. Yesterday's evening winds were especially gusty. By the time I got home I was wiped out. The outside of me was cold, and I was burning up inside. I would still rather ride the bike, but sometimes the commute can be a bit challenging. I'm sure these winds were nothing compared to what a lot of riders endure, but it is all relative. It just makes me appreciate the nice days even more.
This morning's ride in was calm, but with the cool temps I was freezing when I started, complete with almost numb fingers. By the time I got to work I had starting warming up, then realized that I was sweating under the layers of clothing. Sometimes it is hard to dress accordingly for a fairly short ride like this. But, that's OK. At least it is still an adventure. Part of the fun of cycling is experiencing the elements, not always riding in a shell being protected from them.

Back in the Saddle Again

Finally getting back into the cycling groove after not riding for over 3 weeks due to sickness and weather. The warmer, sunny weather has been a welcomed change. The riding has been a bit hard, but slowly getting back to normal. Some inspirational reading from the Practical Pedal helped. Reading their latest edition about winter cycling made me glad to have the nice weather that I have to ride in. Even though they publish their issues online, I subscribed to their print edition also. I know it uses trees, uses transportation to deliver, etc., but there is still something about holding a printed paper, book or whatever, and turning the pages, reading it front to back. Especially when feeling lousy like I was, lying on the couch reading a paper was much easier than trying to sit at a computer reading a screen.
I also learned today that I can fit a case of Girl Scout cookies in my messenger bag...and my lunch...and a change of clothes. Pretty sweet!

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

The last couple of weeks have been a struggle with a cold and what I believe to be a sinus infection. The first 3 or 4 days were rather rough, then I started becoming coherent again. I thought it would all be over within a couple more days. I figured I would just take it easy, no biking or hiking, get plenty of rest, and this will be knocked out soon enough. Days and days have now passed, and the lingering sinus and general tiredness have not really improved. Been trying natural and homeopathic treatments, but nothing seems to be bringing much relief. As much as I believe in the body's natural ability to heal itself and faith in natural resources, I am about to give in and go to the doctor. I'm sure I will end up getting a round of antibiotics if I go. As much as I hear about how bad our overuse of antibiotics is, there comes a point where you just want to feel better. I know they are over-prescribed, often not even for a bacterial infection, and they can lead to a built up intolerance to infections in the future.
It has been discouraging not having the energy to do anything active. It has been about 2 weeks without riding the bike, and I am just about at the breaking point for that. To top it off, we have about 3 or 4 days of cold, rainy weather in the forecast, so I'll probably be stuck at least until next week. Can't wait.

Messenger Bag or Panniers

The question of the week...to go with a messenger bag or panniers for bike commuting? I've been using a messenger bag for a few weeks now, and although it is very cool looking, I am wondering about the long term practicality of it. It is quick and easy to stuff the normal commuting items like a change of clothes and lunch, throw it over my shoulder and go. However, it can get old always having the bag on your back. Panniers would allow me to let the bike carry the bags and get the load of my back. With panniers, though, the bike has to be outfitted with a front or rear rack to accommodate them. This probably wouldn't be a big deal since I usually only commute with one of two bikes. One already has a rear rack, and the other one can easily be fitted with one. There is the added time of removing the pannier, but that shouldn't be a big deal, either.
For simply commuting I don't think it makes much difference which way to go. I'm thinking more long term...things like going out for longer rides and wanting to bring along a few things. This would get rather uncomfortable with a bag on my back. I'm also daydreaming about some short touring adventures, hopefully with the family. This would obviously favor panniers over a bag.
As I write this, the panniers seem more and more like the right thing for me. Now I just need to figure out a way to unload my messenger bag and score a pair of nice panniers.

Slow Ride

On New Year's Day I went for a bike ride...all of probably 1 mile, and it was great. What made it great was not how far I rode, but who I rode with. My whole family went riding at a nearby lake. I was on an old Schwinn 5 speed, my wife on her old Trek mountain bike, my 8 year old daughter on her first "real" 2 wheeler, and my 6 year old son on the hand-me-down 2 wheeler with training wheels. We just rode the short distance by the lake on a relatively flat paved trail, stopping at about 1/4 mile to feed some ducks. Then we proceeded back and stopped at another spot to feed more ducks. We then rode about another 1/4 mile to another area to again feed the ducks and have a little snack for ourselves. Obviously, the riding of bikes was not the main objective of this little outing, spending time with the family was. It was nice getting outdoors on a fairly mild day and actually doing something together.
Part of me cannot wait until the kids are old enough to really go on bike rides with me. Yet, I also don't want them growing up too fast. For as much as I love riding, we don't seem to be able to all get out and ride together as I wish we did. Maybe investing in a tag-along bike or tandem would make it easier? We have a trailer, but the kids have just about outgrown that. Anyway, even these little riding adventures beat sitting around the house watching TV or listening to the kids argue over everything. Now I just need to make sure we do them more often.

The Good and Bad for Bicycle Parking

Just saw two stories on Carectomy about bicycle parking, one good and one bad. First, the good. At the San Fransisco baseball stadium, Giants' AT&T Park, the S.F. Bicycle Coalition helps to offer valet parking for bikes at events there. People who rides their bikes to the park don't have to worry about finding a place to lock up their bikes. There is covered storage for about 200 bikes available.
Now for the bad. The New York Times recently moved their office to a new building. This new building was promoted to be green and sustainable. The designers seemed to have left out one relatively small, but important, aspect - bike parking. Several Times employees commute by bike, and at their old building they had good parking. At the new office, they have none. For a while, a friendly security guard let one worker bring in his bike through a freight elevator. But, that suddenly stopped. Out of frustration, some employees began locking their bikes to parts of the building outside. Eventually, the Times created a small room to store bikes for employees, but seems to be inadequate for number of commuters, and requires a permit.
To me, this is just another example of big businesses touting that they are green or environmentally friendly or sustainable, but overlook some of the most simplest and obvious things we can do make a real difference.