bike travel and BP oil spill

[dubovsmj]

Curious as to folks' thoughts on this.

1- Have you changed a planned bicycle trip d/t having to DRIVE or FLY to a starting location?

2- Has ACA done anything in regards to addressing their SUPPORTED and EVENTS tours seeing those tours consume a large quantity of fossil fuels to drive peoples' gear around, etc.

3- Are people boycotting BP/any other gas companies?

Anyways, just curious seeing people see and use bicycle travel for different reasons.

[Jason]

Interesting questions.

As an aside, I would hope, if anything, that the oil spill doesn't not impact on someone's decision to ride through that part of the country.  Granted, with the weather currently this time of year, the Southern Tier is usually not a main travel destination.  Though, in saying that, the people of the area - most certainly the RV parks and local hotels - are hurting for any type of local tourism.

I'm sure I speak for anyone who has ridden along the Southern Tier when I say that this segment of the route stands out given the graciousness and hospitality of the locals.

[waynemyer]

3- Are people boycotting BP/any other gas companies?

Just attempting to boycott petrol in general inasmuch as is realistic.  I buy locally sourced, ethically raised, biodiverse foods when available.  I avoid monoculture and industrial agriculture foods.  No car for four years now.  I avoid passive transportation as much as possible.  I am trying to move my company to paperless processes.  It's all a journey...

[tonythomson]

I go along fully with using my bike if practical and buying local produce whenever possible and def will not eat in the chain restaurants.  BUT this is mainly selfish as I see it more of a healthy lifestyle for me and my family rather than trying to change how the world has developed, of course if it helps great.  But no illusions on this score.  I despair at how things have gone and am astonished that people still buy into it. On my recent tours people ask interested questions and then proudly say "oh I couldn't even cycle across the parking lot" like, can't you hear what you are saying and the impact you are having on yourself and the world! I keep those thoughts to myself though as who am I to judge their choice of life style.

OK off the soap box now 

[indyfabz]

3- Are people boycotting BP/any other gas companies?

Just attempting to boycott petrol in general inasmuch as is realistic.  I buy locally sourced, ethically raised, biodiverse foods when available.  I avoid monoculture and industrial agriculture foods.  No car for four years now.  I avoid passive transportation as much as possible.  I am trying to move my company to paperless processes.  It's all a journey...

+1

And I was infuriated by the Congresswoman from LA on GMA today making a cse to a hsty return to deep water drilling because of the job losses attendant to the moratorium.  She kept esposing some "economic analysis" supporting her position.  Looks like this entire situation was created by an "economic anaysis" that weighed cost savings against risk.  Sometimes the dice don't roll your way.  This is too serious to risk another.

[whittierider]

Kind of off-topic, but I'll bite.

As I understand it, the problem would not have happened if they had stuck to stafety standards that are already in place.  I expect that they have probably learned their lesson now, and they know their violation wasn't worth it.

I do drive, but only about a thousand miles a year.  I ride bike many times that much.  We have people not wanting any drilling in our local hills, and my reaction is, "Then quit driving."  There's all this push for more-efficient vehicles too, yet it has been proven that more-efficient ones only make people feel free to drive more miles.

The county of Los Angeles is holding public meetings around the area to address the needs of bicycle transportation.  See http://lacountybikeplan.org/ .  I plan to go to the one closest to me, and to be prepared to speak and possibly show pictures if there's a chance.  We have quite a few nice bike trails that are truly bike freeways or "bikebahns," not cluttered with strollers and dogs and so on, suitable for any speed you can achieve.  (I've done 5 miles in 9 minutes in a great tailwind.)  They mostly follow the rivers though, and if the rivers don't go the direction you need to go, then the trails aren't much good.  There ought to be at least a trail running along the windward side of every freeway.  The land is already there, and spending a little extra on a bike trail would relieve traffic congestion and reduce the cost of maintaining the freeways probably more than enough to pay for itself.  What I don't have figured out is how to have the trail cross the on and off ramps, whether by putting the bike traffic through tunnels or over bridges.

[indyfabz]

I don't think "probably" is good enough.  And they surely knew what risks they were taking and the potential consequences, yet they rolled the dice anyway.

It's funny.  In another venue I posted a link to an article about the dangers of fracture drilling in the Marcellus Shale.  One industry spokesman dimissed the concerns with the usual "Don't worry.  We have been doing this for a while and have a great track record."  (Sound familiar?)  Two days later a Marcellus Shale drilling accident sent natural gas and poisoned water shooting as high as 75 ft. into the air until it was shut down 16 hrs. later.  The well was located near a state park and ecologically senstitive area.

Google the film "Gasland."

Some risks are not worth it to save $.05 on a gallon of gasoline 0r 100 cf of natural gas.

[waynemyer]

As I understand it, the problem would not have happened if they had stuck to stafety standards that are already in place.  I expect that they have probably learned their lesson now, and they know their violation wasn't worth it.

No, they haven't learned, and probably won't unless there are some really severe penalties.  BP has already been convicted of felonies and has one suspended penalty hanging out for just such an occasion.  The severity of putting profits before safety is institutional and long-running.  I bet if we could sentence corporate boards for the crimes of the corporation, there would be a few more squeaky-clean corporations.

http://www.propublica.org/article/bp-had-other-problems-in-years-leading-to-gulf-spill
http://www.propublica.org/feature/years-of-internal-bp-probes-warned-that-neglect-could-lead-to-accidents
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127561853

[whittierider]

This spill has wiped out a lot of profits, but you're probably right about it not hurting the top executives enough.  What I'm against is the idea that environmental disasters are ok as long as they're on some other country's land where we don't see them while we live irresponsibly here, like our neighbors who drive 50 miles one-way for work every day in a huge 4WD pick-up or my bro-in-law who was driving about 70 miles each way for awhile, or another who had a little hybrid so he could live in the high desert and drive 60 miles in to work every day.

[dubovsmj]

Yeh..I was going to bring up point about how there are countless other environmental disasters going on, but just in other countries, that we most likely in some or another profit from.
I guess now the US knows what it feels like, to some degree.  Yet, I doubt this tragedy will really change the ways things are run around this country.  Unfortunately.  Seems like once the media "forgets" about it than so does everyone else, more or less.

I know I buy as much local food as possible and ride my bike and BOB trailer to food store a couple miles down road.  So I guess that's my small way of trying to reduce my consumption of oil.

Sometimes it's hard to feel like it's making a difference though, esp when something with such magnitude as the recent Gulf spill occurs.

Blargh.

[waynemyer]

Yeh..I was going to bring up point about how there are countless other environmental disasters going on, but just in other countries, that we most likely in some or another profit from.
I guess now the US knows what it feels like, to some degree.  Yet, I doubt this tragedy will really change the ways things are run around this country.  Unfortunately.  Seems like once the media "forgets" about it than so does everyone else, more or less.

I know I buy as much local food as possible and ride my bike and BOB trailer to food store a couple miles down road.  So I guess that's my small way of trying to reduce my consumption of oil.

Sometimes it's hard to feel like it's making a difference though, esp when something with such magnitude as the recent Gulf spill occurs.

Blargh.

The sharp end has to start somewhere.  At home is the most significant place.

[dubovsmj]

always a good thing to keep in mind!

[VernonHuffman]

Demonstrate your bicycle as a solution to oil spills with Bike4Peace. Join us at 10:00 AM in front of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on World Car-Free Day 22-Sept. http://b4p.bbnow.org/