Man powered machines have been around for quite a long time starting from the 1400’s, however, the closer models of bikes that we see today didn’t come into play until around the 1870’s. Though the exact details of who the inventor of the bike was isn’t quite clear, we know that bikes originally started out as an expensive hobby and as mass production took place the bike became a possible mode of transportation (Palermo). In today’s modern age we can see people riding their bikes to work, renting bikes to explore the city, or getting on their bikes to do some intense exercise. Even though a lot of time has passed since the invention of bikes, they only make up a small portion of the daily used transportation. Chicago is lacking behind compared
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There are drawbacks for not being ahead of the game, as well as valid reasons on why we are much less robust in the cycling culture. The reasons on why Chicago, and America in general is not a bike friendly country such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen outweigh the reasons on why it should be.
Looking at the drawback of not being a leading nation in biking is something that needs to be addressed as there are many reasons why it’s an eminent activity. Biking promotes good health and wellbeing not only for our bodies, but for our environment as well. Carbon dioxide is produced by burning fossil fuels, with the major contributor being automobiles and not only that, but America is responsible for 30% of the carbon dioxide in our air today (Wray). This is what leads to global warming and climate change and in turn, making our lifespan a much shorter one as we neglect to keep up with our own systems. The experience of riding a bike allows a person to feel the wind brush against them and gets their blood moving, resulting in the release of endorphins and promoting general …show more content…
They care about more of the sense in community rather than convince, shops and restaurants can close during the middle of the day and reopen only late in the evening. European countries have a strong relaxed lifestyle which doesn’t focus on minimal things like Americans do (Knox, Mayer). It will take a lifetime and a lot of commitment for America to be able to reach that slow paced lifestyle, with it would come the bikes and less need for cars. However, a more reasonable expectation for America would be to provide more reliable public transportation in cities all over the nation and the advancement of fuel efficient cars/electric powered cars. This solution would still provide jobs in the motor industry and the environment would be suffering slightly less with people owning environmentally friendlier cars. Harry Wray suggested that “Increasing taxes on gasoline, as European nations have done, is the most direct way to reduce driving. If gas prices were raised to $5 a gallon, people would not only drive less and carpool more; they would demand energy-efficient cars.” (Wray). Since his work was published in 2008, he wouldn’t have known that soon enough America would run into that exact situation. Resources running low and gas rising to approximately $4 and staying that way from
There are drawbacks for not being ahead of the game, as well as valid reasons on why we are much less robust in the cycling culture. The reasons on why Chicago, and America in general is not a bike friendly country such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen outweigh the reasons on why it should be.
Looking at the drawback of not being a leading nation in biking is something that needs to be addressed as there are many reasons why it’s an eminent activity. Biking promotes good health and wellbeing not only for our bodies, but for our environment as well. Carbon dioxide is produced by burning fossil fuels, with the major contributor being automobiles and not only that, but America is responsible for 30% of the carbon dioxide in our air today (Wray). This is what leads to global warming and climate change and in turn, making our lifespan a much shorter one as we neglect to keep up with our own systems. The experience of riding a bike allows a person to feel the wind brush against them and gets their blood moving, resulting in the release of endorphins and promoting general …show more content…
They care about more of the sense in community rather than convince, shops and restaurants can close during the middle of the day and reopen only late in the evening. European countries have a strong relaxed lifestyle which doesn’t focus on minimal things like Americans do (Knox, Mayer). It will take a lifetime and a lot of commitment for America to be able to reach that slow paced lifestyle, with it would come the bikes and less need for cars. However, a more reasonable expectation for America would be to provide more reliable public transportation in cities all over the nation and the advancement of fuel efficient cars/electric powered cars. This solution would still provide jobs in the motor industry and the environment would be suffering slightly less with people owning environmentally friendlier cars. Harry Wray suggested that “Increasing taxes on gasoline, as European nations have done, is the most direct way to reduce driving. If gas prices were raised to $5 a gallon, people would not only drive less and carpool more; they would demand energy-efficient cars.” (Wray). Since his work was published in 2008, he wouldn’t have known that soon enough America would run into that exact situation. Resources running low and gas rising to approximately $4 and staying that way from