Why Cycling Hurts the Environment?

Here's a kicker--bicycling and bike commuting hurts the environment.

So says UPenn scholar Karl Ulrich in an article published last week. Ulrich argues that while most environmentalists believe that any self-propelled transportation option is better than using fuel-burning, toxin-emitting cars and trucks, there's actually a hidden costs. If more people bike to work, they'll be in better physical shape, live longer, and ultimately consume more energy over the course of their lives than if they stayed sedentary, stuck to driving, and died early.

If that's the case, all environmentalists should start smoking immediately!

Ulrich's essay states that using a bicycle for limited trips to replace single-occupancy car outings can be helpful to the environment overall. Commuting, however, causes otherwise sedentary people to be active, burning up the energy that they store inside their bodies, and requiring more food and energy intake (with the associated food production costs) to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. With all those healthy bike commuters living longer, and consumming more in their later years, think of the costs!

Of course, I don't buy it. Think about all the energy and cost that is required just to burn fossil fuels, let alone fund the medical care for illnesses related to obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

Now if only we could get cyclists on the roads and in the gym to harness all that energy that they produce and sell it back to the power grid...