A bicycle is probably the most efficient means of transpo~tation for humans. It requires less human energy than walking, and it feels good- it's fast, too, when the distances aren't too long and the streets are safe. ·consider the cost,; this way: it takes 1500 hours of our time to travel and pay for traveling our yearly average of 7500 miles by car, including time to earn money to pay for car and repairs, time walking to car, parking it and waiting at stop lights and traffic jams. It takes only 750 hours of time to travel and pay for traveling the same distance by .bi~ (averaging 10 mph). See Ivan Illich, E11ergy and Equity (Harper and Row, 1975, $1.25). Our current road system in most places is designed for motor vehicles and actually discourages bicycle use. A number of states and communities have begun to establish bikeway programs, hut we still have a long way to go to even measure up to the Scandinavian systems. Interesting variations on bicycles are bicycle-powered vehicles. There is a very successful pedicab business for tourists in Seattle's Pioneer Square, and Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Bangkok have had Appropriate Teclmology IT Publications 9 King Road London, England t)uti-a~ $7/yr surface, $10. 50 airmail, quarterly. Often has excellent articles on bicycle ambulances, carts and other simple transport. "Bicycle Transportation," S.S. Wilson, Scientific American, March 1973. For more information on bicycle efficiency. The Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition c/o John Dowlin 3410 Baring Street Pl•iladelphia, PA 19104 . . . They are compiling a list of active bicycle organizat1ons-wnte them for price and availability. Cooking in woks the Chinese way and using the traditional cooking methods of other nations greatly decreases energy use- chopped food at higher temperatures for a sho,i,k~ give you a wide variety of excellent meals in 30 seconds! Better than MacDonald's by far. For a good wok cookbook, see Regional Cooking of C!Jiua, by Margaret Gin and Alfred Castle (101 Productions, 1975, $4.95). See also the January 1976 issue of RAIN for an overview of low-energy ooking, "Eatin Hi hand Lightly." ~ 'ftt~p:,rtatlon. . . _acc':mnts for 25% of the total ~.S. e~e~gy use. The best option for simpler, cheaper and lower energy patte~ns _is ehmmat1?g the need for transportat1on-hvmg near your work, or spending more time at home growing food or enJoymg your neighbors. Recent studies have clearly shown that increasing the density of areas substantially reduces the need for transportation-and zoning regulations which allow intermixing of businesses and residences can reduce the need to travel any further for daily necessities. ~t t~e same time, communities should provide viable a~ternatives to the increasingly unaffordable automobile. One opt10n 1s for a low-cost rent-a-car system for local use. Bemg able to get a car or van or pickup cheaply and easily when wanted can eliminate the expense and bother of owning a car (or several for different purposes) for people who have no use for a car in the city for weeks on end but do need some kind of vehicle occasionally. If buses (let alone trains) were to replace totally the automobile for transportation within our cities, that alone would create a 5% national energy savings. School buses can be built to allow their use as pib1ie tt'8fWl)O~ ~swell, o_r we c~n simply give the school children passes that allow th_em to rid: ~he (improved) public sfstem. !hts m_1ght provide a ~ne solution to some of the busing/desegration hassles m many c1t1es. You rarely see Japanese children m school buses they r_ide all over the city on public transit to different schools. Many Middle East and Latin American cities have intermediate systems of shared taxies, light buses and shut~le services. Some communities in this country are now instituting programs where a computer routes cars as people call m. Others are setting up cooperative shopping shuttles to various neighborhoods. A lot of energy and transportation costs could aiso be saved by clell~ ~ Bread, milk, fresh vegetables, c~uld come daily, or a centralized service would deliver phoned-m or~ers to gr~cery stores,;>department stores and the hke ~ .. a mort> c0.mmonl) used, localized U.P.S. Why not start on m your neighborhood. City gardens are important too- urban families can become a lot more ...... '-:l"Q:llfttJt; by growing vegetables on the roof, in window boxes, in the back yard, or even between the street and sidewalk when there's room. Take a look at: "the City People's Book of Raising Food Helga and Bill Olkowski Rod ale Press, J 97 5 Emmaus, PA 18049 $4.95 The Olkowskis are directors of the Farallones Institute Integral Urhan House (1516 5th Street, Berkeley, California), where on a tiny city lot they are raising enough food- including chickens and rabbits (and soon fish)- to feed the six people who live there. They also compost all their organic wastes to put on the garden, using a Clivus Multrum compost toilet and a normal leaf/vegetable compost pile. There's an important controversy going on about the amount of to~~~micals, like lead, in G c_..,,-,P'OW1\ ~ lfweclean up the air and cut way hack in our use of cars, the problem will he soh·ed. In the meantime, wash your lettuce! Other good folks to talk to: Institute for l.ocal Self-Reliance 1717 18th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20009 A lot of small cha future can be. Dia when put togethe we see now can he The bucolic atmos other streets, cree cities. The Ecotop1 see a charming sert There even seem t guess. ne-half of the land area of some cities is devoted to the care ~d use of the automobile. Consider freeways, streets, service stations, parking facilities and used car lots. One of the nicest visions of Ecotopia is the ~ of all that structure as autos become more expensive to operate. The Swedish Building Research Council has put out a report that deals with designing parking garages to permit later conversion to offices and apartments: Parking Facilities for Alternative Uses (R41-1975), by Jan Dyfverman and Jan-Erik Hollander, Svensk Byggtjanst, Box 1403, S-111, 84 Stockholm, Sweden. Available in English Synopses and Summaries, June, 1975 In many towns there are streets and alleyways which are not main traffic arteries and whose elimination would not be sorely missed in terms of parking, access to homes, garbage removal or fire lanes. Many of these • • 'eXU'a:~ if - converted to neighborhood greenspace, bicycle paths, or community gardens, would provide valuable land for the common good. We may see the day when cars are banned from cities all together-who can forget the charm of Venice? In the meantime, cities are beginning to establish disincentives for drivers, such as high parking fees in downtown areas, toll roads and fuel taxes. In many cases, such measures are being combined with graduated fees or special highway lanes to enourage car pooling.
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