Pa ( ENERGY ] "The Future of Synthetic Materials: The Petroleum Connection," by Christopher Flavin, Worldwatch Paper #36, $2.00 from: Worldwatch Institute .1776 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Overpackaging, breakable toys, polyester leisure suits: we tend to notice and comment on some of the more bizarre manifestations of the synthetics revolution, but the shift to imitation everything has been so gradual that it is startling to be reminded of just how far we have come. One-third of .all fiber and 70 percent of all rubber produced in the world is now synthetic. Worldwide production of synthetics increased from ten million tons in 1960 to eight times that figure in 1979. With a little perserverance ... 'IDµ can take '/Dµr bike virtµally anywhere. by John Dowlin "It is unfortunate," writes Raymond.Bridg~ in the Sierra Club Guide to Bike Touring, "that very few buses, trains and planes are set up foNransporting bicycles, since a bike is so beautifully complementary to public transit. With a little perseverance, though, you can take your bike virtually anywhere." By perseverance, of course, he means getting the right information, preferably in advance, and if necessary, developing the right strategy for taking along a bicycle-whether you're touring or rnmmuting. •· If properly combined, clean light-weight bicycles and clean modern transit are mutually reinforced and enhanced. But to insure a full and attractive partnership, however, more research is needed on how to get bicycles and crowded trains I buses and planes better equipped and designed for one another. What needs to be overcome is the familiar transition between a loaded bicycle that rolls and maneuvers easiJy and a dismantled, boxed bicycl~ plus baggag~ that do_esn't. Clearly, the innovations are needed at both ends: public . transit must be designed to ;iccommodate passengers' wheelsbicycles as well as wheelchairs and baby strollers. Conversely, passengers' wheels must compact or collapse quickly and easily to occupy a minimum of space when catching a lift or when being stored at work or home. At least two bicycle manufacturers, Gitane and Fuji, have produced a prototype: the "Get-Away'' and the " Feat~er," respectively: Hopefully, other bike manufacturers will rise to the challenge (soon, the demand) of marketing a lightweight, standard size, all-purpose transit bicycle, Of\e with compacting handlebars and pedals, and quick release wheels that afix • Is any of this good? Worldwatch researcher Christopher Flavin notes some serious problems: synthetics are often inefficiehtly produced and wastefully used. They are als.o difficukto recycle. Nevertheless I as fossil fuels and high grade mineral' ores grow scarcer, synthetic usage will be- -come increasingly vital. Plastics can substitute for copper, steel, and aluminum.in a number of industrial applications and are less energy-intensive to produce and transport. Synthetics already have important u.ses in home insulation, in solar collectors, and in photovoltaic systems. "Paradoxically," says Flavin, "using the ultimate renewabl~ energy resource could depend on synthetic materials." . The catch, of course, is that synthetics, •with their dependence on petrochemical feedstocks, are themselves a nonrenewable resource, and their potentially significant role in the solar transition is threatened unless a system of priorities is worked out to assure that the remaining supplies of fossil fuels are not squandered on less essential uses. Our present use of petroleum •as a fuel 1s (in the words of a chemist quoted by Flavin) "akin to.firing up a kitchen stove with bank n~tes." -JF ( I • ·MEDIA "Save the Planet," Green Mountain ] Post Bulletin No. 2, Spring 1980, 36 pp., free from: Green Mountain Post Films P.O. Box229 Turners Falls, MA 01376 •"Save the Planet," a montage film history of the atomic age and the debate over nu- • clear pbwer, is the latest release by the anti-nuke filmmakers in Montague, and is among many featured in the newest GMP Films Bulletin. Other new releases include footage of the 20,000 people gathered at Seabrook in 1978, renewable energy us~ in •
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