I enjoyed Larry's reponse to my posting, and it brought back two memories. In 1982 I spent the summer with my family on the Dutch island of Texel, and although we were lent a car for all the time we were there, I think we only used it three times -- loaded up with cases of beer for the 5 km portage from Den Burg. Some things are just not practical by bike.
On the other hand, my ex-wife was an avid baker and when we lived in Halifax we used to buy large bags of flour at Dover Mills. I recall that on one occasion we went down and bought two large bags, I think 40 kg each, one of white and the other of whole wheat flour. I painfully pulled them uphill to our house on a bicycle trailer, after which I went through a couple of beers and a hot shower (which may have mitigated any energetic benefit from using a bicycle instead of a car). That evening we went to a party where a woman was complaining that supermarkets only stocked large quatities of everything, and she was frustrated that she could not buy less than 2 kg of flour at a time! This memory brings to mind the question of what other lifestyle changes we should be considering, and whether such earthy pleasures as baking one's own bread have any significant environmental impact. I am not really sure that the years I spent conserving energy really had any global impact. I wasn't trying to be ultra-green, I just like to ride a bicycle. It would be nice to think that I led by setting a good example, but I didn't notice anyone following me. Now if Beckham and Posh took to cycling and moved into a small R2 cottage I am sure that would have a salubrious effect, but I am not counting on that happening. Bill Silvert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry T. Spencer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 9:19 PM > Just reading Bill Silvert's note about juggling packages along the side > of the road because of no car and non-use of plastic bags. It reminds > me of the sabbatical leave where I was a visiting professor at the > UH-Manoa. We lived in Kailua with no car for a full year, but we did > take our children with us (three of them--note: my sister as no > children, so we're still within the 2/family limit) and we did take > five bicycles with us. While in Hawaii we picked up five plastic milk > carton containers, one for each of the bikes. The decision as to how > many children went to the market depended upon the level of the > shopping trip. Sometimes it was just myself and my wife, but for a big > market day, it was the whole family. Outside the store, we would try to > equally load each of the plastic milk cartons, until there was no room > in any of them. Anything else would be bungeed to the top. That > usually worked pretty well, until the day my wife bought a fifty pound > bag of rice. We did get it home. I also have taken to and from my > house a car tire (rim, tube, tire) to the gas station to fix a flat. I > thought I was pretty progressive for an American until I spent a year > in China, where there I saw just about everything being transported by > bicycle, including a pig strapped over the back of the bike. > > Although I look back in humor at our year in Hawaii and at what we saw > in China, I know that in the future, we will have to return to the > system described above. I guess I'm ahead of the curve as I've been > there and done that. > > Cheers, > > Larry > > PS, I also agree with Bill. Why are we continuing to be selected out > as exemplars. Just because we are ecologists, does mean we have to be > perfect in our actions. > > -- > Larry T. Spencer, Professor Emeritus of Biology > Plymouth State University > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. > >
