Culturebox: Two Wheels vs. Four

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the green lantern Two Wheels vs. Four How far do I have to ride my bike to pay back its carbon footprint? By Brian Palmer Posted Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011, at 10:13 AM ET I'm thinking about switching my daily commute from four wheels to two. But I'm concerned about all the energy it takes to manufacture and ship a new bicycle. How many miles would I need to substitute a bike for my car before I've gone "carbon neutral"? It's tough to say exactly how much greenhouse gas making a bicycle requires, since none of the major manufacturers has released data on their energy consumption. Independent analysts have used a couple of different measures. Shreya Dave, a graduate student at MIT, recently estimated that manufacturing an average bicycle results in the emission of approximately 530 pounds of greenhouse gases (PDF). Umbra Fisk, a research associate at Grist, came up with a total carbon footprint of one ton of carbon dioxide-equivalents for every $1,000 of manufacturing cost. These two estimates intersect at a bike that costs $265 to build--well within the range of manufacturing costs for the wide variety of bicycles on the market. To continue reading, click here. Brian Palmer is a freelance writer living in New York City. He can be reached at explainerbrian@gmail.com. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Weigel: How Herman Cain's Low-Budget Campaign Draws Huge, Adoring Crowds How Does "Social Exclusion" Explain the Rioting and Looting in London? Is Monaco as Glamorous as It Seems in James Bond Movies?	Advertisement
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