Lawmaker defends bike tax by saying bikes are bad for the environment:

[kiks]

A Seattle lawmaker is defending his proposed bike tax by saying that bikes are a) unhealthy; and b) bad for the environment. Demonstrating a lack of understanding of bicycles that suggests he may not actually know what they are, Republican Rep. Ed Orcutt says bikes are bad for the environment because they cause cyclists to have "an increased heart rate and respiration." "You would be giving off more carbon dioxide if you are riding a bike than driving in a car," he said, before admitting that he had not "done any analysis" of the difference between carbon dioxide emissions of bikes and cars.

Of course, living organisms produce carbon DIOXIDE, while cars produce carbon MONOXIDE. I’m no chemistry major, but even I know that there is a BIG difference between the two! It is a bad sign for the US, the world, and humankind in general when a faction of people are so ignorant, and so proud of their ignorance.
The source was the Seattle bike blog, and
http://now.msn.com/ed-orcutt-seattle...he-environment

[jimithng23]

anytime I see the word "Lawmakers" I pretty much assume that everything following resembles nothing more than a huge steaming pile of poo.

[jJohnson]

Yep, he's an idiot. White aerobic exercise does produce more CO2 than driving, it's considerably less harmful, less wasteful, and healthier - saving the country tons of money in the process.

[dl1030]

His resume says he sponsors a 15k run. does that mean running is better for the environment than biking? Not a scientist, still pretty sure you would produce less co2 if you biked the same 15k?

[Byke Dood]

His resume says he sponsors a 15k run. does that mean running is better for the environment than biking?



Shhhh Next they will want a tennis shoe tax

[jJohnson]

I read another email from him this morning that he pretty much backpedals, but doesn't at the same time. They want a $50 tax on bikes sold over $500... so pretty much cutting into bike shop business more since Walmart and big box stores don't sell bikes over $500. His reasoning is because cyclists want more infrastructure. Okay... but you'd have to take the same reasoning and apply it to sidewalks and walkers.

Response

[DH001]

Average CO2 emissions from a passenger car (21 mpg and 30mpg): 262 g/km and 184 g/km <link>

Average CO2 emissions from a bicycle: 21 g/km <link>

He was only off by a factor of ten in the wrong direction. There is a quirk to the statistics however, the car CO2 emissions only take into account the fuel combustion component of CO2 production (ignoring the manufacture of the car itself) while the bike statistic includes manufacturing the bike and riding it.

And, it took only 2 minutes of Google foo to get those numbers.

[Tigris99]

What is with these morons even being allowed into office. They need to pass an iq test before they are allowed to run for office.

[SweetSVT99]

Average CO2 emissions from a passenger car (21 mpg and 30mpg): 262 g/km and 184 g/km <link>

Average CO2 emissions from a bicycle: 21 g/km <link>

He was only off by a factor of ten in the wrong direction. There is a quirk to the statistics however, the car CO2 emissions only take into account the fuel combustion component of CO2 production (ignoring the manufacture of the car itself) while the bike statistic includes manufacturing the bike and riding it.

And, it took only 2 minutes of Google foo to get those numbers.

Some things don't need scientific data to know they are a load of crap, but that's still interesting. I tried finding the average CO2 emissions for the manufacturing process of a vehicle, but couldn't find it. I would have to assume it would be tough for that information to be accurately generated because there are so many different plants manufacturing the parts that go into final assembly of a vehicle.

[kiks]

What is with these morons even being allowed into office. They need to pass an iq test before they are allowed to run for office.

and an IQ test for the voters wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

Issac Asimov had this to say about some people:
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism​ has been a constant thread, winding its way through our political and cultural life, and nurtured by the false notion that democracy means "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."