bicycle pollute worse than cars

[Frank Lee]

(NEWSER) – All that sweaty cycling can kick up a lot of carbon dioxide—right? So said House Republican Ed Orcutt in an email as he defended a bike tax proposed for Washington state, reports the Seattle Bike Blog. Writing a constituent, Orcutt wrote that bicyclists emit more CO2 than car drivers due to "increased heart rate and respiration." Orcutt later backed down, Seattle Bike Blog reports, calling his statement "over the top" and "not one which should enter into the conversation regarding bicycles." But this slice of his original email is still worth the read:

"Also, you claim that it is environmentally friendly to ride a bike. But if I am not mistaken, a cyclists [sic] has an increased heart rate and respiration. That means that the act of riding a bike results in greater emissions of carbon dioxide from the rider. Since CO2 is deemed to be a greenhouse gas and a pollutant, bicyclists are actually polluting when they ride." Click on the Seattle Bike Blog to go deeper into the bike-tax debate, or see BikePortland's comparison of CO2 emissions from bicyclists and other modes of transportation.

GOP Lawmaker: Bicycles Pollute Worse Than Cars - Washington state Rep. Ed Orcutt takes a stab at science

NOT political heh heh... looking at the bike "pollution" and bike tax!

[bestclimb]

Pretty silly to just consider the operator's "pollution" and disregard the whole vehicle. On the other hand he did retract the statement.

[user removed]

I think you should start a million rider bike lap around the capitol in DC, with a coordinated simultaneous release of methane. Hopefully the concentration will do the job for all of us.

regards
Mech

[Frank Lee]

I'd need a sponsor to provide bean burritos...

[Piwoslaw]

I held my breath when I read that... I'm wordless.

[niky]

On that note, someone remind the Congressman to hold his breath while driving, in order to reduce his CO2 output.

On the other hand, perhaps we could do the same thing with this noose here...

[SoobieOut]

Never underestimate how little our congress knows about any subject matter. Especially matters dealing with science, men or machines...

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by niky

On that note, someone remind the Congressman to hold his breath while driving, in order to reduce his CO2 output.

On the other hand, perhaps we could do the same thing with this noose here...

Maybe he'd find waterboarding educational. During the time spent underwater there'd be no emissions.

[razor02097]

O_o

I guess the moral of the story is never underestimate the stupidity of politicians... They will humble you every time.

I'm curious how they would implement the tax? Bicycle license plates?

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Maybe he'd find waterboarding educational. During the time spent underwater there'd be no emissions.

But then he'd exhale after his blowhole got above the surface again. This doesn't stop the production of emissions, only stores them for later. Like burying CO2, toxic/radioactive waste, etc.