Cycling as a Solution

What can you do about air pollution and asthma? A lot!  You don’t have to wait for a major government change or huge multi-million dollar research projects to change our world and make it a better place to breathe. All it takes is for each of us to make a very simple change in our lifestyles.

Choose to take a bicycle instead of a car!

Cars put out air polluting carbon dioxide—or CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, cars and trucks are the primary source of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Bicycling in contrast, is a clean air form of transportation. It does not create air pollution. Every time you cycle just one mile instead of driving, you save over 300 grams of toxic CO2 greenhouse emissions.

One study in Wisconsin found that the cities of Madison and Milwaukee could reduce their CO2 output by over 57,000 tons a year if just 20 percent of short car trips were replaced by bicycle. Another government study (ITDP) estimated that a significant increase in cycling around the world could cut CO2 emissions from passenger transport by up to 11 percent.

How cycling can save our planet and make our world a better place to breathe

The dangers of CO2 greenhouse gases are not just limited to air pollution and asthma. According to the World Health Organization:

Air quality is closely linked to earth’s climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the drivers of air pollution (i.e. combustion of fossil fuels) are also sources of high CO2 emissions. Policies to reduce air pollution, therefore, offer a “win–win” strategy for both climate and health, lowering the burden of disease attributable to air pollution, as well as contributing to the near- and long-term mitigation of climate change. Link: www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_2

Riding a bicycle, instead of driving a car, not only creates a better world to breathe, it helps fight climate change and save our planet.

You can make a difference

On a personal level, if you cycle just three miles a week instead of driving a car, you’ll save the world almost 50,000 grams of polluting, lung destroying gases a year. Imagine the difference you could make while also getting fit and healthy, losing weight and having fun!

It adds up. On our family’s 15,000 kilometer bicycle tour around the world, we estimate we saved 3,750,000 grams or 8,300 pounds of CO2 pollution by seeing the world on two wheels instead of driving a car or taking buses, trains and planes.

We hope our story and this website will help inspire you too, to take some of your trips by bicycle instead of by car. Email us at info@bike4breath.com and we’ll be delighted to help get you started.

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