Lubbock on a Bike: Last Commute 2016

Back in high school, we had a Horatio Alger Day where we learned that we could be anything that we set our heart to be. (I may need another one of those.) I don't remember much from that day, but I very clearly remember one thing that a guest speaker told us. On the chalkboard he had drawn a bunch of stars up high and a steaming pile of something down low. Then he drew a bow and an arrow. "It is better to aim for the stars and miss [he paused for dramatic emphasis] than to aim for the poop and hit it." (Yes, he really said "poop".)

 

It was 39 degrees and breezy when I left the house this morning. I was a little disorganized and was disappointed to realize that I had grabbed two right-handed mechanics gloves for the ride. I ended up riding with one hand on the handlebar and one in my jacket pocket. I also forgot my reflective vest. Oy vey! But not really - every ride is a good ride. Every day I ride is a better day than it would have been.

 

Bike shadow on the mall taken on this morning's commute

 

My goal for this year was to commute at least 1000 miles on a bicycle - to reduce my car driving by at least 1000 miles. My goal was to tangibly reduce my carbon output. And I considered 1000 miles to be fairly modest.

 

I have so far hit 84% of my goal - I have five miles to ride home. My daily commute to work (round trip) is about 10 miles or 1% of my goal.

My stats from today (National Bike Challenge website)

 

But today is the last day this year that I'll commute to work. My commute takes me very near the mall (a place akin to Hell this time of year) and there is no biking (or walking) infrastructure in place near the mall. And if you ever want to see man's inhumanity to man, just watch the non-gleeful Lubbock drivers trying to get to the mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas.(This is my overly wordy way of saying I am extremely scared to ride to work during the holidays.)

 

The red arrow is my commute path. The green arrow is the place where no one stops at the red light. An easy place to commit suicide by traffic.

 

But I am happy to say that I aimed for the stars. The 14-year-old Dodge pickup with 178,000 miles on it spent 84 days sitting in the driveway at home not burning oil or gas. That's 84 days I did not step in poop.

Okay people, I am shooting for 1200 miles next year. How about you? What is your clean goal for the coming year? (Feel free to answer)

May you aim for the stars and help us all to drag ourselves out of the poop!

A special thanks to the Norris family for donating a very nice bike to the Mesquite Hugger Office of Commuting, to my office mate and good friend who leaves the office so I can change into more work appropriate clothing, to my lovely and wonderful wife for putting up with bikes everywhere (sometimes including the dining room), and to all of the Lubbock drivers who have not run me over.

Non-sequitur: Milky Chance Covers the Pixies (to offer you a groovy day)

Low-Hanging Eco-Friendly Fruit: Cheating with the Before the Flood Followup

Shameless. Absolutely Shameless. When a lazy blogger just steals someone else's material for his blog content and puts it out there in a blatant attempt to make life better for the entire world. Yes, I am that scumbag! (Sometimes it feels good to be a scumbag and definitely furthers my rep as a bad mofo - I occasionally need that to counteract the reflective vest I wear while commuting on a bicycle.)

By the way, Before the Flood is available streaming (for free) this week only in multiple formats. Here it is on youtube.

I posted earlier this week about watching Before the Flood. And it was a shot in the arm for me as an eco-dork. (Even bad mofo eco-dorks need a little encouragement.) After watching the film, I went to the Before the Flood website so I could see what actions I could take. I found a list of 14 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Own Carbon Footprint.

Some of the fourteen we've already touched on in the Low-Hanging Eco-Fruit Series and others are on the list for future parts of that series. In the list you can find links to useful things like a carbon calculator and an electric car calculator and places to pledge and vote and good stuff like that. Those NatGeo people have their stuff together! They even have a link to eco-tip cards like this:

You know how excited I get about infographics!

 

So, please check out the list and see where you are what you can do next to help. We all need to be taking little steps, medium steps, AND big steps if we are going to make a difference, and snagit, we desperately need to make a difference.

 

May you find ways and inspiration to make very necessary changes.

 

PS. For those of you who need a little more drama in your Before the Flood coverage, here is Katherine Martinko's article where she explains that Leonardo, Fisher, and Scorsese wussed out: Leo DiCaprio plays it safe with his new film, 'Before the Flood'. (I like her!)

 

 

PPS. Check out the Citizens Climate Lobby - one of my favorite groups to help you take bigger steps.

An Opportunity to Learn More and Get to Work

Last night I had the opportunity to watch Before the Flood, a new documentary from Leonardo DiCaprio and Fisher Stevens (Streaming on Hulu)

If you have interest in climate, climate change, or the ability for humans to continue existing, please take time to watch this important film. If you feel moved to action, please visit the Before the Flood - Take Action page to find opportunities that are available to you.

May we all figure out what we care about and get to work.

Low-hanging Fruit #2: Let there be (more efficient) Light!

Okay, so you've sealed up and insulated your house and you are hungry to taste that next piece of low-hanging fruit. Well, look up...at your light fixtures.

[Alternative title: How to get paid $23.24 for installing 6 free light bulbs in your home!]

First and foremost: Turn off your lights!

Turn off your lights when you leave the room. It's that simple. If you are not in the room and the light is on, you are wasting energy, spending extra money, and damaging the planet. I know - it's harsh, but it's true. (My wife and I are working on doing a better job at this too.)

Second and pretty darned huge: Go buy some LED bulbs already!!!

JG and I ran by Lowes at lunchtime today. (She still has a bunch of incandescent bulbs in her house.) We found this deal on LED bulbs:

That's $1.66 per bulb!

So let's say, hypothetically speaking, that she bought this 6-pack of LED bulbs. (She did indeed buy a 6-pack of LED bulbs, but she bought the daylight bulbs which ran closer to $1.85 per bulb, but I did not take a pic of those.) She plans to install them this weekend.

Back in blogger world, I googled incandescent vs. LED and this was the first graphic that popped up:

Find the original here 

Now, here is where it gets even better - very few modern homes have less than 24 bulbs in the house. And it's not rare to find homes with closer to 60 bulbs. So, if your home is still running old school light bulbs, you could be saving big money just by swapping for LEDs. And that doesn't even factor in bulb life. Most incandescents are rated for 750-950 hours of life. LEDs tend to range between 10,000 and 50,000 hours. I have been replacing bulbs in our home for a few years now and have not had a single LED burn out yet.

Okay, Okay. Enough about money. Let's look at what's really important here: saving the planet!

Check it out - a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions!

Learn more here.

Imagine the impact if we all just switched to LED bulbs overnight. And this one is easy. It's easy on the budget, it's not labor intensive, and it saves you money. This one's a no-brainer. Just do it already!

A few more things about LEDs

• Various formats, shapes, colors, sizes and features (some are even controlled by smartphone apps!)
• Instant light (unlike CFL)
• No mercury hazard (unlike CFL bulbs - the twisty ones)
• They generate very little heat
• They are more rugged than incandescent or CFL
• They make you eco-sexy
• Don't forget that 90% reduction in CO2 emissions!

So, here are six radical ideas for you to pursue after you get your own bulbs swapped out - start giving LED bulbs gifts!

1. Have bulb swapping parties!
2. Have LED interventions!
3. Give them out for Halloween - save the planet while reducing cavities!
4. Don't go to Jarred - go to Lowes or Home Depot or wherever to show them that you really love them!
5. Coffee, tea, or LED?
6. They make great stocking stuffers!

Okay, that's about it for low-hanging fruit #2.

May you save money and save the planet! And, may you now have a lot more gift ideas!

PS. LEDs make great Christmas lights too.

Get Your Green Up Follow Up (Lubbock, TX)

The Green Revolution Exhibit is still up at the Texas Tech Museum - get your hiney over there!

 

 I would love to post all the photos of the great exhibits and presenters and SPWRC birds of prey and all that good stuff. But I did not take any. And that is a very good thing. I can't even tell you much of what was going on. Once everything started, I never had a break. And that was awesome! I was invited by the Texas Tech Climate Sciences Center (Thanks, Breanna!) to talk to people about electric vehicles. Matt brought his Leaf, Jennnifer brought her Fusion Energi, and I threw an electric bike together to display. I also took along a bag full of tiny Teslas.

 Electric Bike over Marsha Sharp Freeway After the Event

 

And people came by! And they had questions! It was a good day to be the Mesquite Hugger! I had a chance to share my passion for carbon-free transportation with interested local people! After two hours had passed I looked up and found that mine was the last booth still standing and that people were still there wanting to talk! Thank you, Lubbock!

 

Trending questions and topics at the Mesquite Hugger EV booth: 

• Where can I buy an electric bike?
• Several people wanted to know where my (non-existent) e-bike shop is located.
• People told me that Lubbock really, really, really sucks for bicyclists.
• The Tesla Model 3 came up a lot.
• How far? How fast? How much?
• Very few people were aware of the Chevy Bolt's existence.
• Very few people were aware of plug-in hybrids.
• People were excited to learn about powered wheels (GeoOrbital, Evelo, Copenhagen Wheel, etc.)
• Why does Lubbock really, really, really suck for bicyclists?
• People were excited about the Rad Power Bikes brochures - the RadMini and the RadWagon prompted a lot of questions. (Rad Power team, thank you so much for sending those!)
• What can be done about Lubbock's lack of bicycle infrastructure?
• Why doesn't Lubbock have an electric bike retailer?
• A surprising number of people asked about regen (electricity regeneration) on electric bikes.
• Others thought that my e-bike was a generator.
• Many were surprised to learn that our local Nissan dealer actually sells an all-electric car.
• Most were surprised at how affordable electric cars can be to purchase, maintain, and operate.
• A few people asked about the existence of electric-powered 3-wheeled bicycles.
• Lots of people asked where the Mesquite Hugger name originated.

What did you miss out on if you weren't there?

• The Heart of Lubbock's Neighborhood Garden (Hi, Beth!)
• Texas Tech Recycling (I am a big fan!)
• Texas Tech Wind Institute (They look like really big fans!)
• One seriously awesome raven! (SPWRC) Hi, Daniel!
• Native Texas plants and a local greenhouse that sells them*
• Hydrogen power with Nick*
• KTTZ/ Global Weirding
• The Lubbock Master Gardeners
• Lubbock Lake Landmark - Check out Bison Day!
• High Plains Water District - Hello, Katharine!
• Bugs!!!! (Texas Tech Entomology Club - you could even try mealworm snacks!)
• Texas Agrilife Extension (Hey, Vikram!)
• I got to meet Baron from A123 Recycling in person!
• An LED guy was there with an electrical wholesaler from Lubbock - It think it was H and H*
• The Texas Tech Climate Sciences Center (Hi, Kylie!)
• A social media service that supports two great initiative for sustainable water use*
• And a great talk from the always charming and inspirational Dr. Katharine Hayhoe!
• [Apologies to the booths I did not mention]*

* Please send me your info and I will edit the post.

 

If you weren't there, I hate that I did not get to meet you and I sincerely hope you have a chance to meet some of the many people who are working hard to make our area healthier and more livable for all.

 

May you be surrounded with great neighbors!

 

PS. Special thanks to Bella, Devin, Linda, Chris, Barbara, Brian, Matt, Jennifer, and Grizz for being there!