I-Like-To-Bike

LCF Philosophers™ don't need no stinkin' reality!

cooker

Don't be mean, guys.

Here's some health data. We've cut the plant mass of the biosphere in half and the global biomass of wild animals by 85%. We're in the midst of a mass extinction event.
https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-...mammals-plants

FrenchFit 

I view that as one of those "What is truth anyways?" statements intended to subvert rational thought. Very postmodern of you.

I am more than happy to let experts prioritize the necessary actions.

Jim from Boston

Good enough.

PS: I read and liked that quote long before Bike Forums was even started.

Chris0516

Simple and to the point.

Mobile 155

Then another question arises. Will it reverse a 10,000 year event? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction
If not then who does it help?

tandempower

There is no reversing time. But replacing pavement with more living soil and changing the way we live to co-exist better with the natural environment offers hope. It's really not that hard to use our advanced scientific and technological expertise to simultaneously take advantage of industrial efficiency and be more eco-friendly. LCF is a great example because the mechanical efficiency of biking on smooth pavement is something that has only been possible for about a century, and really it only took off with the invention of bike-lanes and paved bike paths. The challenge is for people who are used to urban environments to adapt to sharing the cities with more wildlife. This is difficult since there is a culture of fear regarding wild animals and diseases, etc. they could carry, without regard for the benefits they bring, such as eating bugs, mosquitos, etc. (e.g. frogs, bats, armadillos, etc.) Healthy ecosystems absorb and filter pollution from air and water. We may not be able to reverse past extinctions, but we can help what's left of natural ecology heal and flourish and see how it evolves in the next 10,000 years.

Mobile 155

If you agree with point A, then you realize tossing children into Volcanoes didn't work, dancing in the dirt till people fell down didn't work. and telling a monarch they had to power to stop the waves and make the rain come didn't work. Without 7.5 billion people all working in the same direction that extinction will take place. All you can do is extend the suffering of the people that don't have the ability to change. Do you really believe if the extinction has had a 10,000 year head start with the events accelerating to the 100th power since 1900? SO the question remains, are we in the extinction period scientifically and will taking the bus stop it. If not is it just a feel good activity to those that wish it could help?

Do you also realize most of the 7.7 billion people aren't even being asked to change their lifestyle for at least 20 years? How critical can it be when someone says we have to change, but not yet?

Maelochs

Sorry for people who have a hard time with history and reality ... but mass extinctions have been happening regularly since life emerged, and there is no reason to think there won't be another, and no reason to think humans won't get wiped out. it isn't like we have some magic Extinction-Guard (tm) protecting us.

If the ocean rises enough to flood most land masses and creates huge marshlands in a very hot humid environment, cycling will take a back seat to kayaking. If the temperature drops several tens of degree and we have another ice age, skiing will take precedence.

If a meteor slams into the planet ...

if people keep bringing in ridiculously irrelevant stuff .... then this must be LCF.

tandempower

How much would a luggage rack loaded to capacity slow this thing down?

Walter S

The slower you're going the less you can slow down.

tandempower

Idk that it goes that slow. I assume it goes faster than paddling, since legs are stronger than arms.

Walter S

That paddle boat, I couldn't say. Maybe so. The more conventional flat bottom paddle boats are terribly slow. He's got a rudder that looks substantial. Yes legs are stronger than ams but the comparative footprint in the water is an essential part of the equation. This one looks to probably have somewhat more resistance than a canoe would but that's just my guess. Wind is also a huge factor and even a cross wind feels like a headwind on the water. He's pretty exposed to wind vs. me crouched down in my canoe. The efficiency of ors compared to his mechanics also deserves consideration. I would certainly not assume a faster ride in his craft.

tandempower

I wonder about the efficiency of a pedal-driven propeller vs. paddles. In my experience, a paddleboat with pedals isn't very efficient, but I imagine some kind of conveyor-belt with paddles built onto it like caterpillar treads on the water would not spin and aerate the water like a propeller or paddle-wheel. The wind factor is a good point. Probably some kind of row boat where you can pedal while rowing would be the ultimate human-powered water-speeder . . . and what a workout it would be!

wphamilton

Mass extinctions? We're just riding bikes here.

FWIW, if you agree that wiping out entire species is harmful and you're concerned about it, it stands to reason that contributing to it is morally wrong and any personal efforts to mitigate it are right actions, on principle. Even though you're not going to solve the problem.

Rollfast

Well, as usual the OP got to 3 posts and checked out maybe 14 pages ago. Does this mean "mission accomplished"?

Walter S

It's a race against time. First we need to colonize and terraform Mars. Then the human race can survive huge meteor strikes or other earthbound catastrophes. But then we can't just sit on our laurels and grove on our ability to evolve for eons. We still need to worry about supernovas etc. and within another five billion years our Sun will blow up and destroy the whole solar system. So it's time to be working on interstellar space travel too. But then since the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate eventually everything will move far away from everything else and all interaction between matter will cease as it all flies away beyond reach by speed-of-light and we'll enter a long future where nothing at all happens or lives. Once photons can no longer cover the distance between atoms time will stop.

Or this is all a simulation and any day now its creators will get bored and unplug it.

tandempower

In terms of energy-consumption and land-use, the machine population has become more significant than humans and other biological energy/space consumers, I think. So if the current ratio of machines to humans persists as the human population expands on Earth and beyond, the question becomes whether it will be sustainable anywhere in the universe or whether we will have to keep moving from planet to planet, solar system to solar system, seeking out new stockpiles of fossilized starlight to consume faster than it can be produced.

I-Like-To-Bike

Perhaps one of the script writers of LCF fantasies will post the outline for a new "LCF Reality"TV series, As the LCF Philosophy Turns on the BF LCF list for the entertainment of all.