Biking Part II

Part II
Biking Is Appropriate Technology

It’s funny how luck plays out. In the midst of my current entries on biking (this being the second), I happened to have the freakiest of technical failures with my winter bike, which will relegate me to walking and public transit for the next week. Now I certainly recognise these two venerable modes of transport as commendable and practical – so this will be a good opportunity for me to reacquaint myself with these – but I’ll miss the bike terribly…

Anyway, before I go on about this entry’s topic of appropriate technology, and how well bicycles fit the bill, I thought I’d indulge in a rant of sorts:

(Ahem).

After watching closely the anthropogenic global warming debate/drama unfold over the last seven or eight years, I have begun to reconcile myself with the fact that, humans being the way they are, living in a global, petro-/techno-industrial economy, will do their utmost to burn through the remaining half of the earth’s fossil fuels as quickly or quicker than they dispensed with the first half. As far as petroleum goes, that’s another ninety to a hundred years of ever-diminishing supplies. Coal in turn, which is ever dirtier, since the “cleanest” has already been burnt away, will be used to make up much of the shortfall as we transition to electricity (coal-fired power plants). Natural gas will likely help in this department, so long as we are willing to tolerate all the consequences of “fracking” or “gaz de schiste” as it’s known in Quebec. And we’ll likely tolerate an awful lot, lbeit under protest. We’ll tolerate the consequences of the rapid development of Alberta’s Tar Sands too, as horrendous as they may be. Our dependence on cheap – or no longer quite so cheap, but still relatively abundant – energy to grow our economy runs that deep.

As sad as this may be, it is even sadder to realise that a measurable amount of our precious reserves of fossil fuels will be completely squandered by clueless individuals who are in the habit of idling their car’s engine for inexcusable lengths of time – much more time than it takes to warm up the entire insides of the car on a cold day.

Idling happens in every neighbourhood, in every season with predictable regularity, despite there being a city bylaw on the books that makes this practice an illegal one subject to a municipal fine. With gas prices at $1.20 a litre, the habit is doubly puzzling. I suppose it takes a special kind of ignorance combined with just not caring… So people like you and I (Whether you’re car-free or not…) have our work cut out for ourselves as we remind our idling neighbours of the long list of reasons why this is unacceptable behaviour.
Recently I witnessed an utterly flagrant example of idling (Cadillac Escallade, at least 15 minutes) just outside my apartment. It struck me that this is a perfect way to start a discussion about appropriate technology: by looking first at this example of what one could call entirely inappropriate technology.
(End of rant).

Anthropologists classify societies often by the types of tools and technology that they use. But perhaps more important is the type of energy that different classes of tools employ. A hoe uses human muscle, driven by food energy. A ploughshare is pulled by a much stronger animal, but ultimately also driven by food energy. A windmill or a sailboat harnesses air movement ultimately driven by the sun. A combustion engine harnesses explosive energy stored in hydrocarbons condensed and concentrated by millions of years of geological pressure.

Our petro-techno- society uses concentrated energy fuels unlike any previous society, and it sets us apart: it defines the Industrial Age. But that does not preclude our access to technologies of the “past”, many of which have been perfected and refined by modern know-how… The bike is a perfect example. The basic design of two wheels, a frame, and a chain is a good hundred and twenty years old now. Improvements have been made in countless directions, making for specialty bikes for just about every kind of riding you can imagine. And yet, despite the advances made, the basic mechanics of a bike make for relatively easy up-keep and repair – if not by oneself, by a local mechanic at an affordable cost. This principle of relative autonomy in maintenance is a huge part of appropriate technology, making it hugely convenient, and rarely obsolete in the long run.

Often times the energy-intense technologies (including modes of transport) seem to be more convenient and effective in the immediate sense of the word, but are far less appropriate when you consider the amount of wasted energy involved. A single person driving one tonne of metal, plastic, vinyl and other dead-weight around (i.e. The vehicle itself) is rather extravagant and fairly absurd when that same one person with a simple backpack, saddle bags or even a modest trailer can easily take care of what most people need to schlep on an average day. Burning an exponentially greater number of calories to do the same amount of work may give the advantage of speed, so when long distances and multiple passengers or cargo are involved, the car begins to look a little more appropriate, but there are always other ways…

What then, makes the absurdity of our extravagant over-use of cars seem appropriate and utterly banal? For one thing, the vast outlay of investment in the form of infrastructure makes it possible to support this kind of activity as normal. But ultimately it’s the cheap and abundant fuel behind the infrastructure, and that same abundant, cheap energy which fuels the activity itself. It’s the utterly crucial element in the equation.

So? What if fuel is no longer cheap? What if it starts to become scarce? What if there are unintended consequences to the habit of running all those combustion engines? By now we should all know that these are the defining economic/ ecological themes of our newly hatched decade. Even if you don’t agree, as a reader, you should know that I for one take these as the basic premises to heart. From there I advocate changes to public and civic living arrangements.

In an era of global industrial economy increasingly faced with the problems of global warming and global energy shortfalls (wait for it), any given activity that ignores or otherwise exacerbates these stresses is problematic. Meanwhile making choices that do not draw down our petro- energy reserves quite so fast, and do not involve carbon emissions may help to “solve” these big problems.

But of course I did begin this entry with my own admission that it is probably too late in the game to avert global warming. Similarly (that is, for the same reasons of human nature and social inertia, as well as some fundamental matters of geology) the age of cheap and abundant energy will soon be behind us, starting approximately now. So I guess I have some explaining to do…

I embrace carbon-free activity and other appropriate technology as a means of building optimal immunity to the stresses caused by these two major ecological/ economic pressures; if it helps to delay or otherwise lessen their effects, all the better. The bicycle is a great place to start because it can be used just about every day of the year (see Part I). But really, the Bike is just my chosen symbol for the appropriate technology principle, as I understand it. Perhaps this is because it is so readily accessible to me, and because I am avid about riding. On the other hand, I am not yet in the habit of doing my cooking with a solar cooker (in the summer) or with a hay-box in the winter, though arguably, I would do well to get to know these methods as well. Nor am I in the position to install a windmill on the roof of my upstairs neighbour’s apartment –but we can all have our aspirations.

Interestingly, the appropriate tech principle can be applied to systems as well, such as food production, where agricultural practices and distribution methods can be held to the same test. As a first step, looking to the local producers shifts the scale of one’s own relation to that system. “Closer to home” may involve plenty of petroleum for transport, but it’s still a lot less energy intensive than flying produce half-way round the planet in January. At the completely human end of the spectrum is the balcony, back-yard, or community garden that can provide an astonishingly abundant quantity of certain foods. Supporting your local organic farmers through weekly basket programs is also a very rewarding, appropriate practice.

Appropriate technology also offers the benefit of building self esteem and empowerment, since it often involves a much more thorough understanding of how the given technology works, keeping most repairs within reach of a toolbox. Unfortunately for me, the broken rear axle I sustained last week, on my winter bike is beyond my skill-set – which is not to say that it’s beyond me to learn how to fix it, but since it involves rebuilding a wheel from scratch (an art I have not even begun to master) I will defer to the pros at the bike shop and wait…

Post Script
Stay tuned for part III, and maybe I’ll get around to relating the anecdote about the bike and the snow-plough that got me started thinking about writing this little series of posts…