Spoke Links: Websites for Bikes

Once again I have placed a number of websites in my linkroll that may be of interest to cyclists. Some of them cover environmental issues, and others focus more on cycling itself. According to the critera outlined by the Webby Awards and IMSA, they are quite up to par in terms of both style and information. We begin with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. It is well organized, easy to navigate, and though relatively simple, is a great way for street-travelers to stay informed about developing issues and news. I also came across the World Bicycle Relief site. It catches your attention immediately with its interactive front page. Also, its message, providing bicycles to the less fortunate to ease their lives, comes across right from the beginning. Streets Blog Los Angeles is also a fairly straightforward website on which Angelinos can post their issues with public transportation on a forum and the appearance of the site itself is very edgy and appealing.

Tree Hugger was definitely the website that offered the most fun. Although it was crowded with links, it gave many different options as to how one could integrate eco-friendly behavior into one's life. The home page is very enticing with a number of relevant stories for the avid cyclist. Eco-Beat is a similarly exciting page that is easy to navigate and brings up much broader issues than simply cycling. It extends to the politics of environmental crusades and includes a useful blog roll.

Bicycle.net says everything you need to know in its tagline: Attitude is Everything. This site is recommended more for extreme cyclists who are interested in racing. The aesthetics of the page are well-designed and while it mostly contains information about serious riders, it also has practical information like where to find local bike shops. C.I.C.L.E. is a joy to look at, but the website is almost too busy to actually be effective. The plethora of information is somewhat hidden by the effort it takes to locate it, but with a little patience this site is excellent for stirring excitement within the biking community.

Green Preferred is a website that I can appreciate for its simplicity. It tells of practical ways that people can participate in a sustainable lifestyle. The website mirrors the message it offers, and has a number of other resources for its visitors. Similarly, Global Warming is Real, uses icy colors to match its combative nature. It goes more on the offensive about global warming than other sites, but is able to support its message with several helpful links. The final link that I chose was quite unusual, but I found great merit in it. A fellow blogger started the site, An Urban Plot, in order to share their quest to produce organic food in an urban setting. Though the site could stand to be jazzed up a bit with more links or images, the radical idea managed to come through anyway.

The Changing Climate: Looking Ahead to a World of Problems

This week I was reading Mike Davis’ Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster. In the book, Davis examines the natural phenomena that have plagued the planet. Then he offers a historical analysis of Southern California’s development, which he uses to predict some of the problems we may face in the foreseeable future. Reading this caused me to ask myself a number of questions. How widespread is this type of information and how is it being spread? Why is it difficult to incite the change that could prevent environmental disasters? What will it take to cause this change? Lastly, what can people to everyday to reduce their carbon emissions, and do those numbers even matter?

What is going to happen to the earth? The disasters that are already happening are indicators of how the earth has been affected by climate change. Global temperatures are rising, and flooding is becoming a greater threat especially for coastal cities. Oceans are warming and glaciers are melting at faster and faster rates. Carol Auer, an oceanographer with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration says, “Because sea level rises have made everything a little higher, when a storm hits that makes for more vulnerability. The higher sea level gives a storm surge a boost to reach further inland.” Auer speaks to an unfortunate trend, that environmental problems tend to cause or fuel others. At Live Science I encountered a timeline that lists problems by the year that they emerged, and then predicts the slow, painful descent of the earth’s condition in detail over the next hundred years. While I do believe that eco-friendly lifestyles are on the rise, carbon emission numbers are still soaring. One has to wonder what it will take to inspire the kind of change that will truly alter the condition of the planet.

Whose responsibility is it to work to ensure a healthier earth? And who is doing their part? In recent years global warming has become a popular topic for discussion fueled in part by different forms of the media. The Internet is an important vehicle for accessing environmental programs and data. Celebrities, regardless of their reasons, have played a large role in popularizing and funding global issues. This type of endorsement is very important in terms of stimulating public interest in those who might not otherwise be interested. Like celebrities, politicians are another group of people with the power and money to significantly affect the cause. However, many of them are motivated by wealth rather than the health of the planet. Ultimately the government will shoulder the blame for neglecting to recognize climate change as a serious issue and taking more preventative measures. Even if political officials have the power to make large changes, the responsibility falls on everyone who contributes carbon emissions to educate themselves and do what they can.

Despite increased interest and availability of information on climate change, many people choose to remain uninformed on ways that they can help the environment. Perhaps they are merely set in their ways. Perhaps they believe that being environmentally conscious will be more costly. Maybe they do not know how simple it is to reduce emissions or they do not think that one person can make a difference. I suspect that for the average person, it is difficult to imagine or feel threatened by the potential disasters that could occur when the earth still seems mostly healthy on a day to day basis. However, this does not negate the continuing deterioration of the planet.

So can one person make a difference? What can they do and how much does it help? To delve further into this I visited a website called My Carbon Footprint. In quiz form you answer which changes you would be willing to make in your daily life, many of which would hardly be noticeable. Then it calculates how much you can realistically reduce your carbon emissions. I was surprised by the numerous options and their simplicity. Not allowing the water to run as your brush your teeth. Bringing your own grocery bags to the store. A willingness to use public transportation on longer trips rather than a car. These acts may seem insignificant, but in some small way each person can contribute to a much larger and necessary change. Oh, and of course, ride your bike!

Recommended Reading:

Our Changing Planet: The View from Space a book of satellite pictures that make visible the changes that cannot be seen from Earth.

Staying True: Helpful Links for Cyclists

Browsing the Internet this week I sought a diverse range of resources for bikers, and in doing so discovered a number of websites that could be useful and interesting for all cyclists regardless of their level of involvement. The first, Bicycle Fixation, is a relatively small site, however, it contains several links to articles about bikes and sustainability as well as a unique section dedicated to photo essays about bicycles. The Bicycle Kitchen, along with the Bikerowave and Bike Oven, offer important information for cyclists in the Los Angeles community on how they can learn to fix their bikes from volunteers at these community wrenching spaces. The Bicycle Kitchen website is simple, easy to navigate, and aesthetically pleasing. A local bike legend of sorts who recently passed away, Sheldon Brown, operated a widely known website that is a veritable encyclopedia of bicycle information. Although informal, it is certainly credible, well organized, and I have found it helpful on many occasions. Street Heat is yet another great online tool for Angelinos. Its finest aspect is the extensive linkroll it features and the fact that it can always be counted on to be current with bicycle related issues. The Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition’s main focus on their website is to explain their mission, and to get others involved; however, I find the main page to be too busy to keep me focused. The Conservation Law Foundation’s website is also busy, but in that case it works to their advantage showcasing the multitude of information available on the site. The graphics are simple, and the site is easy to navigate since it is cleverly divided into five broad areas of conservation. In my mind Urban Futures is an overly complicated site, but an excellent source for information on urban planning. It also has a section for relevant headlines, which drew my attention.

The International Bicycle Fund website is extremely well-rounded. It provides several links, and is especially useful because it draws on the progress of so many different countries. I found Illuminate LA to be beneficial because it simultaneously gives its reader so much information and acts as a call to action for the community by listing rides and planning meetings. I am certainly biased in my designation of the Midnight Ridazz site as my favorite, but with a mere glance at the website it is easy to see why. This may be the least formal link on my list, but as its primary function is to serve as a communicative thread for riders in Los Angeles and beyond, it succeeds admirably at that. Its primary functions are a calendar, photo gallery, and forum. The site is functional and entertaining throughout.