Is the title of this post too dramatic? Unrealistic? Just plain "whacked-out"?

(Yeah, this is a self-righteous, preachy entry... as a cyclist, it's my duty to be these things... haha...)

I don't think so, and I'll tell you exactly why. Last week, two major newspapers asked the question "Is The Earth Headed for Doom?", and cited large scientist organizations who are figuratively crapping their pants about the End Of The World, via global-warming.

Since there were far more important things in the news, like the gender of the Pitt/Jolie baby and stories about how many chips and how much salsa are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday (Maalox sales must go through the roof!), it’s completely understandable how the average “Joe” would miss this “end-of-life-as-we-know-it” story.

Basically, now that all credible scientists agree that not only is the earth heating up, but that good ol' homo sapien is that major cause of it, they're now starting to say "ohhh, mother of holy hell...." when they are looking at data that tells them not only that the earth is heating up faster than we all thought, but that it may be irreversible.

Since we all know that the world's supply of oil is not going to run out tomorrow (maybe in 50 years), but not tomorrow, we're looking at changing weather patterns (that doesn't sound scary until you consider that all the food-growing regions of North America could turn into deserts...) and an increased sea level of 5 metres (16 feet).

I often wish someone would make a map of the world taking all this sea-level change into account. Maybe just a map of the United States with everything under 16 feet above sea level underwater. Maybe saying goodbye to all your coastal cities will make you drive less?

In the meantime, Toronto cyclists, do what you can to stem the tide. Not one of us has the power to change the history of the earth (seemingly, only the oil companies have this power) and mankind, but each one of us, in our own little way, choosing our bikes (or transit, or walking) over the private automobile to get around is doing some good. Us choosing to live and work in sustainable ways makes a difference, however small.

The more bikes on our roads, the better. The more bikes on the road, the more of a presence us "non-autos" have. People in cars are forced to slow down and be more careful around us (most of them, despite popular belief, don't want to run us over), and if this happens enough, when faced with a slower commute and the higher price of gas, they'll start getting out of their cars too. Whether they choose bicycles or transit doesn't matter... as long as they choose something which doesn't kill the earth.

Slowly but surely, bicycling will hit that "critical mass" when it becomes not just one of many ways of transportation, but THE form of transportation.

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