Survey: What is the Greenest Form of Transportation?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.13.07
Warren goes back to the dawn of TreeHugger when he had to enter posts with punchcards to say that bikes are. However in his post on the Jano Bike, commenter Tim said " I would have to say that Sailboats are rather greener. Whereas with a bicycle, you must fuel yourself with food and water (try as you might, but its hard to supply truly environmental /animal/ labor exploitation-free foods in civilization). WIth sailing, the wind moves you. Wind, just a good form of free solar energy. And rather than the production-intensive nature of refining rubber, kevlar, steel, aluminum, and plastic for bikes, all a sail boat needs is wood and fabric. Two very renewable resources."
I must say that it has been a while since I have seen a sailboat that was wood and fabric; Larry Ellison couldn't make his move very fast with materials much slicker than that. And bikes weigh a lot less than any boat on the water other than a single scull. And we all have to eat anyways.
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The same argument for the bike not being the most green can be said about sailboats. I've never seen a sailboat sail on it's own [unless abandoned]. And it takes more people to effectively man a sailboat [especially like the one pictured] than a bike. So that argument actually makes sailboats LESS green, no? I've seen/ridden on enough huge sailboats in my time to see the guys/gals who run them too. It's no easy job - you're working it as much as you would if you were biking.
It useta take 100 years to grow the wood to build a ship, on 100 acres. Some wooden ships in the British navy were in continuous service for 150 yeras, (whilst being shot at!) so I think you could call that a renewable resource with interest!
The Aussies (with Japanese largesse) built a replica of Captain Cook's ENDAVOUR, which used laminate technologies, which means you don't need special big beams. I could imagine that would make the process even scads more efficient.
All the walking responses are interesting. The complaints against biking - that it requires an input of food - would be much stronger against walking. Biking requires much fewer Calories per mike biked, (35 Calories/mile versus walkings 100)
Some may say that to bike you need to buy a bike made of metals and grease and rubber. Well, to take up walking in a serious enough mode to be considered a form of transportation you would need quality shoes, which are (in most cases) made of all kinds of nasty things as well.
Tell Tim that Calfee makes a bike out of bamboo now. The joints are usually carbon fiber, which isn't particularly green, but he also offers a hemp fiber option.
"It's no easy job - you're working it as much as you would if you were biking."
I've sailed my dad's 14 footer on my own and there's no way I'm working as hard as on a bike. I sweat like a freak and I barely broke one on the sailboat. I'm sure if you're trying to win a race and moving fast it's harder. But setting your course and trimming your sails is about all you've got to do on a sailboat.
of course its walking...the only thing u waste is calories, and if you walk barefoot, u can cut back on thridwold labor of making sneakers; just another green thought.
I'm actually quite surprised that sailing isn't getting more votes. Once your boat is built (which is a big leap), it doesn't need anything in the form of energy.
walking is the only one on the list that doesn't require some type of technology, people all over the world use it
Bicycling wins because it's the most efficient use of energy - you get the most distance for the least amount of energy because bikes are something like 85% efficient in converting energy into movement. There is very little rolling resistance/friction, good aerodynamics, great use of gravity, and minimal material use for a vehicle that can take you across the country. And a bike can be designed to work on water, too, making it far more practical than walking, sailing, or anything else.
There is a great chart (alas, no sailboat) at the Exploratorium's bicycling page, that compares the efficiency of a variety of transportation options. Biking comes out on top, above walking even.
Now, if only someone would design, build, and sell affordably a bike that doesn't rust when it's sitting outside, and has some kind of cover for rainy and snowy weather...
Actually, from an energy efficiency standpoint, travel by commercial passenger jet is the most efficient form of travel by passenger/vehicle miles travel.
Don't believe me? Look it up.
In the world of transporting products, the most efficient and cost effective (but not necessarily greenest) modes are ranked:
1. Pipelines
2. Ships (nearly all are diesel)
3. Trains (often diesel electric)
4. Trucks (mostly diesel)
Bicycles are efficient for all distances, airplanes, if they are indeed more efficient than bikes at all, could only be efficient at long distances. So yet again, the bike wins!
Sailboats work out well as long as there is wind, but you have to factor in the energy produced to make all the beer that you drink while waiting for the wind to pick up again on a calm day.
Whereas for bicycling, you only have to count maybe two or three beers drunk to cool off once you arrive at your destination!