Cycling is now much more than a recreational activity
Annual event encourages commuters to choose alternate transportation mode
Four years ago, Richard Littlemore made a life-changing decision to make a cycling his chief mode of urban transportation.
The co-author of Climate Cover-up, The Crusade to Deny Global Warming wanted to practice what he preaches.
“So I started riding my bike and I’ve now ridden virtually every day the last four years,” Littlemore said.
My lifestyle is very similar, but I would have thought that all that fresh air would have cleared his brain out.
I’m not sure if I’ve posted my Cliff Notes version of that book here, so here it be:
“Nobody wants to be the only person on the block who is spending money
to repower their their heating system. No one wants to give up their
car, change their diet, or limit their consumption if their efforts
will be rendered irrelevant by the consumption patterns of those
around them.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Someone who is highly trained in rhetoric can argue any question from
any angle.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“In his 1928 book The Business of Propaganda, Bernays put into words
something that every demagogue in history probably knew instinctively.
He wrote, “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group
mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according
to our will without their knowing about it? The recent practice of
propaganda has proved that it is possible, at least up to a certain
point and within certain limits.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”,
2009)
“Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels praised another of Bernay’s books,
‘Crystallizing Public Opinion,’ as having been helpful in crafting the
campaign against German Jews.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”,
2009)
“It might be worth contemplating the slippery slope that faces people
in public relations who forget their duty to society – the Public
Relations Society of America’s caution to practice “professionally,
with truth, with accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to the
public.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Boykoff and Boykoff telegraphed their point about the mainstream
media in the title of their paper “Balance as Bias.” Journalists in
the modern age find it all but impossible to stay up to speed on every
issue, especially every issue of science. To protect themselves, they
very frequently fall back on the notion of balance: they interview one
person on one side of an issue and one person on the other. There is
even a fairly common conceit in North American newsrooms that if both
sides wind up angry about the coverage, the reporter in question
probably got the story about right.” – John Hoggan (“Climate
Cover-Up”, 2009)
“I have never liked the term “spin doctor,” and I hate the definition
– at least I hate that someone would propose “PR person” as a
reasonable synonym.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Spin is to public relations what manipulation is to interpersonal
communications.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Lies are darned handy when the truth is something you dare not
admit.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“This is all excellent advice, especially appropriate if you are
trying to recover your reputation after an unfortunate accident.” –
John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“In court (and before you conclude that I am lawyer-bashing, I learned
all this in law school myself, there is a convention that every
accused person deserves the best possible defense, and it is the
lawyer’s duty to mount that defense to the best of his or her ability.
We have even grown to accept the idea that it’s acceptable to
construct a case that is entirely – almost deceptively – one-sided,
knowing that the lawyer on the other side will bring equal vigor to
the case.)” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“What you cannot see is any evidence that anyone, at any time, asked
whether what they were doing was right – whether, for example, the
messages they were testing could have been incorrect and ultimately
harmful.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Don’t corporations have have a responsibility to communicate in a way
that is fair, and in the public interest?” – John Hoggan (“Climate
Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Environmental skeptics are not, as they portray themselves,
independent and objective analysts. Rather, they are predominantly
agents of conservative think tanks, and their success in promoting
skepticism about environmental problems stems from their affiliation
with these politically powerful institutions.” – John Hoggan (“Climate
Cover-Up”, 2009)
“The next IPCC report should give people the final push that they need
to to take action and we can’t have people undermining it.” – quoted
by John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“There was 100% consensus that global warming was not caused by
natural climate variations.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Denying it was wrong. Delaying action is dangerous. People who say
otherwise should, at some point in the very near future, have to stand
accountable for their recklessness.” – John Hoggan (“Climate
Cover-Up”, 2009)
“There is a greater than 90% chance that our spaceship is going to
crash” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Cooper makes outrageous accusations, saying that scientists are
faking climate change so they can fleece governments for additional
research funding.’ – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Cooper himself has benefited financially in oily investment in
disinformation” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“I want to scream at the television: That’s not true! If Benny Peiser
can’t find a single peer-reviewed article in any reputable science
journal any time in the last fifteen years, if Lawrence Solomon can’t
find even one well-qualified “denier” who in point of fact *denies*
the human contribution to potentially dangerous climate change, well,
this alleged scientific controversy can only be dismissed for what it
is – a carefully constructed ruse to keep people from supporting the
kinds of actions that will compromise the profit potential of
ExxonMobile, the Western Fuels Association, and the American
automakers, whose fortunes were shattered after they bet their futures
on the continued gullibility of the SUV-buying public.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“As chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, I am gratified that
environmental organizations have credibility. But that only covers one
of my volunteer commitments. As the owner of a public relations
company whose work come mostly from corporations, I began to wonder,
if the public doesn’t trust corporations, what do they think about
public relations people?” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“We need to reduce our carbon output by something close to 80% by
2030.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“You will be consuming a steady diet stories that suggest that some
aspects of climate science are still in doubt.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“You should be hypervigilant.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Join the neighborhood watch of those who people who no longer stand
for disinformation to be passed around your social circle.” – John
Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“That’s what we need: vigilance. Eyes on the street.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
Ah, I had posted this already, and my post above pasted poorly too (bad iPhone!). Feel free to delete that munged copy with it’s stupid line breaks. Don’t gmail stuff to yourself to save it, I guess. Stick to Google docs.
“I am neither a scientist nor a historian, and I have no intention in this
book of jumping in to the actual science “debate.” ” – John Hoggan (“Climate
Cover-Up”, 2009)
“I spend too much money on art, fine wine, skis, and high-end bicycle parts,
and I am in recovery from my habit of buying luxury cars.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Few people want to give up their car or spend money retrofitting their
their home heating system if they believe that scientists are still arguing
over the truth of global warming.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Nobody wants to be the only person on the block who is spending money to
repower their their heating system. No one wants to give up their car,
change their diet, or limit their consumption if their efforts will be
rendered irrelevant by the consumption patterns of those around them.” –
John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Someone who is highly trained in rhetoric can argue any question from any
angle.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“In his 1928 book The Business of Propaganda, Bernays put into words
something that every demagogue in history probably knew instinctively. He
wrote, “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it
not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will
without their knowing about it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved
that it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within certain
limits.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels praised another of Bernay’s books,
‘Crystallizing Public Opinion,’ as having been helpful in crafting the
campaign against German Jews.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“It might be worth contemplating the slippery slope that faces people in
public relations who forget their duty to society – the Public Relations
Society of America’s caution to practice “professionally, with truth, with
accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to the public.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Boykoff and Boykoff telegraphed their point about the mainstream media in
the title of their paper “Balance as Bias.” Journalists in the modern age
find it all but impossible to stay up to speed on every issue, especially
every issue of science. To protect themselves, they very frequently fall
back on the notion of balance: they interview one person on one side of an
issue and one person on the other. There is even a fairly common conceit in
North American newsrooms that if both sides wind up angry about the
coverage, the reporter in question probably got the story about right.” –
John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“I have never liked the term “spin doctor,” and I hate the definition – at
least I hate that someone would propose “PR person” as a reasonable
synonym.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Spin is to public relations what manipulation is to interpersonal
communications.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Lies are darned handy when the truth is something you dare not admit.” –
John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“This is all excellent advice, especially appropriate if you are trying to
recover your reputation after an unfortunate accident.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“In court (and before you conclude that I am lawyer-bashing, I learned all
this in law school myself, there is a convention that every accused person
deserves the best possible defense, and it is the lawyer’s duty to mount
that defense to the best of his or her ability. We have even grown to accept
the idea that it’s acceptable to construct a case that is entirely – almost
deceptively – one-sided, knowing that the lawyer on the other side will
bring equal vigor to the case.)” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“What you cannot see is any evidence that anyone, at any time, asked whether
what they were doing was right – whether, for example, the messages they
were testing could have been incorrect and ultimately harmful.” – John
Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Don’t corporations have have a responsibility to communicate in a way that
is fair, and in the public interest?” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”,
2009)
“Environmental skeptics are not, as they portray themselves, independent and
objective analysts. Rather, they are predominantly agents of conservative
think tanks, and their success in promoting skepticism about environmental
problems stems from their affiliation with these politically powerful
institutions.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“The next IPCC report should give people the final push that they need to to
take action and we can’t have people undermining it.” – quoted by John
Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“There was 100% consensus that global warming was not caused by natural
climate variations.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Denying it was wrong. Delaying action is dangerous. People who say
otherwise should, at some point in the very near future, have to stand
accountable for their recklessness.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”,
2009)
“There is a greater than 90% chance that our spaceship is going to crash” –
John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Cooper makes outrageous accusations, saying that scientists are faking
climate change so they can fleece governments for additional research
funding.’ – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Cooper himself has benefited financially in oily investment in
disinformation.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“I want to scream at the television: That’s not true! If Benny Peiser can’t
find a single peer-reviewed article in any reputable science journal any
time in the last fifteen years, if Lawrence Solomon can’t find even one
well-qualified “denier” who in point of fact *denies* the human contribution
to potentially dangerous climate change, well, this alleged scientific
controversy can only be dismissed for what it is – a carefully constructed
ruse to keep people from supporting the kinds of actions that will
compromise the profit potential of ExxonMobile, the Western Fuels
Association, and the American automakers, whose fortunes were shattered
after they bet their futures on the continued gullibility of the SUV-buying
public.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“As chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, I am gratified that environmental
organizations have credibility. But that only covers one of my volunteer
commitments. As the owner of a public relations company whose work come
mostly from corporations, I began to wonder, if the public doesn’t trust
corporations, what do they think about public relations people?” – John
Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“We need to reduce our carbon output by something close to 80% by 2030.” –
John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“You will be consuming a steady diet stories that suggest that some aspects
of climate science are still in doubt.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”,
2009)
“You should be hypervigilant.” – John Hoggan (“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“Join the neighborhood watch of those who people who no longer stand for
disinformation to be passed around your social circle.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
“That’s what we need: vigilance. Eyes on the street.” – John Hoggan
(“Climate Cover-Up”, 2009)
So, how many bicycles would it take to replace a 38 tonne truck?
Exactly. People want to cycle? That’s fine with me. Let’s not pretend they will replace semi’s, pick-ups, vans, commuting, grocery shopping or anything else. Personally, I think we should all take it a step further and jog…….. except for us smokers, we can power walk though. Once, long ago, I ran 26.2 miles………sigh.
Bicycles can’t replace trucks. They can replace 90% of the miles put on cars.
Perhaps in the area you live in. Not in mine, nor do I believe it would be practical in a metropolitan area. As a mode of transportation for an individual, sure that’s fine. For anything else, I don’t see it…..
*I do all my personal business on the bike, including grocery shopping*
Steve, I have to drive over 30 miles to get to the closest drug store.
50 miles to the closest HomeDepot
60 miles to the closest Vet.
Do you honestly think I’m going to do that on a bike?
This is not even practical for the vast majority of people in this country.
You’re not even considering time vs. productivity.
How much time will this take away?
Even if you could get 10% to do this and reduce gas consumption by 10%, what happens to gas prices when we reduce consumption?
And what would be the point of that when the rest of the world is just consuming more?
Most people live in cities, like me. I am well up into my 50s and do everything on the bike. When I have to get in a car, I am tearing my hair out because of all the stupid traffic lights and the Nazi police force we have here in town.
fine…..
I’ll tell my neighbor that you’ll pick her up on your bike and take her the 70 miles to her arthritis check up…
..twice a month
And when gas prices go up, and the cost of everything associated with that….
…you’ll send her a check
Why would I do that?
because it’s your 90%….
…now don’t be a woosy, step up to the plate
This will work for people that are young enough and urban….
…with the largest demographic in this country heading for retirement and rural
it will not work.
They can’t afford to go out and buy all this new green stuff, a “Precious”, and will keep their old cars running as long as they can because it’s cheaper.
What this will do is raise the cost of almost everything that they do need to do…
…and that sucks big time.
What happened to the old America that had a brain and a heart too?
I live out on an island in the middle of the ocean, big deal, I can ride my bike around and around this island….makes me dizzy
So thats whose to blame. Its been a very cold the last 3 years in Nanaimo.
The winter of 2008/2009 saw over a meter of snow in about 40 days.
In Fort Collins in 2006 we had a metre of snow in one day.
116cm of snow at Nanaimo airport in the month of December,
That beats the previous December record of 111cm set back in 1964.
24cm in April 19th 2008 – the previous record for April was 4.9cm
Steve said “*I do all my personal business on the bike, including grocery shopping*”
Firstly, eewwwwww! 😉
Secondly, it’s dangerous to carry shopping on a bike.
Okay Steve, here’s the biking ultimate challenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eTMDkbS0fc
That’s crazy. I’m scared to go down hills with both tires on the ground.