For those who haven't been following the Washington State legislature lately, there's a Representative Ed Orcutt, ranking minority member of the Transportation Committee, who made an interesting comment in an email exchange concerning a $25 tax on bicycles that cost over $500.
Also, you claim that it is environmentally friendly to ride a bike. But if I am not mistaken, a cyclists has an increased heart rate and respiration. That means that the act of riding a bike results in greater emissions of carbon dioxide from the rider. Since CO2 is deemed to be a greenhouse gas and a pollutant, bicyclists are actually polluting when they ride.
I wonder if he was holding his breath while writing that email. Anyway, his Wikipedia page already reflects his moronic observation.
6 comments:
The methane emissions from Orcutt's brain farts are a greater pollution risk than all bicyclist CO2 emissions combined.
Give me a break!!
Give me a break!!
That guys a JackAss! Next he'll say we need to stop performing CPR because we're forcing CO2 into the patients lungs.
John
To his credit, he has acknowledged the error of his ways.
http://bikeportland.org/2013/03/04/rep-ed-orcutt-responds-apologizes-for-email-confusion-83716/
I wouldn't necessarily oppose an equal flat rate tax on every pound of carbon used to make cars and bicycles, and to produce and use fuel (gas and food) assuming carbon taxed once in the use cycle. Depends on whether the revenue was spent to further decrease emissions. Bicyclists would spend a tiny fraction of driver taxes.
Bicyclists currently pay far too much in taxes relative to cars, whether looking at road maintenance costs or carbon costs.
If Orcutt wants fair taxation, great. Let's charge drivers for actual costs with massive new mileage fees based on actual costs.
Bring the science, let's go at it.
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