tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post2190832912863876827..comments2024-03-18T23:52:31.939-04:00Comments on The Invisible Visible Man: A blown nose, a blown world environment - and why some people confuse the twoInvisible Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-19329866353541639412013-01-21T18:44:42.722-05:002013-01-21T18:44:42.722-05:00I try not to be too deliberately provocative, Stev...I try not to be too deliberately provocative, Steve A. But it was the silly post - as you correctly term it - that first made the penny drop about what's going on here. People take their prejudices then make up an environmental argument to justify them. There's a desperate need for a clearer debate about environmental issues that starts from empirical evidence.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-46304508934224544002013-01-21T18:15:56.377-05:002013-01-21T18:15:56.377-05:00Actually, in the silly post you cite, any cycling ...Actually, in the silly post you cite, any cycling fatality is really a down tick in future greenhouse gas emissions. Motoring fatalities are an even bigger benefit since we avoid future energy consumption of the motor vehicle in addition to the motorist direct emissions. If we REALLY want to be green, a mid-air collision between two A-380s would do the trick nicely. As for cycling, most of us in the US have some extra fuel in the tank so that is like free miles.<br /><br />PS: That guy was really over the top. Thanks for pointing him out, but try not to do it too often!Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-5567050991064461942013-01-21T07:46:49.403-05:002013-01-21T07:46:49.403-05:00Hester,
Thank you for your comment. I don't t...Hester,<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. I don't think I was even quite directly in this woman's path. She was probably just irritable.<br /><br />As for the being open to other people, you're right it's generally nice to be able to talk to other people at lights and so on. It can really brighten up a journey home, for example. On the other hand, I do wish people wouldn't step into the road to ask one for directions just as the lights are changing. That happens quite a lot here in New York, and used to happen just as much in London.<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-51138407758508277452013-01-21T07:43:27.829-05:002013-01-21T07:43:27.829-05:00It's actually a disadvantage of a aspect of cy...It's actually a disadvantage of a aspect of cycling which is generally positive, in my view. Cycling is public. It's much easier to make eye-contact, you're exposed to the same circumstances and environment to the cyclists and pedestrians next to you. You can have a quick word with other people stopped at the lights with you, or offer a cheery 'Thank you!' to the person who just gave way to you.<br /><br />I think it was the MP for Exeter was once asked why he didn't wear a helmet when cycling. He said that when he cycled without one around his constituency people recognised him, and he could stop to chat and learned about people's concerns that way.<br /><br />Whereas having a climate-controlled little bubble, often with your own choice of music, maybe tinted windows, disconnects people from their environments.<br /><br />I'd have snorted too. I need my breath for travel and the options are limited. Obviously you try not to do it directly into someone's path, but it's not a behaviour that bothers me and I understand why people need to. I reserve my irritation on the roads for things that I find genuinely antisocial - like pavement parking.Hesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01786445447447946710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-62757092420301846902013-01-21T07:15:41.211-05:002013-01-21T07:15:41.211-05:00Steve A,
Thank you so much for your comment. What...Steve A,<br /><br />Thank you so much for your comment. What a fascinating paper. It had occurred to me before that cyclists' longer lives did mean they used up more energy. However, I have a feeling the paper's author is underestimating the beneficial effects of having journeys that would be taken anyway turned into cycling trips.<br /><br />There are generally quite a lot of environmental arguments against people's living longer. Funnily enough, however, few environmentalists are willing to argue against it.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-2945526833869385472013-01-21T07:09:54.978-05:002013-01-21T07:09:54.978-05:00Jay,
Thank you so much for your comment.
My poin...Jay,<br /><br />Thank you so much for your comment.<br /><br />My point is precisely to ask why it should be more disgusting to see someone get rid of some biodegradable mucus onto the road than to see someone pumping into the atmosphere on a short urban journey greenhouse gases that will persist for a century or more.<br /><br />I was also aware, as I wrote in the post, that it couldn't have been a pleasant sight to see someone clear his nose that way. But if you're a cyclist you will, presumably, occasionally have had a severely blocked nose while cycling. What do you do? There generally isn't time at traffic lights to fish out a handkerchief. I was at the head of a queue of traffic that I knew was going to be on top of me the moment the lights changed - and I really couldn't keep going with my nose so blocked. I would be interested to know what readers do under these circumstances.<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-44795659328759634882013-01-21T06:15:00.199-05:002013-01-21T06:15:00.199-05:00It isn't that simple. If you take http://opim....It isn't that simple. If you take http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~ulrich/documents/ulrich-cycling-enviro-jul06.pdf to its logical conclusion, the only truly green action is mass suicide...Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-17511200041060183522013-01-21T05:16:46.178-05:002013-01-21T05:16:46.178-05:00I don't think it was the environmental aspect ...I don't think it was the environmental aspect that offended her, it was the social aspect of witnessing disgusting behaviour.Jaynoreply@blogger.com