Monday 26 October 2009

Bike Week

It's Bike Week here in the Land of Meg; a whole week of posts dedicated to the wonder that is the bicycle.

Two days ago, this wonder was on display in our town for all the community to experience.

To celebrate International Day of Climate Action, two local green groups screened the film, The Age of Stupid, which I implore you to see if you have not yet.

To offset the carbon generated by the projector during the screening, 12 grid-connected bikes were set up in the middle of town on Saturday, the day of the screening, to generate the 2,000 megawatt hours needed to power the film that night.

As the bicycle is the most efficient means of self-powered transport, I have always thought that pedal power = a lot of power. But compared to coal power, which we receive at the flick of a switch, pedal power is an inefficient, time-consuming way of producing electricity. But boy oh boy was it a fun way to learn that it takes nearly all day to create enough juice to screen an 89 minute film!

Happy Bike Week, y'all!

6 comments:

Leigh @ Toasted said...

Awesome. Any idea who set that cycling system up?

I'm looking forward to Bike Week in the lovely Land of Meg. I might even get it together to blog another interesting bike fact about my lil' part of the world.

Meg said...

I look fwd to reading what you blog, Ms Toasted.

The bike system was set up by the lovely peeps at Future Spark.

Permapoesis said...

bike week! yippee!!

re: bike electricty...this is a wonderful thing in theory, but i look at the set up, calculate the energy used and carbon polluted to make and transport this contraption around, and weep. we have so much to change in such a short time. do we really need polluting green gadgets to motivate us into action?

after watching The Age of Stupid, one understands the directness and urgency of this following quote from the director:

"If you're not fighting climate change or improving the world, you're wasting your life" – Franny Armstrong

based on overwhelming global scientific consensus (leaving out a handful of industry stooges and anthropogenic economists), we have only about 7 years to radically transform our culture.

Umatji said...

WOnderful - have you come across this lot? http://www.slowbicyclemovement.org/

Meg said...

As a matter of fact, Umatji, I came across the SBM from the blogs you follow.

I just had a look here, and it was 15 days ago exactly.

Thanks so much! Hope your wrists are getting better. xx

eddy carroll said...

Gosh talk about the age of stupid
i rode to work, it was so nice a day
I walked home!!!!!

'Bike week' I need that pinned to my collar!