Summer where I am
55 mph speed limit, no place for a bike, hilly and 25 miles to nearest town. High temp today will be 96 with a heat index of 105
Posted on 08/02/2022 10:40:05 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Wind turbines. Solar panels. Electric cars, nuclear reactors, geothermal energy.
The $369 billion climate package unveiled by Democrats last week is chock-full of subsidies for technologies meant to rein in planet-warming pollution. But there’s one popular, emissions-free machine conspicuously absent from what could be the nation’s most significant piece of climate legislation yet: the bicycle.
Provisions designed to supercharge the sale and use of traditional bikes and the battery-powered variety were dropped from the climate deal reached by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), the Senate’s most conservative Democrat. The absence is grinding the gears of bike manufacturers and cycling enthusiasts who pushed for months to include the pro-bike provisions in Democrats’ climate package.
Dropped from the deal is a tax credit worth up to $900 to help cyclists purchase electric bikes. Also gone is a pretax benefit for commuters to help cover the cost of biking to work. Versions of both benefits were included in the roughly $2 trillion spending package that passed the House last year.
The proposed commuter benefit for bikers, which Republicans repealed in 2017, would be similar to a perk many employees already get for taking a car or subway to work.
“I’m surprised that that didn’t make it in, because it just seems so common-sense,” said Caron Whitaker, the deputy executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, a cycling advocacy group.
Sam Runyon, a spokeswoman for Manchin, declined to comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
The stoopid is painful.
Anyone saying the smog is terrible today never grew up in the 60s in Southern California!!!
Summer where I am
55 mph speed limit, no place for a bike, hilly and 25 miles to nearest town. High temp today will be 96 with a heat index of 105
I’m mad. Where’s my grift?!
Common sense is not too common.
Most e-bike components and batteries are made in China. Many e-bikes too.
Same for NH.
Bikes are only feasible for cities.
Ignoring them is a good indication that the democrats are not really interested in green anything, but only about control.
Isn't an electric bike just another type of motorcycle?
Too hot, but looks like a great place to ride, nice rollers. 25 miles is a good distance, especially if there’s a good ice cream shop or cold beer in town.
It doesn’t make sense if you think of it trying to save energy. It’s just a ploy to separate you from your money.
Surfboards and hang gliders are emission-free too. When do I get my subsidy? I’m so mad I might not vote Democrat next time. Of course somebody else will for me.
Bikes are a net pollutant!
Because people are going to ride bikes to work in 100 degree , 95+ humidity weather.
Going to need a lot of showers for washing up before seeing customers.
But as a form of commuting they should be discouraged.
If it wasn't for companies building showers, who would want to work with someone who had just ridden miles to work on a bike?
Why would there need to be federal legislation on this? If you want to ride a bicycle, ride a bicycle.
Or is such legislation designed to fund such projects as I have seen in Hammond, Indiana? The city has reduced some four-lane streets to two-lane, using the right lanes for elaborately -painted bike lanes. I am on those streets often and have never seen a bicylist. They have also made bike paths, complete with overpasses, which are also lightly-used.
Remember those rare clear days in the 60’s when you looked inland and wow! The mountains are right there!
Bastards! My ebike is pretty cool, take it camping to ride the state and local parks bike trails.
Do you people really want the same transportation infrastructure as downtown Shanghai?
I rode a bike a lot in Florida. No hills.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.