Bush Blows it Again

So I thought it would happen. I thought he (pictured after a bike crash) was going to drop the "b" word in the State of the Union for the first time since 1903. The chance was right there. He was listing all the things he wants to do to achieve energy independence and he gets to this line

Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next ten years -- thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

(I should point out that's a 20% reduction from projected 2017 gasoline usage - not 20% below today's use). He mentions alternative fuels, increasing fuel economy, increasing domestic production and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  Then he ends with

America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil.

And that's it. He missed it. A great technology already exists that can help reduce oil consumption (and improve health and air quality). It's called a bicycle. You ride one all the time. Maybe that's the problem, to him it's a fitness tool. But it would have been great to hear him drop one line like this, "We need to expand programs that encourage walkable and bikeable communities and pass a Bicycle Commuter's Act." Oh if only.

It's no surprise really, his transportation department's website's front page doesn't even have the word bicycle or bike on it. (Car shows up 3 times and truck twice). Now compare this to the Danes.

The ministry's new strategy, 'Drive on two wheels',...has the support of both the Danish People's Party and the Social Liberals - two parties traditionally found on opposing sides of political issues. The latter party has proposed a 10-year plan that allots some DKK 500 million for a cycling project.

The inspiration comes from a Norwegian study that indicated communities on the whole benefit from more cyclists. Figures from Norway's Institute for Transport Economics have proven that for every kroner invested in the promotion of cycling and the betterment of cyclists' conditions, the state earns three kroner back in the form of lower health expenses and less employee sick time.

I was just thinking how much I needed three kroners the other day.