Goodfluence Bicycle Tour – Week 5
I’ve been talking about Rob Greenfield and all the goodfluence he’s spreading across America for the past few weeks now. Yes, he loves the bike. Yes, he loves the planet. And yes, he is totally authentic and genuine in all he does.
This week I wanted to share his passion for creating a better world and the importance of our society and people to be more sustainable. Although he’s a very positive guy, today he’s sharing his views of what he’s seen while cycling across the country.
Water – So much of it is full of nasty chemicals like chlorine. I know the body seems to do alright with chlorine but it’s used to kill bacteria and that means it’s killing us a little bit on the inside too.
Transportation – There is no way around it, this is a car country. Most of our infrastructure is based on gas powered personal vehicles. Public transportation is not available in much of this country and much of it does not allow for bicycles to come on board. Most roads are not especially cycling friendly either.
Waste – I see people wasting like nuts around here. Empty houses with all the lights on, open refrigerators when nobody is in the room, faucets left on for two minutes just to wash hands, four foot pieces of paper towel to dry those hands, full trash cans, and trash everywhere. I’ve asked people where I could find a recycle bin and they looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. We haven’t even got country wide recycling.
Pollution – This sign says it well. I love to swim with all of my heart but most of the water I’ve seen has been questionable, too likely full of agricultural run off and fossil fuel pollution. Very few places have been left untouched from the byproducts of our convenient ways.
My desire to live an ethical lifestyle makes each day a peaceful war for me. I aim to lead by example to do what is good for the earth and its communities but with no systems in place it makes that almost impossible at times. I’ve carried bottles 100’s of miles on my bicycle to recycle them!
To those who live in a bubble of consciousness please remember that most of America is not there yet and that other communities need your help. To those who practice earth friendly living yet live in a community that I described above I commend you. You are a champion of life.
But at the same time I am hopeful. In my bike rides across America I have seen positive signs and hope in abundance. People growing their own food, people switching from cars to bikes, non-profits and community gardens sprouting up all over, activists activating, and consumers demanding better corporations. I believe that more goodness is sprouting up in this decade than evil, but the evil still prevails due to the vast size of their corporations and organizations. But the good will keep growing and the individuals will band together and no single evil organization can hold its ground against the goodwill of millions of small but bright lights.
So shine your little lights my friend. Shine hard.
– Rob Greenfield
For more of Rob’s views on sustainability: http://robgreenfield.tv/Goodfluence-tour-sustainability/
Bike2Power Powers Rob
You don’t have to be a bicycle touring maniac like Rob to experience the benefits of the products at Bike2Power. I know most of you are carrying cell phones on the bike, no matter where you’re going or how far the ride.
Each month Bike2Power highlights one of their products, this month it’s the BikeCharge Dynamo Hub. This hub power converter is truly unmatched in its versatility and charging capacity among the similar products on the market. The Power Converter is compatible with all common 6-12V hub dynamos, features a built-in voltage protection for higher speeds typical of long downhill paths, and produces a 500 mAh output required to charge your modern mobile devices. The most exciting feature, however, is its built-in intelligent charging regulator chip that automatically gives priority to the dynamo lights when the lights are turned on.
