About Choosing 'Green' Transport

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Bikes have been around for a long time and no machine beats them in terms of energy efficiency, longevity and friendliness to the environment.

Bikes...
*Use no fossil fuels and cause no air pollution
*Are 100 times lighter than a car and use fewer resources to manufacture
*Take up 1/15 the space of a car - reducing congestion
*Do not produce noise pollution
*Keep us fit - they strengthen the lungs, muscles and heart
*Save money when compared to the cost of running a car

So what about the car......

Cars are pretty amazing.
They let us travel fast and far... they give us freedom, BUT...  there is a big cost to the environment.

What's in a car?

• Metal and glass - mined as rock from the ground and melted down in furnaces. The machinery uses energy (from oil) and the leftover dirt and chemicals pollute streams and rivers.

• Plastic - which is made from oil.

• Lots of electrical energy - to run the car factory and power the tools.

When petrol burns it makes the car go. It also makes carbon dioxide, a gas that is making our climate warmer.

Badly cared for cars also puff out poisonous gases like carbon monoxide and dirty soot, which pollute the air.

Cars run on petrol or diesel, both of which are made out of oil. Oil comes from buried plants and animals that have been squashed, deep in the Earth, over millions of years. Oil doesn't grow and renew itself like plants do. In 30 - 40 years people will have used up most of the oil stored in the Earth, that is currently known.