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Sitting Is the New Smoking...

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Research found that those who sit the most have a 50 percent greater risk of all-cause mortality—in fact, chronic sitting has a mortality rate similar to smoking, increasing your rate of lung cancer by more than 50 percent! Risk for uterine and colon cancer also increases by 66 and 30 percent respectively.  The reason for this increased cancer risk is thought to be linked to biochemical changes that occur when you sit, such as alterations in hormones, metabolic dysfunction, leptin dysfunction, and inflammation—all of which promote cancer. Your risk for anxiety and depression also rises right along with hours spent in your chair. Part of the reason why all of this may seem so surprising is that we've become so accustomed to sitting in chairs that we've failed to realize that doing so might be seriously problematic. The cause and effect are quite clear. And so is the remedy. In short, exercise is one of the “golden tickets” to preventing disease and slowing the aging p

Easy Bikes, No Spandex Required

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To get more people riding, bike makers peddle relaxed models without all the gears and carbon fiber Cycling has an unusual problem: Bikes are too often too awesome. Frequently made of expensive materials and featuring up to 33 speeds, bicycles can be intimidating. It is a reason that the number of people cycling has barely budged in recent years, while participation has soared for running. But there is new hope for cycling. Bike makers are paying more attention to people interested in zipping to the coffee shop instead of through the Pyrenees. These riders want the health benefits that come with pedaling without ending up drenched in sweat. The most basic bikes—those without exotic parts or elaborate gears—are suddenly selling. READ >>

Bikes created 655,000 jobs in Europe

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By Amelia Urry If you’re a cyclist, you’ve probably already mastered the pedaling-while-patting-self-on-back move: You’re circumventing more carbon-intensive forms of transportation, getting some healthy cardio into your daily commute, and generally making your city a more pleasant and picturesque place — I mean, have you seen Amsterdam? But here’s one more item to add to your good cycling karma list: The bicycle industry is creating a whole bunch of new jobs. Specifically, in Europe, bike manufacturing, tourism, retail, infrastructure, and services provide jobs for 655,000 people. For comparison, that’s way more than Europe’s 615,000 jobs in mining and quarrying, or 350,000 jobs in the entire steel sector. Not bad for a hippie hobby, right? According to the study which pulled together these numbers, commissioned by the European Cyclists’ Federation, this already staggering figure could reach a million jobs by 2020. That’s a bigger potential for growth than the a

France experiments with paying people to cycle to work

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People cycle as they visit the 2nd Croix Rousse tunnel reserved for pedestrians, bicycles and buses. France has started a six-month experiment with paying people to cycle to work, joining other European governments in trying to boost bicycle use to boost people's health, reduce air pollution and cut fossil fuel consumption.   Several countries including the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Britain have bike-to-work schemes, with different kinds of incentives such as tax breaks, payments per kilometer and financial support for buying bicycles. In France, some 20 companies and institutions employing a total of 10,000 people have signed up to pay their staff 25 euro cents (34 U.S. cents) per kilometer biked to work, the transport ministry said in a statement on Monday. French Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier, noting that commuting using public transport and cars is already subsidized, said that if results of the test are promising, a second experiment on a larger

The Mind-Boggling Possibilities of Solar Roadways

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Because solar roadways are heated, riding during the winter months is an option. This may be the invention that finally rivals sliced bread. And if it gets some real traction (literally), and does not get politicized, or blasted out of existence by the fossil fuel lobbyists this may even be bigger than sliced bread. Imagine that. Alerting drivers of animals and other obstacles in the roadway could save lives   Click to view the YouTube video . Form your own opinion, pass it along to your friends, post it on your facebook page.  Here's another video link by the inventors, Scott and Julie Brusaw. 

Bike Sharing Is Booming in U.S. Cities

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You see people in suits and ties riding the bikes because it's a convenient and effective way to get to work By Harriet Baskas Despite some financial and legal challenges, bike-sharing programs are rolling out in cities throughout North America. Locals and visitors in Minneapolis, New York, Washington and about 30 other North American cities can now buy daily, weekly or annual program memberships or pay hourly fees to check out a bike to ride around town. Cities such as Tampa; San Diego; Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia, will soon be launching programs. Seattle is the latest city to announce that it is joining the bike-share bandwagon, with a start date in September for Pronto Emerald City Cycle Share, which will kick off with 50 docking stations around town for 500 blue and green bikes. As in other cities, grants, private sponsorships and user fees will make the bike-share program possible. But with a contribution of $2.5 million from Seattle-based Alaska