Berlin is a great bicycle city! Full of bicyclists, bike art, bicycle infrastructure, and unique bikes for a variety of different purposes, Berlin is #7 on this “great bicycle cities” list.

If you go to Germany, you will probably hear some Germans saying how much they love their cars (i.e. Mercedes, BMW, Audi). However, you will probably be surprised to see how many people actually love their bikes. Berlin is perhaps the best example. You can see people from across the class spectrum using the bicycle for a wide range of purposes. Even the postal service and other delivery services use bicycles.

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Today my back garden is deep in snow. Probably thirty cars have passed my house, which is on a relatively busy suburban road, usually fairly solid with cars during the hours when people commute to work and undertake the school run. And as I type this, just after noon, it’s snowing again.

I know that my American and Canadian friends will be hooting with laughter. Six inches of snow and the south coast of England has come to a more or less complete halt, but we’re just not prepared for this kind of weather.

>>See also: Cold Snap: Yes, It’s Global Warming

Snow and Consumer Frenzies

Actually, judging from what I saw when I went down to the local supermarket (on foot, in snow boots, for research purposes only) we’re not prepared for anything much. The shelves were empty, and not just the shelves you might have expected to clear swiftly, such as those for bread, milk and newspapers. There were no toilet rolls left, no soft drinks, and precious few hard ones: some spirits remained on the shelf but just about all the beer was gone. The vegetable racks were empty and the freezers had been raided to exhaustion.

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If you liked Husqvarna’s robotic solar hybrid lawnmower, then you’ll love its winter companion: the I-Shovel. This patent-pending device automatically detects snow accumulation and can clear a 4,000 square foot driveway on a single battery charge.

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Well it happened. The first snowfall of THE SEASON. As we nestle into our new home in Ontario, we must face the fact that winter Tis the season more often than Tis not. Ditto for the white stuff, which will soon become brown stuff as everyone likes to remind me.

Though my husband and I have little use for snow (a White Christmas Day would suffice) our kids are excited to have a new use for their sand toys. The other day as I stepped away from the window to grab the camera and prove to my friends in the west that we are in fact nuts, my daughter scooped up a generous helping of snow and licked her mittens right down to the wool. I laughed and told her to stick her tongue out to catch some flakes, knowing her little brother would watch and do the same. But, as I snapped the photo the green meanie suddenly came over me…Is it safe for kids to eat snow?

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Officials in Ottawa are considering a cool plan to use the ‘cold energy’ stored in snow as a source of renewable energy in public buildings across the city.

Under the plan, snow collected on the Ottawa streets during the cold winter months would be used to keep the city’s hospitals, universities and government buildings cool during the hot summer. Snow collected during the winter normally melts by early June, but, if the plan gets the green light, it will be insulated with wood chips, making it last until September. The icy melt-water could then be fed through pipes to keep buildings cool without the need for expensive, and energy hungry, air conditioners.

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Bicycles are an efficient way to transport yourself daily for a number of reasons.  To me, the most important benefit to using a bicycle is that it improves my health and fitness.  Probably the next most important to me is a bike’s economy.  You pay for occasional maintenance throughout the year, but on the whole, it is far cheaper than using a car, or even travelling by public transportation!

On the environmental front: unlike motor vehicles, bicycles produce no greenhouse gases from their use.  Their parts can often be manufactured from recycled materials.  Overall, while not perfect, bikes make for a significantly smaller footprint than any other existing mode of efficient, long-travel transportation out there.

The distance from my home to my work is 1.8 miles.  (Another good way to think green: move close to your essentials!)  Walking, that might take me 40 minutes!  But on my bike, I am there in 9-12 minutes.  As the nights get longer and the air gets crisper, however, I am reminded that unless I take certain measures, I will soon be prevented from using my bike to get to work by the “elements.”  Common enemies to the bicycle include: snow, slush, ice, gravel, and salt.

But if you’re like me, you strive to think green in all seasons… not just the warm and sunny ones.  Surely, winter is the least popular time to ride bikes–it’s cold and difficult, and just plain inconvenient!  However, who doesn’t need to keep fit in the winter months?  And with a few quick steps and some basic knowledge, you can equip yourself and your bike with the necessities to keep it sturdy and rideable throughout the winter months.

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Japan is on a roll today—first we took a look at NTT’s electricity-generating shoe, and now New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido has announced that it will use snow collected during the winter to provide 30 percent of its cooling needs in the summer.

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Quicker-melting snow cover will allow forests to encroach on meadows and, ironically, eventually aid in cooling the planet.

Regina Rochefort, a National Park Service science adviser at Mount Rainier, said the meadows surrounding the famous peak have been shrinking because of less snowfall and shorter periods of snow cover. In the past, the snow has restricted new tree growth with freezing temperatures a limited water supply.

So you’re probably thinking this is great news—after all, more trees will store more carbon, right? But according to a study performed last year, the good news is more so that less snow will mean more water for the trees, which will dramatically increase the forest’s overall cooling impact.

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New research from Christoph Marty, a climatologist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Researchin Davos has shown a continuous and marked reduction in snow coverage at lower altitudes - indicating a critical loss of habitat for the common Snowman, normally found in gardens at an altitude of between 200 and 800 meters where the majority of Swiss children live.

The release of Marty’s research - based on records from 34 weather stations between 200 and 1,800 metres above sea level going back for at least 60 years - marks the first time that ’snow days’ at these altitudes have been investigated. The research suggests that with winter city temperatures currently hovering close to the melting point of snow we are on the verge of a tipping point, which could see snowmen wiped out forever.

Analysis of data from Italy, Austria, Germany and France shows similar patterns elsewhere in Europe.

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You probably find that you need to use some sort of "ice melt" to help with the job, but we all know that most of these products are not without environmental side effects. In fact, it's been quite obvious for some time that most existing solutions are not environmentally-friendly, but super eco-friendly solutions are still not available.

Of course, there are ways to be less damaging to the environment when deicing pavement. You might want to take a couple of Advil for this one, because it's going to get a little manual around here.

The first step is to stop the ice before it starts. Clear snow before ice has a chance to form. If you're dealing with ice from freezing rain, Treehugger recommends that you break up that ice with a flat hoe. However, that may not be entirely reasonable depending on the area that you are working with, and the amount of ice.

One of the more environmentally friendly compounds out there (or less toxic, at least) is CMA - calcium magnesium acetate. If you put it down before the snowfall, it will even help stop ice from forming. It's a great alternative to salt, however it becomes much less effective in temperatures lower than the mid-20s.

One final recommendation is use whatever product you choose sparingly. Put down just enough to help you break up the ice so that you can remove it more easily.

Rebecca says: I'm feeling for you all right now. We're expecting a temperature drop here in Miami this weekend. A high in the mid-60s is a push for us, but we've pledged not to complain after seeing what the rest of the country is up against. Stay warm and drink some fair-trade hot cocoa!

Resources:

Environmental Literary Council, Impacts of Deicing

ENN, Environmentally Friendlier Ways to De-Ice Pavement?

University of Nebraska, Winter Deicing Agents for the Homeowner

University of Maryland, Melting Ice Safely

Biking Through History

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag (home of the German Parliament)

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Bike Sign & Lights

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Bike Sports

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Bikes for Two or Three Babies!

Bike Buckets for Kids!

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Group Bikes & Big Bike Taxis

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Bike Parades

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Strong Bikes & Strong Bikers

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Bike Postal Service & Other Delivery Services

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Bike Antique as Bike Planter

Car Heaven is a Bike

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