Review: Changing Gears: A Pedal-Powreed Detour from the Rat Race (Greg Foyster)

Greg Foyster used to be an ad man, until a chance viewing of  An Inconvenient Truth opened his eyes to the effect his profession was having on humanity, and the planet in general. He abandoned advertising and wanton consumerism, and hit the road with his girlfriend Sophie on a cycling trip from Melbourne to Cairns, visiting others who’ve decided to live simply along the way.

Links:
> Goodreads: Changing Gears: A Pedal-Powreed Detour from the Rat Race (Greg Foyster)
> Crikey: Greg Foyster on Changing Gears and living simply
> Greg's Simple Lives blog

Related BetterByBicycle Posts:
> Why Mr Money Mustache's biggest secret of financial freedom is to ride a bike

Review: Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities (Jeff Mapes)

Jeff Mapes explores the growing urban bike culture that is changing the look and feel of cities across the U.S. Mapes, a seasoned political journalist and long-time bike commuter, explores the growth of bicycle advocacy while covering such issues as the environmental, safety, and health aspects of bicycling for short urban trips.

Links:
> Goodreads: Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities (Jeff Mapes)
> NY Times review of Pedaling Revolution by David Byrne

Review: Green Illusions (Ozzie Zehner)

Tom Zeller Jr reviews Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism by Ozzie Zehner which convincingly argues that there is no such thing as "clean" energy, all alternatives are dependent on fossil fuels, and that tech-fixes can't address the real issues of overconsumption and growth as an end in itself:

"'Alternative energy is not a free ride, just a different ride and there's no reason to believe it will offset fossil fuel use in a society that has high levels of consumption and is growing exponentially.' Put another way, renewable energy only makes sense if undertaken in concert with other, more fundamental changes in the way we deploy and make use of energy in our everyday lives. At the moment, we're really paying attention to the technology end of things, Zehner argues, and without a holistic approach, these innovations get us nowhere."

Links:
> Huffington Post: Ozzie Zehner's 'Green Illusions' Ruffles Feathers
> Goodreads: Green Illusions (Ozzie Zehner)
> Green Illusions website

Related BetterByBicycle Posts:
> The green illusions and false promises of the electric car (including Tesla)

Review: Happy City (Charles Montgomery)

Tom Vanderbilt, author of the seminal book Traffic, reviews the book Happy City by Charles Montgomery. He agrees with Montgomery's prescription for happy cities, but identifies a key barrier - that we have conflicting desires that pull us in different directions:

“Although it is true that most of us say we would prefer a walkable community to one that forces us to drive long distances,” Montgomery notes, “most of us also want to live in a detached home with plenty of privacy and space.”

Links:
> Columbia Journalism Review: Human nature - Do conflicting desires prevent us from building happy cities
> Goodreads: Happy City (Charles Montgomery)

Review: Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save the Economy (Elly Blue)

Elly Blue puts hard numbers to the intuitive case for more bike-friendly neighborhoods for all. She provides evidence of the benefits for health, jobs, local economies and resilient communities.

Links:
> Fast Co.Exist: Making The Economic Case For Cycling-Friendly Cities With Bikeonomics
> Goodreads: Bikenomics - How Bicycling Can Save the Economy (Elly Blue)
> Grist Series - Bikenomics
> Facebook Bikenomics Page