It's November, no leaves, but no snow - cold wind.
My daughter just reported back from Denmark after visiting a lifelong buddy who was also doing a semester abroad. (man these lucky kids) And what amazed her most about this small but sweet ancestral country? (her grandmother was Danish) It was the bikes, lots of them.. more than she has ever seen before.
And folks use them too. Copenhagen is no slouch of a capital so it must have been fun to see so many bikes maneuvering around a city with around one million people. The bikes aren't fancy either. There are many a plain old one gear bikes that get people around just fine. And they probably won't be stolen either.
Imagine if all these bikes were replaced with cars? Ouch. But that isn't likely to happen since Denmark has adopted a green mission and has reduced its CO2 since the 1990's. (remember the Kyoto agreement was first signed in 1992) Denmark ranks 36Th in CO2 emissions per person compared to the U.S.A. in 10Th place. So I imagine one less car helps.
Denmark is considered one of the greenest countries in Europe. They have communities that are zero waste or darn close to it. Can you imagine zero waste? They are also taking advantage of their water surroundings and making the most of wind power. Their efforts are to be applauded though are considered more a way of life after riding the band wagon for over 15 years now.
Where would we be now if we had started 15 years ago? More bikes? Maybe, maybe not. But more of other green ideas for sure.
So keep up the great work Denmark and thanks for being such a beacon for us newbies.
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