In Japan fifteen percent of all commuters ride bicycles to work. Fifty percent of routine travel in the Netherlands is done on bicycles. The city of Palo Alto, California has spent roughly one million dollars on building bicycle lockers and racks, bike bridges, and lighted cycle paths to promote commuting by bicycle. In fact, many governments around the world are encouraging people to ride bicycles as a way to lessen the use of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Critics of the automobile claim that driving motor vehicles creates more air pollution than any other human activity. As Marcia D. Lowe, a senior researcher at the World- watch Institute, points out, “Gasoline and diesel engines emit a large percentage of the carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides that result from fossil fuel combustion worldwide.” Another problem with cars is that the gasoline...