How Cycling Can Save the World

Peter Walker -- reporter at the Guardian and curator of its popular Bike Blog -- shows how the future of humanity depends on the bicycle.

Car culture has ensnared much of the world -- and it’s no wonder. Convenience and comfort (as well as some clever lobbying) has made the car the transportation method of choice for generations. But as the world evolves, the high cost of the automobile is made clearer -- with its dramatic effects on pollution, the need for foreign oil, and the alarming rate at which people are injured and killed in crashes. Author and journalist Peter Walker argues that the simplest way to tackle many of these problems at once is with one of mankind’s most perfect inventions -- the bicycle.

In How Cycling Can Save the World, Walker will take readers on a tour of charming cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam -- where everyday cycling has taken root -- demonstrating the proven effect cycling can have on reducing smog and obesity, and improving quality of life and mental health. Interviews with public figures -- such as Janette Sadik-Khan, who lead the charge to change New York City and create more pedestrian and cyclist friendly infrastructure -- provide case studies on how it can be done, and prove that you can make a big change with just a little paint and a paradigm shift.

Meticulously researched, cleverly written, and extremely inspiring, How Cycling Can Save the World delivers on its lofty promise and leads the reader to the realization that cycling could not only save the world, but have a lasting and positive impact on their own lives.