With gas at $4 a gallon it isn’t surprising that motorcycle sales are up and that more people are using them to commute to work. However, a new article in the LA Times claims that motorcycles and scooters are bigger air polluters than Hummers (smog producers that is).

The other bad news about motorcycles is that they carry with them a higher number of deaths per million miles traveled in the US than cars and trucks. This is particularly of concern in Ohio where there isn’t a mandated helmet law.

More bang for your buck

Now before you write off the motorcycle and scooter for good, let’s talk about what motorcycles and scooters do have going for them.

Because of their size and weight, motorcycles and scooters:

• are approximately twice as fuel efficient as a car or truck
• cost a lot less
• use less resources to produce
• create less CO2 - the greenhouse gas that causes global warming - then larger vehicles

What to look for when you buy

You’ve decided that you have a commute that is ideal for owning a motorcycle or scooter, or you live in a the perfect neighborhood for scooting to the store and back. When you visit some of the great scooter stores in Cincinnati, make sure to ask a few questions.

• Ask if the scooter or motorcycle meets EPA standards - or the even stricter guidelines for models in California called CARB
• Ask if they carry any models with catalytic converters

According to the EPA, with the surging demand for scooters in the US, importers are bringing in sub-standard products that do not meet EPA guidelines. Make sure you buy from reputable dealers and ask to see the EPA sticker for the scooter. Any scooter with an engine over 50cc is required to have them.

Consider all the factors

For those of us who are more safety conscious, a motorcycle is probably not the best idea, but for many this may be a viable economic option. Keep a few things in mind if you do get one.

• Purchase a full-face helmet and heavily padded jacket
• Always wear long pants, gloves and boots when riding
• Take a motorcycle safety class

Wear your helmet

My former home state of Florida lifted their mandatory helmet law in 2000 and according to an article in the American Journal of Public Health, the state saw a 48.6% increase in motorcycle occupant deaths the year after the law changed.

After suddenly falling off my bicycle a few years ago and hitting my helmeted head on the concrete, it reinforced the need to keep the helmet on at all times. Instead of a couple of bruises, I could have been in the hospital. Now imagine going 25 to 65 mph. Enough said.

Currently, anyone over the age of 17 has the choice to wear a helmet in the state of Ohio. Regardless of the law, Live Green Cincinnati encourages everyone to wear a helmet whether biking, scooting or motorcycling your way around the tri-state.

Local Scooter Stores

Now, here are few stores in town where we suggest you start your search for the perfect scooter:

Metro Scooter

Midwest Powersports

Good luck, enjoy the road and be safe!

For more information:

EPA Scooter Alert

LA Times - Motorcycles and Emissions: The Surprising Facts

American Journal of Public Health

A green roof is an interesting idea that may seem exotic to many. Not so! Anyone can have a green roof and it can do you a world of good.

Courtesy of Jeff and Christine of Newport, KY

Why a green roof?

• Reduces the temperature of the surrounding air, reducing the Urban Heat Island effect (I’m planning to go into a bit more detail about this in a few days, but suffice to say that cities are often hotter than the surrounding rural areas because of the building materials, lack of green space, and density).
• Reduces storm water runoff. Sewers backing up around you after a few days of rain? The ones on my street are. If your roof was absorbing it’s share of that water instead of redirecting it down the drain spout and into the sewer, there’s a significantly lower chance for overflow and backing-up.
• You can breathe easier with a green roof around because plants = oxygen.
• Urban gardening is a way to bring the farmer out of any city dweller. You can read more about that at this Low Impact Man post.
• Check out this Live Green Cincinnati video pod about dream green roof.

Want to see a green roof?

• Jeff and Christine in Newport have installed their own green roof.
• The Civic Garden Center also has plans for their own green roof.

Want to learn to design a green roof?

Register for the Green Roof Design 101 course offered by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities at the Drake Center on Wednesday June 11. It’s an excellent opportunity to learn from Virginia Russell, a Registered Landscape Architect and LEED AP who also teaches at UC. CEU credits are offered.

See you there!

Duke recently received financing for clean air projects at 4 of their generating stations, including one in Hamilton County. The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority approved the funding. Duck will use the bonds to help finance the construction of solid waste disposal facilities and air quality facilities at some of their power plants.

Beginning next summer, Cincinnati and Dayton will begin using an environmentally friendlier type of gasoline at the pumps in an attempt to reduce ozone and smog in the area.

The gasoline will cost about 1 to 3 cents more per gallon, and will bring Southwest Ohio in line with federal pollution standards. The new gasoline is a blend that emits fewer vapors and burns cleaner than the current type, and is a measure enacted in order to replace the Ohio EPA’s echeck. It’s estimated that this measure will cost the average driver about $15 more each year in gasoline costs.

This measure will help offset air pollution in the area, but remember that carpooling, biking, or taking the bus rather than driving is a sure way to reduce gasoline consuption to help both pollution and your wallet.

As is my daughterly duty, I went over one evening last week to help my dad use the low-VOC paint I recommended to paint his fence. Although he said he did spend about $2-3 a gallon more than the paint he was looking at in Home Depot, he also mentioned that it was a high quality paint, he could hardly smell it at all, and that it seemed to be particularly easy to wash off his skin after a day with a paint splashing roller. I had similar results with the goldish-orange low-VOC paint I recently used for my office. On a cold day, I was able to paint in a small room with the door shut and the window only opened a crack. The paint smell wasn’t at all noticeable in the rest of the house.

Since low-VOC paint is a recommendation toward attaining a LEED green building rating for a project and is recommended by the Master Painter’s Institute, the demand for low-VOC paint is increasing. The knowledgeable Sherwin Williams rep mentioned that about 10% of all large local commercial projects are requesting low-VOC paints (up from virtually no requests just a few years ago). These include in particular almost all paint requested for UC and the area hospitals.

Personal testimonials and professional opinions are in and going low-VOC with your next paint job is highly recommended!

The Cincinnati metropolitan area ranks 8 worst in year-round particle pollution in a recent study from the American Lung Association. The Midwest US was well-represented on the list with St. Louis (#10), Indianapolis (#9), Cleveland (#6), Detroit (#4), and Pittsburgh (#2) all joining Cincinnati in the bottom 10.

So we’re on the list this year, let’s make a goal to be way out of the bottom 10 by next year.

Cincinnati can work to make improvements to particulate pollution and air quality by building to LEED green building standards with all new developments. There is a whole section in the LEED guide that focuses on indoor air quality and pollution control and will challenge architects to build cleanly. The city can also embrace mass transit and move forward with the idea of the Streetcar. Finally, get out your sneakers or your bike and make it to your next destination on self-power. It’s free, the weather is great, and it cancels out that ice cream cone you will want to stop for on your way home!