Whole Life Times: Electric Bikes for Commuting

November 2004 | Coop America’s Living Green

Electric Bikes for Commuting

Dear Co-op America, There is very little public transportation where I live, and the distance from my house to my workplace is a little too long to walk or bike. I’ve heard a lot about electric bikes. Could this option work for me? — Ann M. in suburbia

ABSOLUTELY! WITH a range of about 20 miles between charges, electric bikes are great for commuting and greatly reduce pollution and global warming emissions when compared to car travel.

You still pedal an electric bike, so you’ll get the exercise benefits, but there’s an electric assist to make biking up hills and across long distances easier. They will achieve speeds of up to 20 miles per hour and can be recharged from any standard household socket.

Terry Gips of Minneapolis, Minn., is such an electric bike enthusiast that he bikes his six-mile commute nearly every workday, even during frigid Minnesota winters. “Riding an electric bike is better than a regular bike because you still get exercise, but you don’t have to sweat,” he says. “It’s very easy to go up hills and into the wind and still keep a good speed, and it’s easier to take on a lot of weight. I can do my shopping and fill up my two sidebags, and I don’t notice a difference.”

Zapworld.com (707-525-8658) and CleanRide.net sell electric bikes, as do many local retailers.

Buying the Best Mattress

Dear Co-op America, I’m looking to buy a new mattress and am considering one made from memory foam. Are these mattresses toxic? — Lucas Hendrickson, Delafield, WI

SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL advocacy groups, including the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition (www.checnet.org) and the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), have raised concerns about a flame retardant commonly found in mattresses made of polyurethane foam (which would include memory foam). These chemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), build up in human and animal fatty tissues and have been linked to disrupted brain growth in lab animals. Scientists measuring the concentration of PBDEs in humans have found that body burden levels in North America have risen exponentially over the past few decades and are much higher than those found in Europe, where some countries have banned PBDEs. Studies suggest that these chemicals escape as a gas from certain plastics and polyurethane foam, and then adhere to dust that can be breathed by humans or enter the food chain by contaminating water and soil. (For details, see the 6/20/04 Los Angeles Times article “This Is the Toxic Substance You Can’t Avoid.”)

The European Union already bans penta PBDEs, the kind that are added to foam in cushions and mattresses, and California will ban them in 2008. If you’re worried about the effects of these chemicals, or any of the other chemicals used in standard mattress manufacturing, you may investigate other options.

As an alternative, consider a mattress made from natural latex and/or organic cotton or wool. Mattresses made from natural latex provide similar support as memory foam mattresses, but they are nontoxic. (Keep in mind that this is natural latex, which differs from synthetic latex, which contains toxic chemicals.) 100 percent pure natural latex is a natural, renewable material that is derived from the rubber tree (without killing it) and is biodegradable. Natural latex is anti-microbial, dust-mite resistant, and hypo-allergenic. Please note that people who have latex allergies may react to natural latex as well as synthetic latex.

Sellers of eco-friendly mattresses include EcoChoices, EcoByDesign (www.ecobydesign.com); Furnature (800-326-4895, www.furnature.com); H3Environmental (818-766-1787, www.h3environ mental.com); Lifekind Products (800-284-4983, www.lifekind.com); and Obasan (800-313-3799, www.obasan.ca).

You can also do a keyword search for mattresses at Co-op America’s Green Pages Online (www.green pages.org) to find green companies that sell a variety of nontoxic and organic mattresses.

Living Green is brought to you by Co-op America, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides green living, purchasing, and investing tips and resources. To join Co-op America and get a free copy of the National Green Pages™ directory of green businesses, contact 800/58-GREEN. If you have a question for Living Green, e-mail it.

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