Could I be greener? Yes, yes I could.
But like most of you I am trying
to be a bit more green every day.
I have been trying to think of a way to
get us heading solar for quite some time, and
although it is still out of our reach, I am not giving up.
In the meantime, you all know how I like to enforce
my love of green-ness on Farmer Dad (see older post on the way cool
old fashioned reel lawnmower I picked up on freecycle),
I think I have come up with a plan for him to get even more green.
And help our personal economy at the same time.
According to the Sierra Club's The Green Life Blog (which I LOVE!),
There are a few perks for the average green citizen included in the controversial $700 billion financial bailout bill, which is supposed to help institutions reeling from the credit-crisis tailspin. Beginning in January 2009, bicycle commuters will be eligible to receive a monthly $20 reimbursement for bike-related expenses from their employers, who can then deduct the expenses from their federal taxes. How each employer will structure the incentive program may vary, so to help cyclists take advantage of the new legislation, the League of American Bicyclists will provide updates and tips in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of its Web site.
Want to learn more? Read the text of the bailout bill here. Read the text of Bicycle Commuter Tax Provision here.Is it that cool or what? O.K., we are not getting billions,but isn't it a start?
Farmer Dad could easily get to work by bike..there is only one hill..unfortunately it's on his way home when he's tired. Maybe an electric bike? Hmmm...we'll have to look into this further.
How about you?
5 comments:
This is interesting.
We have a couple of employees who always participate in the city's annual bike-to-work week, and the same two guys sometimes choose to bike on fair weather days, if they don't have too much kid-taxiing to do before or after work. I operate the same way; if I don't have other running to do that involves passengers or heavy loads, I'll bike or walk to HQ.
Lots of northerners tend to be fair-weather bikers, not wanting to dress in layers, or take a quick "whore's bath" over the bathroom sink at work.
My favorite bike commuter is my family dentist. He bikes 20+ miles to and from work, daily, weather permitting. He has a shower in his office. He also has a couple of pretty flashy sports cars, but few people know this and he never drives them to work. I'm pretty sure his biking is about fitness, rather than ecology :-)
There is no way Nels could bike to work! We had someone give us an estimate for Solar hot water. With a new house facing south it should have been a very easy (and cheap) installation, but it wasn't (even with rebates). I really hope the technology becomes more affordable.
I love my electric bike, but I can't really handle it with the kids in the trailer. I'm commuting by bike when I don't have the kids, and by city bus when I do.
DH is getting a motorcycle to go up and catch the bus, as he will be commuting 60 miles to work soon.
Wow! 60 miles...my DH
is less than 2 miles away.
It's one BIG reason we bought and remain in this house.;-)
Hey, that is pretty cool! Pere could totally ride his bike to work (not in the winter though.)
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