Latest news with #RockyMountainInstitute
Chicago Tribune
20-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Environmental advocates worry about Cleveland-Cliffs delayed maintenance
Cleveland-Cliffs has announced plans to delay hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance at its Burns Harbor facility. 'Every year this coal project is delayed, the future of steel comes into focus a little bit more,' Hilary Lewis, steel director at Industrious Labs, said in a statement. 'Now, Cleveland-Cliffs needs to get serious about clean steel and develop a plan to rebuild this furnace with clean, modern technology.' The steelmaker announced on May 8 that it was delaying the scheduled maintenance at one of Burns Harbor's two blast furnaces, which was originally planned for this year. In 2023, the project was delayed until 2026, and it has now been delayed again until 2027. A representative for Cleveland-Cliffs did not respond to request for comment. Near the end of a blast furnace's life, the equipment will require up to $400 million in reinvestment to continue operations for another 20 years, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit that looks at how to transform global energy systems to create a zero-carbon future. According to Industrious Labs, Burns Harbor ranks as one of Indiana's top three biggest polluters among industrial sources for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide and lead. The group's 'Dirty Steel, Dangerous Air' report that was published in October 2024 found that Burns Harbor is responsible for more than 250 premature deaths, more than 74,000 cases of asthma symptoms and more than 13,000 lost school and work days annually. The report details national and local health and economic costs of steel industry pollution. 'The adverse health effects of air pollution on multiple organ systems are well-documented and indisputable,' Allan Halline, an Ogden Dunes resident and member of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, said in a statement. 'We would hope this postponement in relining the outdated and highly polluting blast furnace indicates Cleveland-Cliffs' reconsideration of building a more cost effective and economically sustainable direct reduced iron furnace, a proven technology that can reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions by over 95%. Such a move would demonstrate a commitment to the health of their workers and the surrounding communities and to the long-term stability of jobs in our region.' Susan Thomas, policy and press director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said in a statement that due to Burns Harbor's proximity to Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes National Park, natural resources will continue to be harmed by fossil fuel use. 'With this delay, we call on Cleveland-Cliffs to move off dirty coal-reliant steelmaking, pursue green technologies to enhance our quality of place, and prove that jobs and a thriving economy can co-exist with community health and a sustainable environment,' Thomas said. Environmental advocates nationwide worry that Cleveland-Cliffs applied for presidential exemptions to sections of the Clean Air Act. A representative from the Group Against Smog and Pollution, a southwestern Pennsylvania-based nonprofit, said in an email that Cleveland-Cliffs did submit an exemption request for its Monessen Coke plant. It is unclear whether Cleveland-Cliffs also submitted an exemption request for its Northwest Indiana location. President Donald Trump will make a decision 'based on the merits' of each corporation. According to an analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund and Environmental Law and Policy Center, more than 500 facilities in 45 states were invited to apply. 'Signing onto the two-year Trump exemption provided to the fossil fuel industry increases the already alarming health statistics tied to this corporation,' Carolyn McCrady, member of GARD, said in a statement. 'We in GARD advise Cleveland-Cliffs to move in the right direction, to put people before profits to save lives and the planet itself.'
Mint
11-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
ACs heating up your electricity bill? Here's how that could change
New Delhi: In October 2023, Palava City, an urban township developed by the Lodha Group near Dombivli in Mumbai, was witness to an unusual study. For nine months, the township, in a hot and humid location, took part in a field test of super-efficient AC prototypes. The results of the study, which was conducted by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a Colorado-based clean energy non-profit, along with CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and the Lodha Group, are very encouraging: the test units consumed 60% less energy and could potentially slash electricity bills by half over their lifetime. The study was published last month. The super-efficient split AC prototypes were among the winners of the Global Cooling Prize—a $3 million challenge announced in 2018 to develop and demonstrate transformative cooling solutions. The prototypes are made using components similar to those in use today. But what sets them apart is how they sense and adjust to real world conditions, said Ankit Kalanki, principal at RMI. They run on more efficient compressors, improved coil design and advanced sensors to achieve target indoor conditions. The units won't come cheap, but the payback period is estimated to be under four years. An AC that cuts energy consumption by 60% will be a gamechanger for India. The country is already the world's fastest-growing AC market and projected to have over 1 billion room units by 2050. That will propel electricity demand for cooling nine-fold compared to 2022, as per the report released last month by RMI, which cautioned that widespread adoption of current AC technology may jeopardize both the electricity grid and national climate goals. This, in no small way, is because the backbone of cooling technology has not seen a radical reset in more than a century. A few startups, in India and globally, are now working on a mix of technologies to change that. They are trying to marry age-old methods such as evaporative cooling with the latest compressor technology to reduce energy use. Last year, for instance, Ambiator, a Hyderabad-based startup, started selling a machine it claims 'cools like an AC, but costs like a cooler". The technology takes a leaf from traditional desert coolers, which use evaporative cooling technology. In this rather ancient method, hot air drawn in by a powerful fan passes through a wet cooling pad, supplying fresh and cool air indoors. Some, such as the Florida-based Blue Frontier, are using desiccants to soak up excess humidity instead of using energy-intensive compressors (studies show that ACs use up to 25% more energy just to manage humidity). Others, such as the UK-based Barocal, are exploring a brave new world of solid-state cooling, using low-cost organic crystals instead of polluting refrigerant gases. A business on steroids A factory floor can be meditative. At a manufacturing unit run by Haier Appliances in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, hundreds of hands work in silence. Multiple parts of a machine flow in a stream, like fragments of an idea. Copper coils, compressors and blowers pass by on conveyor belts, moulded by human touch. At the end of the assembly line, every two minutes or so, a completed outdoor air conditioning unit pops out, as if by magic. In one corner of the Haier factory floor, heavy-duty units are tested in a lab, which simulates extreme weather conditions, to ensure that air conditioners (ACs) can still cool a space when outside temperatures touch an unthinkable, skin-scorching 60°C. And that they are able to deliver crisp breeze when the air outside is soaked with moisture. For manufacturers, the climate crisis is as much a test as it is an opportunity. They have to deliver machines that can function in extreme conditions, at an affordable price point. Last year, when the summer was the warmest on record, residential AC sales surged nearly 30% on-year to touch a record 14 million units. Room AC makers clocked a revenue of around ₹45,000 crore, the highest ever. Sales are estimated to double in four to five years, as the segment is growing by more than 15% annually, top industry executives told Mint. It's a business on steroids. In the consumer durables business, ACs are the engine that will drive both volumes and value in future, said N.S. Satish, president of Haier Appliances India. Household AC penetration in India is at sub-10%, compared to nearly 40% for refrigerators. So, there is enormous headroom to grow, assuming every family that owns a refrigerator today will eventually own an AC. India's room AC production capacity is estimated to grow by 40% in the next three years, ratings agency Icra said in a report last October. On its part, Haier Appliances, whose parent company is headquartered in Qingdao, China, is expanding its annual production capacity in the country from 1.5 million units currently to 4 million units. The growing demand for cooling solutions and other consumer durables presents a lucrative opportunity, and large corporations that are not already in the business are looking to get in on the action. Late last week, Bloomberg reported that Bharti Airtel founder Sunil Mittal is in advanced talks to acquire a 49% stake in the Indian unit of Haier, citing people familiar with the matter. On the flipside, more ACs will strain electricity grids, and increase both energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions manifold. Also, an ever-increasing number of ACs running for longer hours will worsen the heat island effect in cities—ACs spew out hot air, often 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient air temperature. When heat trapped by the dense concrete of cities during daytime is released at night, hot air from ACs is an added load, turning them into pockets of heat, relative to the cooler areas around them. Nights will turn uncomfortably warm. Besides, ACs use chemical refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, trapping more heat in the atmosphere than even carbon dioxide. For instance, R-32, a commonly used hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant gas, comes with a global warming potential (GWP) of 675. This means R32 traps 675 times more heat than the same amount of CO2, over a 100-year period. So, even minor gas leaks from ACs have a significant impact. Driven by discomfort The business of cooling is driven by discomfort, joked one senior industry executive. Although it was made in jest, the remark is spot on. Last summer, when temperatures breached 50 degrees celsius in many Indian cities, consumers made a beeline to purchase ACs. The pain was so acute that families that did not own a refrigerator or a washing machine queued up for ACs, upending the standard hierarchy of purchase. Despite an early onset in April, the summer has been more bearable this year, though the Met Office has forecast a higher-than-normal number of heatwave days. 'The cooling challenge will intensify as India gets to 30 million ACs by 2030. Technology gains have been incremental so far…what we need is a breakthrough," said B. Thiagarajan, managing director of Blue Star, a leading brand. While televisions went from being bulky boxes using power-hungry cathode ray tubes to slim LED-variants, air conditioners remain just as bulky as they were decades ago. And the technology driving them hasn't evolved much. The first modern air conditioner was developed in 1902 by Willis Carrier, an engineer, while trying to solve a specific problem: excess humidity damaging magazine pages at a publishing house in Brooklyn, New York. Carrier developed a system that blew air over coils filled with cold water. While excess humidity condensed on the coils, the system also produced cooled air. Within two decades Carrier developed a finer version, a centrifugal compressor, which was widely used to cool air inside movie theatres. Present-day ACs follow the same scientific principle first used a century ago: using a compressor to repeatedly alter the state of a refrigerant gas. The process follows from a law of thermodynamics: when a liquid converts into a gas, it absorbs heat. Inside ACs, chemical refrigerants evaporate and condense in repeated cycles within a closed system of coils, allowing heat to be transferred and ejected outside, while cooling the air within a room. This is vapour compression technology, and it continues to be the backbone of room AC technology more than a century on. The process is energy intensive. Despite improvements driven by energy efficiency standards, both globally and in India, a typical split AC still consumes 15-20 times more electricity than a fan. In short, there is a heavy price to pay for human comfort. District cooling solutions Vapour compression technology has reached the theoretical limits of efficiency, argues Chandra Bhushan, chief executive of the Delhi NCR-based climate think tank iFOREST. 'It's time to switch to hybrid technologies and use green refrigerants with a low global warming potential. We must think beyond individual ownership of ACs and look at centralized solutions like district cooling, which is more energy efficient. But manufacturers will want none of it…that's the politics of cooling," adds Bhushan, who is also a member of the refrigeration and air conditioning sectional committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards. District cooling is a solution where multiple buildings in an area are connected to a centralized system. In this model, large centrifugal chillers produce chilled water, which is piped to buildings for cooling. The process uses water instead of refrigerant gases and can reduce energy use by at least a third. 'Think of it as cooling-as-a-service, like piped gas or electricity supplied to homes. In India, the only notable project is the GIFT city in Gujarat. A regulatory push can hasten adoption in upcoming residential and commercial projects," said Anju Mary K., head of sustainability at Danfoss India, which offers industry-scale energy solutions. Globally, district cooling is gaining in popularity, powering iconic buildings such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, schools and hotels in Hong Kong, and the Louvre museum in Paris. Happening now Is it possible to reduce the energy required for cooling by making devices more efficient? Can a radical shift in the way ACs are built slash energy consumption? Also, is it possible to move to a benign refrigerant, one that is more planet-friendly? These are the questions driving the push to find more energy-efficient solutions. Since the advent of modern ACs a century ago, compressor technology has undergone some changes. A notable one was moving from fixed-speed to variable-speed compressors (inverter technology) in the early to mid-2000s. Inverter ACs are more energy efficient, by at least 30% or more, compared to those using older generation compressors. However, as the RMI assessment shows, this is not enough. The good news is that companies around the world are working on alternatives. For instance, Ambiator, the Hyderabad-based company cited earlier, upgraded conventional air cooler technology by adding sensors to regulate water flow and alternate between dry and wet cooling to achieve thermal comfort. Unlike traditional coolers, the Ambiator model exhausts air outdoors. The air circulation prevents the mugginess associated with coolers. And unlike ACs that recirculate air within a space, pushing CO2 levels higher, Ambiator promises a more lung-friendly alternative. The pitfall is that the machine is a bulky five-tonne capacity unit more suited for commercial spaces. Also, it won't work within 100 km of India's coastline, where humidity levels are high. 'It still solves for 70% of India, which faces dry-heat conditions. We are now working on a compact residential system combining evaporative cooling with a compressor. The latter will kick in to manage excess humidity while low-energy evaporative cooling will take care of dry heat," said Jeeten Desai, Ambiator's founder. Godrej Appliances showcased a similar technology at the Global Cooling Prize. The Godrej prototype, which was among eight short-listed finalists announced in 2019, uses a hybrid technology integrating vapour compression with advanced evaporative cooling. The prototype used a green, propane-based refrigerant (R290) with negligible global warming potential (224 times lower than R32, to be precise). Godrej is now working towards a commercial launch of this model in the next 2-3 years. In fact, way back in 2012, Godrej began selling an energy-efficient model with the R290 refrigerant. It sold some 500,000 units before withdrawing it from the market after a few years. Why? 'Back then, it was the most energy-efficient model. The market perception was that R290 is highly flammable (it still is). But so are domestic LPG cylinders, which hold 14 kg of inflammable gas—a much higher quantity compared to the refrigerant used in an AC (less than a kg for a 1.5-tonne unit)," said Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice president at Godrej. In the near future, when regulations mandate use of green refrigerants, R290 will be the fallback option, Nandi said. Being a signatory to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, India will have to phase down polluting HFCs beginning 2032. Meanwhile, unmindful of the rather technical debate around refrigerants and compressors, a quiet change is underway in India's hinterland. Annual air-cooler sales are now estimated to be at 18 million units, with branded ones accounting for a third of the market, said Deba Ghoshal, former vice president at Voltas Ltd. Air coolers use a tenth of the energy consumed by ACs and can comfortably cool in dry-heat, low-humidity regions. 'With new cooling-pad technology like honeycomb pads, humidity control sensors, powerful air throw and energy-efficient motors, air coolers are turning out to be a promising and sustainable solution. Families are no longer embarrassed to own one," said Ghoshal. To some, air coolers may seem like going back in time. But it's a sensible choice, being both pocket and planet friendly.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump blames wind power for 'driving the whales a little bit loco' — paused new developments
President Donald Trump is not a fan of wind energy, in part because he believes it's having an adverse effect on the whales. 'You know, in one area, they lost two whales, like, in 20 years washed ashore,' the president told reporters at the White House recently, 'This year they had 17 wash ashore. So, there's something [that] happened out there. There's something driving the whales a little bit loco.' While many scientists dispute this claim, the fact is that the president is taking action to slow or even stop the development of this energy source. I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) Here are 3 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Specifically, he has temporarily halted the new leasing of federal waters for offshore wind projects. He has also directed federal agencies to pause permits and approvals of on- and off-shore wind development, including the already approved Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho. Unfortunately, this will impact American jobs, as the offshore wind sector was expected to employ 56,000 more people by 2030, according to a report by American Clean Power. It could also affect both the reliability and cost of electricity. Research has shown that producing wind power can be a very cost-effective way of providing power. Texans, for example, are saving as much as $20 million per day thanks to wind and solar energy, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. With the development of wind power paused, the result could be higher energy bills. Consumers should start preparing for this possibility by taking a few key steps to help keep their utility costs down. Here are three options. There are many upgrades you can make to your home that can help reduce the amount of electricity you use and, in turn, help keep your costs down. One of the best options is upgrading to energy-efficient appliances. According to Energy Star, if you choose certified appliances, you can save around $8,750 on utility bills over the life of the product, reducing the cost of running the appliance by around 30%. While the U.S. Department of Energy suggests that you can save around 10% on your utility bill by adjusting your thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours each day. Programmable thermostats can make this process automatic, which makes saving money even easier. Other upgrades could include energy-efficient windows, adding more insulation to your home and using power strips to shut off the electricity to electronics and appliances, avoiding phantom power loss when you aren't using them. All of these steps can help you spend less on powering your home — even if you have no choice but to rely on fossil fuel energy. Read more: Trump warns his tariffs will spark a 'disturbance' in America — use this 1 dead-simple move to help shockproof your retirement plans ASAP Installing solar panels at home can be a great investment. reports that the payback time for most homeowners is less than 10 years. There are both state and federal incentives for installing solar power in many parts of the country, and you may be able to finance your system through a personal loan. You could also enter into a power purchase agreement, which means you wouldn't own the panels but would benefit from the clean power produced and still enjoy lower utility bills. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency can help you find programs in your area, and the Residential Clean Energy Credit, in effect through 2032, provides a tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of installation, which can be a big savings. In many parts of the country, you can also shop around for an electricity provider. Around 45 million consumers benefit from retail energy choice, and you can find out if you are one of them by visiting the website of your state's utility commission. If you live in a deregulated market and have the choice of who provides your electricity, you should compare options to see which company will charge you the least for the power you use. Many companies lock in your rate only for a limited period, so you may have to do this a few times a year — but you can realize potentially significant savings. Taking these steps could help you avoid increased electricity costs that you may be faced with if a shift towards alternative energy is held up at the federal level. Regardless, it can be worth finding ways to cut your utility bills, especially if you can invest a little bit up front and enjoy reduced costs for years to come. Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Cost-of-living in America is still out of control — and prices could keep climbing. Use these 3 'real assets' to protect your wealth today, no matter what Trump does This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
An Ode to My Family's E-Bike
On a chilly morning last October, my 8-year-old daughter and I took our new e-bike, which she had named Toby, on its maiden voyage to school. We admired trees exploding in vibrant golds and flocks of geese soaring above. To amuse ourselves, we'd brought along a life-size Halloween skeleton, which sat in the back with my daughter, arms outstretched in a friendly wave. Along the way, people honked, smiled, and stopped to chat. I felt connected to our neighborhood in a way I hadn't ever experienced. Before Toby, mornings spent driving my daughter to school were monotonous and filled with traffic. Since the purchase, our commutes have become daily highlights. My daughter and I bond with each other and our community, and we get to appreciate the time outdoors, all while saving on car maintenance and mitigating our carbon footprint. But the e-bike has changed our life in many other ways too—some of them unexpectedly profound. Our family's motivation to get an e-bike started with climate concerns. Kids learn by example, and my husband and I often wondered if we were setting the right one by driving two gas-guzzling cars. But the alternatives were limited. We couldn't afford to purchase an electric vehicle. Electric scooters were out of the question—they're meant to transport only one person and can be dangerous for children. I tried biking to school once, my daughter behind me in a trailer. Many miles later, I showed up drenched in sweat—great as a workout, but impractical for day-to-day. [Read: How school drop-off became a nightmare] So when our city introduced subsidies on e-bikes, we decided to give one a try. They're fairly safe, cheaper than cars, and gentle on the environment. Plus, one study shows that they make for some of the happiest commuters. We chose one in a zippy sky blue, with two padded bench seats, metal safety bars, and oversize storage bags on either side. It's cheerful and somehow charismatic, befitting its sweet name. From our first trip that October day, it was clear how much easier and more pleasant getting around on Toby would be than driving in a car. We avoided the worst of the car traffic and all the huffing and puffing of cycling. E-bikes are still great exercise—riders burn only about 15 to 30 percent fewer calories on them than people on typical bikes do—but you probably won't get sweaty enough to need a shower. I also felt good knowing that riding Toby enabled us to act more in line with our environmental values. Research from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on energy, has found that if all drivers in the 10 most populous American cities switched from cars to e-bikes for trips shorter than five miles—a category that makes up more than 60 percent of all car trips in the United States—the emissions reductions would be 'equivalent to avoiding the use of four natural gas plants over the course of a year.' And the costs were affordable for our family. Our e-bike was $1,200 after the subsidy, requires an annual $200 tune-up, and accrues negligible electricity costs. They're a bit pricier without the subsidies—good ones go for about $2,000—but savings on gas could add up fast. More than the practicality, I've appreciated how much easier Toby has made it to connect with my daughter. Sitting directly behind me, she's more involved in our journey than when she's in the back seat of a car, so opportunities for learning come naturally. I alert her to upcoming bumps, narrate various turns and stops, and ask her to double-check for cars coming up behind us. We've discussed the satisfaction of using our bodies to get somewhere rather than letting the throttle do all the work. Toby can go up to 25 miles per hour, so I've explained the importance of slowing down for pedestrians. Being out in the open air also gives us a chance to stop and say hello to people we recognize and to meet our neighbors, which we rarely did before. 'We don't belong in silo'd cars driving around our neighborhoods,' Arleigh Greenwald, a bike mechanic and the creator of the online community resource Cargo Bike Life, told me in an email. Whereas cars shut us off from other people, bikes open up opportunities to bond. Riding them is a step toward 'creating a connected community,' Greenwald wrote. [Read: The real reason you should get an e-bike] Of course, e-bikes aren't for everyone. Families in high-level apartments without elevators would struggle to lug them upstairs. Parking them outside takes some forethought and a good lock. Most batteries last for only about 15 to 60 miles, so the bikes are best for shorter travel. They won't help much with moving either. Toby can handle Costco runs for our family of three, but probably not for a big family. For those who do use an e-bike, getting around can be tricky. Cities weren't built for e-bikes, and Greenwald pointed out that some roads aren't safe for them. She recommended testing routes on your own before you bring your kids, asking local bike shops about safe options, and accepting when you'll have to go with another mode of transport. 'If I'm replacing as many car trips with safe e-bike trips as possible,' Greenwald told me, 'I'm doing great!' In our rides, my daughter and I have encountered plenty of these infrastructural hurdles. Some routes don't have bike lanes or have lanes that end at random spots; others expect us to go up stairs. When this happens, my daughter and I chat about why, and then we contact our local representatives together to request improvements—an important lesson in civic engagement. But once we found our best route to school, these obstacles faded. It takes five extra minutes each way, but that time is spent along a river trail where we've spotted herons, kingfishers, and kestrels. Our time outside has otherwise decreased as my daughter has gotten older, so this tether to the outdoors has been a gift. Being in nature can help kids manage stress, grow more self-confident, and maintain their mental health, Pooja Tandon, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute, told me in an email. I see this in my daughter, who seems cheerful and refreshed most mornings, not half-awake like she used to be. No matter how well her day starts, school can still be an interpersonal minefield. When I picked my daughter up in the car, she dealt with the residual stress by communicating through grunts. Now, perhaps energized by our rides, she tells funny or embarrassing tales, and updates me on the second-grade gossip. I've found that challenging conversations are easier on Toby too. When our cat recently passed away, my daughter waited until our commute to ask hard questions about death. Surrounded by nature and without the pressure of direct eye contact, I was able to think calmly about how to answer her in honest, age-appropriate ways. It's been about five months since Toby's first journey, and we've ridden nearly 1,000 miles. These days, e-biking feels easier than driving, even in situations you might not expect. We recently biked home after school as dark clouds rolled in over the Rockies and the first snowflakes of a late-winter storm feathered the sky. At a red light, we heard my daughter's name and saw her classmate's family in an SUV next to us; they seemed shocked that we were biking in the cold. I might have felt that way once too. But we were dressed warmly, and we didn't want to give up our ride along the river path. That day, we watched waterfowl tuck into the river shallows for the evening and stopped to tell a neighbor with a new baby that we'd shovel their driveway in the morning. I worried that my daughter might have felt embarrassed about the stoplight encounter, but as we unbuckled our helmets in our driveway, she said she bet her friend had been wishing he was on an e-bike too. She clearly understood what I'd come to learn about e-bikes: Yes, our commutes were slightly slower and a little chillier than they once had been, but they were also so much richer. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Atlantic
An Ode to My Family's E-Bike
On a chilly morning last October, my 8-year-old daughter and I took our new e-bike, which she had named Toby, on its maiden voyage to school. We admired trees exploding in vibrant golds and flocks of geese soaring above. To amuse ourselves, we'd brought along a life-size Halloween skeleton, which sat in the back with my daughter, arms outstretched in a friendly wave. Along the way, people honked, smiled, and stopped to chat. I felt connected to our neighborhood in a way I hadn't ever experienced. Before Toby, mornings spent driving my daughter to school were monotonous and filled with traffic. Since the purchase, our commutes have become daily highlights. My daughter and I bond with each other and our community, and we get to appreciate the time outdoors, all while saving on car maintenance and mitigating our carbon footprint. But the e-bike has changed our life in many other ways too—some of them unexpectedly profound. Our family's motivation to get an e-bike started with climate concerns. Kids learn by example, and my husband and I often wondered if we were setting the right one by driving two gas-guzzling cars. But the alternatives were limited. We couldn't afford to purchase an electric vehicle. Electric scooters were out of the question—they're meant to transport only one person and can be dangerous for children. I tried biking to school once, my daughter behind me in a trailer. Many miles later, I showed up drenched in sweat—great as a workout, but impractical for day-to-day. So when our city introduced subsidies on e-bikes, we decided to give one a try. They're fairly safe, cheaper than cars, and gentle on the environment. Plus, one study shows that they make for some of the happiest commuters. We chose one in a zippy sky blue, with two padded bench seats, metal safety bars, and oversize storage bags on either side. It's cheerful and somehow charismatic, befitting its sweet name. From our first trip that October day, it was clear how much easier and more pleasant getting around on Toby would be than driving in a car. We avoided the worst of the car traffic and all the huffing and puffing of cycling. E-bikes are still great exercise—riders burn only about 15 to 30 percent fewer calories on them than people on typical bikes do—but you probably won't get sweaty enough to need a shower. I also felt good knowing that riding Toby enabled us to act more in line with our environmental values. Research from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on energy, has found that if all drivers in the 10 most populous American cities switched from cars to e-bikes for trips shorter than five miles—a category that makes up more than 60 percent of all car trips in the United States—the emissions reductions would be 'equivalent to avoiding the use of four natural gas plants over the course of a year.' And the costs were affordable for our family. Our e-bike was $1,200 after the subsidy, requires an annual $200 tune-up, and accrues negligible electricity costs. They're a bit pricier without the subsidies—good ones go for about $2,000—but savings on gas could add up fast. More than the practicality, I've appreciated how much easier Toby has made it to connect with my daughter. Sitting directly behind me, she's more involved in our journey than when she's in the back seat of a car, so opportunities for learning come naturally. I alert her to upcoming bumps, narrate various turns and stops, and ask her to double-check for cars coming up behind us. We've discussed the satisfaction of using our bodies to get somewhere rather than letting the throttle do all the work. Toby can go up to 25 miles per hour, so I've explained the importance of slowing down for pedestrians. Being out in the open air also gives us a chance to stop and say hello to people we recognize and to meet our neighbors, which we rarely did before. 'We don't belong in silo'd cars driving around our neighborhoods,' Arleigh Greenwald, a bike mechanic and the creator of the online community resource Cargo Bike Life, told me in an email. Whereas cars shut us off from other people, bikes open up opportunities to bond. Riding them is a step toward 'creating a connected community,' Greenwald wrote. Read: The real reason you should get an e-bike Of course, e-bikes aren't for everyone. Families in high-level apartments without elevators would struggle to lug them upstairs. Parking them outside takes some forethought and a good lock. Most batteries last for only about 15 to 60 miles, so the bikes are best for shorter travel. They won't help much with moving either. Toby can handle Costco runs for our family of three, but probably not for a big family. For those who do use an e-bike, getting around can be tricky. Cities weren't built for e-bikes, and Greenwald pointed out that some roads aren't safe for them. She recommended testing routes on your own before you bring your kids, asking local bike shops about safe options, and accepting when you'll have to go with another mode of transport. 'If I'm replacing as many car trips with safe e-bike trips as possible,' Greenwald told me, 'I'm doing great!' In our rides, my daughter and I have encountered plenty of these infrastructural hurdles. Some routes don't have bike lanes or have lanes that end at random spots; others expect us to go up stairs. When this happens, my daughter and I chat about why, and then we contact our local representatives together to request improvements—an important lesson in civic engagement. But once we found our best route to school, these obstacles faded. It takes five extra minutes each way, but that time is spent along a river trail where we've spotted herons, kingfishers, and kestrels. Our time outside has otherwise decreased as my daughter has gotten older, so this tether to the outdoors has been a gift. Being in nature can help kids manage stress, grow more self-confident, and maintain their mental health, Pooja Tandon, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute, told me in an email. I see this in my daughter, who seems cheerful and refreshed most mornings, not half-awake like she used to be. No matter how well her day starts, school can still be an interpersonal minefield. When I picked my daughter up in the car, she dealt with the residual stress by communicating through grunts. Now, perhaps energized by our rides, she tells funny or embarrassing tales, and updates me on the second-grade gossip. I've found that challenging conversations are easier on Toby too. When our cat recently passed away, my daughter waited until our commute to ask hard questions about death. Surrounded by nature and without the pressure of direct eye contact, I was able to think calmly about how to answer her in honest, age-appropriate ways. It's been about five months since Toby's first journey, and we've ridden nearly 1,000 miles. These days, e-biking feels easier than driving, even in situations you might not expect. We recently biked home after school as dark clouds rolled in over the Rockies and the first snowflakes of a late-winter storm feathered the sky. At a red light, we heard my daughter's name and saw her classmate's family in an SUV next to us; they seemed shocked that we were biking in the cold. I might have felt that way once too. But we were dressed warmly, and we didn't want to give up our ride along the river path. That day, we watched waterfowl tuck into the river shallows for the evening and stopped to tell a neighbor with a new baby that we'd shovel their driveway in the morning. I worried that my daughter might have felt embarrassed about the stoplight encounter, but as we unbuckled our helmets in our driveway, she said she bet her friend had been wishing he was on an e-bike too. She clearly understood what I'd come to learn about e-bikes: Yes, our commutes were slightly slower and a little chillier than they once had been, but they were also so much richer.
