As an avid bike commuter (100 percent human-powered) and environmentalist, I’m not impressed by the pervasive urban myth about e-bikes’ potential to replace car usage and therefore reduce pollution.
Regular bicycles, and some good exercise, have the exact same potential. We have been using cassettes and sprockets of various sizes to allow for high speeds and steep hills for half a century. The excessive environmental impact from the materials mining and manufacturing of the batteries and electric motors fly in the face of the claimed green-ness of these toys, when there is low-impact technology available.
I’m calling them toys because half the time I encounter e-bikers on bike paths with their legs hardly moving (i.e., no exercise). Let’s tax these things like cars/motorcycles, at a lower rate, of course, if they are indeed urban transportation vs. entertainment, like the similarly frivolous e-skate boards and scooters.
Lastly, I’d love to see an adoption of speed limits on bike paths (like in Europe), as I get startled often by speeding/passing e-bikers who don’t even care about announcing themselves.
Peter Reppe
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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