A great idea for a sustainable future – modifying old bicycles

First posted in January 2021. Hopefully, it’s still happening and in business.

Here’s an excellent BBC article about a couple of people in Wales who are modifying old bikes and turning them into electric ones. Our private ownership of cars is part of the reason we hit a peak of 417ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere in May 2020 and this cannot continue. Cycling, walking and shared transport are the logical options. For that to take place though we are going to need to change our infrastructure as Anne Hidalgo in Paris is doing with the 15 minute city where everything you need is a maximum 15 minute walk or cycle ride away. This idea from Wales is very green and gives new life to old bicycles and is a scheme which generates least human environmental loading on the planet, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-55533981. If you want to find out more about the 15 minute city idea here’s an article, https://eurocities.eu/latest/parisians-will-live-within-a-15-minute-radius/.

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My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

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Paris – A vision by Anne Hidalgo

I posted this almost two years ago. A city that has only shared resources is far better for all. We need to end the “My car” culture in every town and city centre across the globe.

I’m a big fan of Paris, it’s a wonderful city, but unfortunately like so many others it’s overrun by private car ownership and use despite having a brilliant public transport system. The Champs-Élysées is a great avenue and space but for most of the time it is clogged with cars. I saw Miguel Induráin win one of his Tour de France races there in the 90s, an amazing event with it is thought a million people watching. This should give you some idea of its size.

Thankfully, Paris has a visionary mayor who wants to convert the city into a city for people and she, Anne Hidalgo, has this incredible plan for the Champs-Élysées. Other cities need to start following her and start converting such places into places for the many and not the privileged few, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pariss-champs-elysees-get-green-makeover-180976737/?fbclid=IwAR0cj53g1eVGftGgNjb-XAiGRI572mgpFub9wtz_DIgJTN74ramvlYsWpP4.

Our links

Our Teemill shop site for our organic cotton clothes and bags, https://junagarh-media.teemill.com/.

My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

Also on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/junagarh_media/.

Our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JunagarhMedia.

2CV – for a kinder and slower pace of life

First posted a year ago. The 2CV has four seats but you could probably have two of them in the space of the hideous SUVs in our towns and cities. We need to ban SUVs and blingmobiles.

2nd February 2021

The only problem with this 2CV is that it is still has an internal combustion engine. It just needs to be converted to battery powered. It’s light, small and slow and ideal for getting around our small and narrow town and city streets increasingly blocked and choked up with large, heavy, too fast, polluting SUVs and blingmobiles. Time to reclaim the streets.

Our links

Our Teemill shop site for our organic cotton T-shirts and bags, https://junagarh-media.teemill.com/.

My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

Our Etsy shop, https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JunagarhMedia.

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

Also on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/junagarh_media/.

Privately owned EVs are not the solution in many cases

I posted this last January and so far our economic model of unsustainable consumption on a planet of finite resources is just to replace privately owned fossil fuel powered vehicles with battery powered ones. This is clearly unsustainable.

22nd January 2021

Because of our human centric thinking, of which I am guilty as much as anybody else, switching from a fossil fuel powered car to an EV is not the solution. Private car ownership does not scale up to 7.8 billion people. Ask yourself where the resources come and not whether you find the price too high in terms of money, https://uk.news.yahoo.com/four-five-drivers-electric-cars-000100229.html. If you had to live with the mining and extraction and production on your doorstep you would think twice about it. So as part of our future sustainability where much of humanity will need to live in the 15 minute city concept we will all have to share our transport.

Our links

Our Teemill shop site for our organic cotton clothes and bags, https://junagarh-media.teemill.com/.

My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

Our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JunagarhMedia.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

Also on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/junagarh_media/.

Paris – A vision by Anne Hidalgo

I posted this originally a year ago. To combat climate change and reduce our fossil fuel emissions by 50% by 2030 we are going to need many more cities to do what Paris is doing and that is to get rid of private car ownership.

14th January 2021

I’m a big fan of Paris, it’s a wonderful city, but unfortunately like so many others it’s overrun by private car ownership and use despite having a brilliant public transport system. The Champs-Élysées is a great avenue and space but for most of the time it is clogged with cars. I saw Miguel Induráin win one of his Tour de France races there in the 90s, an amazing event with it is thought a million people watching. This should give you some idea of its size.

Thankfully, Paris has a visionary mayor who wants to convert the city into a city for people and she, Anne Hidalgo, has this incredible plan for the Champs-Élysées. Other cities need to start following her and start converting such places into places for the many and not the privileged few, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pariss-champs-elysees-get-green-makeover-180976737/?fbclid=IwAR0cj53g1eVGftGgNjb-XAiGRI572mgpFub9wtz_DIgJTN74ramvlYsWpP4.

Our links

Our Teemill shop site for our organic cotton clothes and bags, https://junagarh-media.teemill.com/.

My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

Our Etsy shop, https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JunagarhMedia.

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

Also on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/junagarh_media/.

Time for many to ditch the privately owned car

A post I wrote about ditch the private car in the centres of our towns and cities at the very least. Paris is forging ahead with plans for the 15 minute city under the direction of Anne Hidalgo and Carlos Moreno.

May 2020

Over the last few decades our town and city centres, depending on where you live in the world have been overrun by larger, heavier and faster cars and usually very unsuited for where they are being driven. The cities have been taken over by those healthy enough and old enough to drive and not too old not to be able to drive. This has been to the detriment of everyone else in terms of their health and their safety. Take for example the British mini that rolled around London streets in the 60s, 70s and 80s and compare it to the rather larger vehicle that bears the name today. Going back the SUVs and blingmobiles of those trying to show how important they are just didn’t exist or if they did in far fewer numbers. Thankfully some forward cities are making plans to make them liveable spaces for everyone again where they become green, clean and safe for old and young, pedestrians, cyclists and all forms of public transport users. Barcelona is one such city and it is building what are called Superblocks where it joins several blocks together and only essential vehicles can enter at slow speeds Superblocks plan. In this scenario private cars still exist and are parked underground whereas for a sustainable future they will need to be replaced by shareable vehicles such as the Twizzy for short town and city journeys if not using the other forms of public transport.

 

Our links

Our Teemill shop site for our organic cotton T-shirts and bags, https://junagarh-media.teemill.com/.

My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

Also on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/junagarh_media/.

Our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JunagarhMedia.

MOT failure, San Telmo, Buenos Aires

In the UK this would be a Ministry of Transport failure but in other parts of the world if it moves then you can run it. Often this is because of necessity. We must rebuild and re-purpose our cities so that they are not built around unsustainable private car ownership. https://www.ted.com/talks/carlos_moreno_the_15_minute_city?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button__2021-01-25#t-459254

This is our website for all our photography and my books, https://www.junagarhmedia.co.uk/.

We are also on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/21104365@N06/.

Our Teemill shop site for our organic cotton T-shirts and bags, https://junagarh-media.teemill.com/.

My author page where you can discover more about my books, https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07D3ZTQ1L.

2CV – for a kinder and slower pace of life

The only problem with this 2CV is that it is still has an internal combustion engine. It just needs to be converted to battery powered. It’s light, small and slow and ideal for getting around our small and narrow town and city streets increasingly blocked and choked up with large, heavy, too fast, polluting SUVs and blingmobiles. Time to reclaim the streets.

Private owned EVs are not the solution in many cases

Because of our human centric thinking, of which I am guilty as much as anybody else, switching from a fossil fuel powered car to an EV is not the solution. Private car ownership does not scale up to 7.8 billion people. Ask yourself where the resources come and not whether you find the price too high in terms of money, https://uk.news.yahoo.com/four-five-drivers-electric-cars-000100229.html. If you had to live with the mining and extraction and production on your doorstep you would think twice about it. So as part of our future sustainability where much of humanity will need to live in the 15 minute city concept we will all have to share our transport.

Paris – A vision by Anne Hidalgo

I’m a big fan of Paris, it’s a wonderful city, but unfortunately like so many others it’s overrun by private car ownership and use despite having a brilliant public transport system. The Champs-Élysées is a great avenue and space but for most of the time it is clogged with cars. I saw Miguel Induráin win one of his Tour de France races there in the 90s, an amazing event with it is thought a million people watching. This should give you some idea of its size.

Thankfully, Paris has a visionary mayor who wants to convert the city into a city for people and she, Anne Hidalgo, has this incredible plan for the Champs-Élysées. Other cities need to start following her and start converting such places into places for the many and not the privileged few, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pariss-champs-elysees-get-green-makeover-180976737/?fbclid=IwAR0cj53g1eVGftGgNjb-XAiGRI572mgpFub9wtz_DIgJTN74ramvlYsWpP4.