Green bikes offer pollution free alternative
By Stefanie Weber
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Focus
Thick, brown haze wraps around cities. Unwanted tires, appliances and other refuse float in streams. Oil spills kill thousands of wildlife inhabitants each year.
Many think of air, water and soil pollution as distinct forms of pollution. But each part of the environment, including air, depends on the plants and animals living within that environment.
SRU's Green Bike Initiative is actively trying to promote a healthy lifestyle through cycling while minimizing petroleum-based transportation and parking problems within the SRU community.
Coordinated by Steve Roberts, the coordinator of Outdoor Adventures and Club Sports on campus, the Green Bike Initiative is continuously trying to make SRU students' lives easier and the air cleaner by loaning bikes to be used for either a few minutes, a few days or a whole semester. The Green Bike Initiative also organizes events to promote health by encouraging the SR community to participate in enjoyable cycling events that can be enjoyed by all ages.
The Initiative participates in the Critical Mass on the last Friday of every month, with the exception of holiday breaks. Critical Mass is an international movement by cyclists to promote the cycling lifestyle. At SRU, the Initiative leads anyone who shows up to participate around town and campus.
According to Roberts, four different components are available to students from the Initiative.
Campus Fleet bikes, also known as Green Bikes, are available for students and the surrounding community for transportation on campus, to and from local apartment complexes and within the Slippery Rock Borough. Fleet bikes are expected to be kept in obvious view for other users-not placed on porches or in a residence. Fleet bikes are passed along throughout campus and town year-round by anyone who comes along and needs transportation.
The second component is Library Loan bikes that are available for SRU students (students must have their SRU ID) either for an entire semester or for three days. Three-day bikes can be checked out at Bailey Library, and semester bikes can be checked out at the ARC. These bikes come with a lock and key. The Green Bike Initiative received grants from the Pittsburgh 250 Commission and from the Green Fund to purchase bikes.
Many think of air, water and soil pollution as distinct forms of pollution. But each part of the environment, including air, depends on the plants and animals living within that environment.
SRU's Green Bike Initiative is actively trying to promote a healthy lifestyle through cycling while minimizing petroleum-based transportation and parking problems within the SRU community.
Coordinated by Steve Roberts, the coordinator of Outdoor Adventures and Club Sports on campus, the Green Bike Initiative is continuously trying to make SRU students' lives easier and the air cleaner by loaning bikes to be used for either a few minutes, a few days or a whole semester. The Green Bike Initiative also organizes events to promote health by encouraging the SR community to participate in enjoyable cycling events that can be enjoyed by all ages.
The Initiative participates in the Critical Mass on the last Friday of every month, with the exception of holiday breaks. Critical Mass is an international movement by cyclists to promote the cycling lifestyle. At SRU, the Initiative leads anyone who shows up to participate around town and campus.
According to Roberts, four different components are available to students from the Initiative.
Campus Fleet bikes, also known as Green Bikes, are available for students and the surrounding community for transportation on campus, to and from local apartment complexes and within the Slippery Rock Borough. Fleet bikes are expected to be kept in obvious view for other users-not placed on porches or in a residence. Fleet bikes are passed along throughout campus and town year-round by anyone who comes along and needs transportation.
The second component is Library Loan bikes that are available for SRU students (students must have their SRU ID) either for an entire semester or for three days. Three-day bikes can be checked out at Bailey Library, and semester bikes can be checked out at the ARC. These bikes come with a lock and key. The Green Bike Initiative received grants from the Pittsburgh 250 Commission and from the Green Fund to purchase bikes.
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