Meet Washington state legislator Ed Orcutt, Republican. He thinks bikers are bad for the environment.
This is from 2013, but it’s funny enough to be resurrected now.
Representative Ed Orcutt (R – Kalama) does not think bicycling is environmentally friendly because the activity causes cyclists to have “an increased heart rate and respiration.”
This is according to comments he made in an email to a constituent who questioned the wisdom of a new bike tax the legislature is considering as part of a large transportation package.
A bike tax does seem like an incredibly stupid idea. You want to encourage bikes, not tax them.
We spoke with Rep. Orcutt to confirm the email’s authenticity and to get further clarification.
“You would be giving off more CO2 if you are riding a bike than driving in a car,” he said. However, he said he had not “done any analysis” of the difference in CO2 from a person on a bike compared to the engine of a car (others have).
“You can’t just say that there’s no pollution as a result of riding a bicycle.”
Here’s that email he sent to the constituent.
I laughed a lot, thereby giving off more CO² than the cruise ship that just chugged away from here.