Holter Graham on the Eco Merits of the Motorcycle

Holter Graham offers a behind-the-scenes look at Planet Green's Wasted and shares his eco adventures and advice.

"Four wheels bad, two wheels good."

Okay, that's not how George Orwell originally put it, but you get the idea.

American cars, forged in the image of the insecure Americans who think big=good, are, for the most part, bigger than we need, heavier than we need, less efficient than we need, and use a LOT more fuel than they should.

Finally, as gas in the US gets close to what it should actually cost - around 7 bucks a gallon is much more representative of the true costs of fuel - even the slow-changing brontosaurs of the Big Three American car companies are seeing the light and changing their ways. In fact, all of the Big Three have had smaller, smarter, more efficient cars that they have been selling all over the rest of the world. It really isn't entirely the carmakers' fault to some extent--their job is to sell us what we want, and we have wanted huge heavy stinkpots to drive from our gated community to the store four mile away with no sidewalks so that we can buy seven pounds of bottled water.

I'm guilty of it, too, sometimes, but the best way to solve a problem is to admit you have a hand in creating it.

OK, lecture over. The point is, even with carmakers coming around and making more efficient vehicles for the US purchasing crowd, there's still a little fact people miss.

A really fuel efficient car gets 35 to 45 miles per gallon while taking one man or woman to work.

My motorcycle gets 48 miles per gallon doing the same thing. And my bike isn't all that efficient; there are loads of great bikes that get mileage in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

People think "yeah but there's only ONE person on a bike."

Next time you are driving, look around. There's only ONE person in most cars. The HOV lanes are much much faster for a reason. An alien dropped onto a highway at 8:45am would report back to his mother-ship that humans must all smell absolutely horrible because they clearly aren't capable of riding together in the same car.

Motorcycles get twice the mileage, cost half as much, are easier to maintain, laughably easy to park, and, frankly, a hell of a good time to ride. When's the last time your commute made you smile?

Sure, they aren't great for grocery-getting in the snow. But most families have at least one car. Swap out the second - or, gulp, the third - car for a bike. You'll be glas you did.

C'mon. 70 miles per gallon. What could be better?

Get out in the wind.

Want to know what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint? Find out on Planet Green TV's Wa$ted.