In an effort to reduce the impact of transportation on global warming, several Canadian provinces have created incentives to encourage the purchase of bicycles.

British Columbia has already eliminated retail taxes on all bikes and bike accessories, and Alberta gives its citizens $300 toward the purchase of a new bike if they trade in their used cars.

Oh, Canada. We stand on our pedals for thee.

I don’t think it’s enough, but I do think it’s likely to be more effective than the big push for ethanol, which takes almost as much energy to produce as it yields, and is raising food prices.

It’ll be interesting to see if it has any effect on how many trips are taken by bicycle instead of by car.