Hello! My name is Andrés Cascante and I’m a student of Public Relations and Publicity. Since I was a child, I’ve always been concerned about our ways of commuting and moving through the city. There’s so much pollution now in our beautiful towns that we really can’t enjoy a beautiful sunset anymore. A big part that contributes to this pollution is all the carbon emissions made by different means of transportation, specially cars.

A few years ago I went to live in Berlin for almost a year. This experience was amazing for my personal growth and for having a wider worldview, but I learned something amazing: we can really change the ways that we use to transport around the cities. We don’t have to depend on cars, because in Berlin I learned that using bikes was something very cultural, and that it didn’t even matter if they were in winter, they’d still use them to commute to their schools and work.

I’d be amazing if in Costa Rica we could implement this view of commuting, and that’s the reason why my little action to save our planet is using my bike to go to the university. The transportation sector accounts for nearly 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. While a solo driver in an average vehicle releases about 1.2 pounds of C02 per mile, the average cyclist releases only 0.7 grams through respiration. Besides, using a bike is always relaxing, fun and healthy. The University of Costa Rica is prepared for all of those who want to start doing this little action too, with parking lots for bikes, and even if you don’t have one, you can get a bike for almost a week for free in the Student’s Federation offices.