May is Bike to Work Month in Ottawa. Cycling to work provides many health and environmental benefits. It increases the productivity of employees, and reduces rates of sickness-related absences. It is a key way to reduce our community’s emissions of greenhouse gases.

“Cycling is a convenient, fun, healthy, and cost-effective way to travel. Small steps can have a significant impact to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, road congestion, plus noise and air pollution. Our goal is to give people an incentive to give cycling a try, and to reward those who already do,” says Jessica Wells of the non-profit organization EnviroCentre.

There’s no denying that spring has sprung quite early this year. The summer-like conditions in early March, for some, were a welcome relief from winter. For others, however, it was an ominous warning of what is to come.

The debate over climate change and global warming has been going on for over half a century – ever since scientists confirmed the process of heat from the sun being trapped in a gaseous layer around the earth, or the greenhouse gas effect.