Today's bike ride included a stop at Groningen Airport Eelde to attend today's protest organised by @extinctionrebellionnl
While normal capitalist businesses are expected to turn a profit or they will go out of business, our local airport receives millions of euros in subsidy each year.
Not only do airlines benefit from not paying any tax at all on the huge quantities of fuel that they burn, but each passenger flying from the airport also benefits directly from this subsidy that we all pay. Fliers don't come even close to paying the full cost to society of their flights, let alone for the destruction that they're causing for future generations.
To the greatest extent possible I do my work by human power, but there are limits to how much I can control.
This morning I made a delivery to someone who lives in a village in Drenthe so that delivery was made 100% by human power as I rode there and back in my velomobile.
Parts ordered by people who live thousands of km away are a different story. I can then only control the first few km. So I go as far by bike as I can and then those parcels continue their journeys by commercial shipping companies.
I took a short ride for exercise this morning, covering 31 km in 54 minutes with the velomobile, including traffic lights, negotiating other road users etc.
The Mango is far from the quickest velomobile available nowadays, and mine is fitted with slower puncture proof "winter" tyres because I really don't like fixing punctures in the rain, but for the same expended effort it still consistently goes about 15-20% faster than my road/racing bike or my two wheeled recumbent, a touring model which is a little slower than the road bike.
Add in the low maintenance (leading to low running costs), the weather protection and three wheels making winter cycling much safer and there's so much to like. This is the most efficient transport mode in existence and it's also very practical. It's also fun, of course.