Green Daily

Eco-friendly bicycling photographer Russ Roca has been car-free for five years. This might not seem that unusual, as more people who live in urban areas where distance is not a factor are choosing bikes as their primary mode of transportation.

However, Roca lives in a sprawling urban metropolis of Southern California, requiring him to peddle up to 35 miles to get to his work assignments. As a freelance photojournalist who needs to bring 200 pounds of camera equipment to a shoot, he is making it work with an Xtracycle frame attached to his bike.

Not driving a car can bring significant green benefit to the environment. Last August, the Center for a New American Dream Carbon Conscious Consumer Campaign asked people to pledge to drive just one day less a week. Of the 9,930 people who participated, the reduction of carbon equaled 1,403,109 pounds during the month.

Roca blogs in the Eco-Friendly Bicycling Photographer that he gets honked at but that is to be expected. In an interview with Environmental Defense, Roca muses that famous for its rain Portland, Oregon, is more bike-rider friendly than where he lives. "Here, it is flat and sunny 95 percent of the time, but there is a tremendous car culture and lack of cycling education."