For well over a hundred years, people have hopped on bicycles for transportation, recreation, competition, and more. In many parts of the world, spinning pedals moves goods and generates electricity. While usually attached to two wheels, pedal power takes many forms, adapting to a wide range of needs. Globally, over 100 million bicycles are produced every year - over 60% of them in China - easily doubling world production of automobiles. Efficient, clean, and cheap, pedal power in all its forms can solve modern problems with basic technology, and offers a health benefit to those cranking away. And it's hard to beat the simple joy of riding a bike. Gathered here are images of people around the world as we pedal for a reason, or just because. -- Lane Turner (49 photos total)
A boy rides his bicycle near rice fields in Bago, Myanmar on February 20, 2012. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
- Afghanistan
- afghanistan africa
- Ai Weiwei
- Aigle
- al-Qawalish
- Alan Dowden
- Alexander Joe
- Altlandsberg
- Amsterdam
- Android
- Anthony Bolante
- ANTONY DICKSON
- Appropriate technology
- Austin
- Bago
- Bangkok
- basic technology
- Beijing
- Belgium
- Ben Hurt
- Benoit Tessier
- Bicycles
- Bosnia
- Boston
- Boston Globe
- Brussels
- Bulgaria
- California
- Carlos Barria
- Chao Phraya River
- Charles Dickens
- Chiba
- Chile
- China
- China Daily
- clean transportation
- Colorado
- Congo
- Cycling
- Daniele Badolato
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Denis Balibouse
- Dieter "Didi" Senft
- Dina Rudick
- Dresden
- Durban
- electricity
- electronics
- Eliseo Fernandez
- Europe
- Felix Girola
- Fishing Creek
- France
- Franz Coquidor
- gas station
- Georges Gobet
- Germany
- Getty Images
- Gillette
- Green Bay
- Green Bay Packers
- Havana
- high-tech bicycle
- Ho Chi Minh City
- iPhone
- Italia
- Italy
- Japan
- Japan's Murata Manufacturing Co.
- Jilin
- Joaquim Rodriguez
- Jorge Dan Lopez
- Kim Kyung-Hoon
- Lahore
- Lane Turner
- Leon Neal
- Libya
- London
- Los Angeles
- Mark Blinch
- Mark Dadswell
- Mark Ralston
- Marvin Wang
- Matt Cardy
- May Day
- Melbourne
- Mexico
- Mexico City
- Mike Montgomery falls
- Minamisanriku
- Mohsin Raza
- mountain view
- Mushaki
- Myanmar
- National Football League
- New Delhi
- New Year's Day
- NFL
- NFL
- North Korea
- NY Times Co.
- Oregon
- Paris
- Pasig
- Patrick Lin
- PATRICK PLEUL
- Paul Reubens
- Pennsylvania
- Peter Macdiarmid
- Philippines
- Portland
- Portsmouth
- Recumbent bicycle
- religion science society sports technology
- religion science society sports technology
- River Elbe
- Robert Marchand
- Robert Michael
- Robin Utrecht
- Rupert
- Ryder
- Sam Yeh
- Sao Paulo
- Seattle
- Seattle Sperm Bank
- Shanghai
- SIMON MAINA
- Soccer Championship
- Steve Richardson
- Storkow
- Switzerland
- the 2011 Scream Awards
- the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
- The Denver Post
- the Tour de France
- Tidworth
- Toronto
- transportation
- Union Cycliste Internationale
- United Kingdom
- Vail
- Valparaiso
- Washington D.C.
- winter games
- Winter Olympics
- Wis
- Wisconsin
- Wonsan
- Wyoming
April 22 will mark Earth Day worldwide, an event now in its 42nd year and observed in 175 countries. The original grass-roots environmental action helped spur the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act in the United States. Gathered here are images of our planet's environment, efforts to utilize renewable alternative sources of energy, and the effects of different forms of pollution. -- Lane Turner and Leanne Burden Seidel (35 photos total)
A ladybug in flight spreads its wings as it flutters from grass blade to grass blade at Rooks Park in Walla Walla, Wash. on April 2, 2012. (Jeff Horner/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin/Associated Press)
- Afghanistan
- afghanistan africa
- Africa
- Amir Cohen
- Andre Borschberg
- Andre Kuipers
- Antarctica
- Antonio Parrinello
- Atacama desert
- Australia
- Ballona Creek
- Beijing
- Belarus
- Borneo Island
- Bosnia
- Boston Globe
- Brehec bay
- Brendon O'Hagan
- burial site
- Calama
- California
- Calipatria
- cellular telephone
- Charlestown
- Cheryl Ravelo
- Chile
- China
- China Central Television
- Cleveland
- Cleveland State University
- Clifford Goudey
- Cuzco
- David Loh
- David McNew
- Delhi
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Dina Rudick
- Earth Day
- easter
- ED JONES
- electric utilities
- electricity
- energy
- energy-saving technologies
- energy-saving technologies
- engineering technology
- enormous energy crisis
- Environment
- ESA
- Farooq Naeem
- France
- Fred Tanneau
- Fuentes de Andalucia
- gas mask
- gas masks
- geothermal energy plant
- Germany
- Getty Images
- Getty Images
- Glarus
- Gwenn Duborthomieu
- Halliberu
- holy week
- Ibi
- illegal oil refinery
- India
- Indonesia
- iPhone
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jeff Horner
- Jeff Horner/Walla Walla Union
- Jian River
- Jigokudani valley
- Josh Reynolds
- Karen Gleason
- Kawasaki City
- Kenya
- Lane Turner
- Leanne Burden Seidel
- Leonardo Bravo
- Lisa Poole
- Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times
- Luoyang
- M.I.T
- Majid Rashidi
- Manila
- Manila Bay
- Marcelo del Pozo
- Mariana Bazo
- Martin Bernetti
- Massachusetts
- Mexico City
- Mount Etna
- Mount Vrenelisgaertli
- Murree
- Nagano Prefecture
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Negev desert
- New Delhi
- New Zealand
- New Zealand reef
- Newburyport
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- NY Times Co.
- Octavia Ccahuata
- Pakistan
- Peru
- Plouezec
- Ramon Crater
- religion science society sports technology
- religion science society sports technology
- river Yamuna
- Sajjad Hussain
- Salton Sea
- Sampit
- Sarawak
- Savichi
- Shanghang
- Sicily
- Sicily
- Singapore
- so-called microgrids
- solar car race
- Solar Impulse
- Spain
- Stock photography
- the Boston Globe
- Toby Melville
- Tokyo Electric Power Co
- TONY KARUMBA
- U.S. Embassy
- United Nations
- United States
- Vasily Fedosenko
- Waihi Beach
- Walla Walla
- Washington
- water network
- wave energy converter prototype
- Wind Blade Testing Center
- Yamuna river
- Your Town
- Yusuf Ahmad
Seemingly strange weather patterns continue to break high and low temperature records. The same patterns spawned an early tornado season in the midwestern United States and brought late season snowstorms to the west. Record snow falls and frigid temperatures characterized a particularly difficult winter across Europe with many deaths attributed to the conditions. Signs of Spring for the Northern Hemisphere (which began officially with the Vernal Equinox - March 20 - when the hours of day are approximately equal to the hours of night) like trees blossoming and flowers blooming, the shedding of winter coats and the desire of anyone -who has spent an all too long winter season indoors - to venture outside to soak up the sun. -- Paula Nelson (45 photos total)
Cherry blossoms of the Japanese Yoshino variety bloom along the Tidal Basin, March 19, 2012, in Washington, DC, with the Jefferson Memorial to the rear. This season celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the gift of the cherry trees from Japan to Washington, DC. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)
- Afghanistan
- afghanistan africa
- Aileen Palmer
- Anaheim
- Android
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Beijing
- Berlin
- Biology
- Bosnia
- Boston
- Boston Globe
- Boston Red Sox
- Botany
- Brent Wojahn
- Bruce Chambers
- California
- Cambridge
- Cannon Beach
- Carl Court
- Charles River
- Cherries
- Cherry blossom
- Chicago
- China
- Cleveland
- Connecticut
- Corpus Christi Caller-Times
- Costa Rica
- Den Bosch
- Dina Rudick
- Dinuba
- Dresden
- east coast
- East Coast
- East Lyme
- Eddy Dee
- Eric Paul Zamora
- Europe
- Fernando Casasempere
- Florida
- Frederic J. Brown
- Fresno County
- Germany
- Getty Images
- Getty Images
- Glorie Dowell
- Grayson Slama
- Helen Herron Taft
- Houston
- iPhone
- Jackie Stradinger
- Jacksonville
- Japan
- Jeff Horner
- Jeff Horner/Walla Walla Union
- Jesse Mendoza
- Jim Davis
- Joanne Rathe
- Joel Saget
- Johnny Hanson
- Karen Bleier
- Lake Strongheart
- Larry Downing
- Leah Millis/The Tampa Bay Times
- Lenny Payne
- Leonard Wood
- Lisa Polinori
- London
- Los Angeles
- Lydia Hennighausen
- Maggie
- Major League Baseball
- Marcel Van Hoorn
- Mario Tama
- Mark Crosse
- Martin Luther King , Jr.
- Massachusetts
- Matthias Hiekel
- Meade
- Mediterranean
- Mediterranean Sea
- Michael Paulsen
- Michael Zamora
- Moscow
- New York
- New York City
- Newton
- NY Times Co.
- Oregon
- Paris
- Paul J. Richards
- Paula Nelson
- Philadelphia
- Port Aransas
- Portland
- Rachel Korine
- religion science society sports technology
- religion science society sports technology
- Rosaceae
- Samia Jones
- San Francisco
- San Gabriel Mountains
- Santa Ana River
- Sean D. Elliot
- Selena Gomez
- Selma
- Spring Break Foam Party
- Spring Breakers
- Sunset Beach
- Suzanne Kreiter
- Texas
- the 100th anniversary of the gift from Japan to the United States
- the Boston Globe
- The Florida Times-Union
- The Fresno Bee
- The Houston Chronicle
- The Netherlands
- The Orange County Register
- The Oregonian
- The Tampa Bay Times
- Thomas PeterReuters
- United States
- Valery Hache
- Vernal Equinox Day
- Virginia
- Viscountess Chinda
- Vito Soprano
- Walla Walla
- Washington
- Washington
- Washington, DC
- World Water Day
- Your Town
- Yuri Kadobnov