Pestiside PSA: Critial Mass Budapest 2005

When you think of Pestiside, you probably don't think of Earth Day, and all the earnest, eco-friendly stuff that goes along with the annual day devoted to honoring and trying to save the planet from ecological doom. But we love Earth, and not just because we live here and spend most of our time here. Earth is the coolest planet we know of, and saving it is pretty much the coolest thing we can think of! Which is why we are proud to offer this public service announcement - and otherwise lend our wholehearted support - to Critical Mass Budapest, the zany parade and rally that will be held this Friday, April 22nd, with the aim of making Budapest a more Earth-friendly city.

If you hadn't heard of Critical Mass, it is a giant bicycle rally through the streets of Budapest culminating in a spirited demo on Hősök tere (Heroes' Square) at 18:00. The aim of the rally is to popularize cycling in the city, as well as bring attention to the shortcomings of motorized transport, especially the pollution and traffic jams caused by people who use cars to get around town when there are other options.

Here is how the organizers put it on their (Hungarian-only) website: "We would like safe bicycle roads and bike transport and storage possibilities. Without involving politics, we want to have an effect on decision-makers in the city and nearby areas, to make them more attentive to the needs of people who would like to use bicycles every day in the city."

What we love about the CM folks is that they are not anti-car nuts, and readily confess to being kocsi-owners themselves. They just want to create some balance. So unless you are a total gas-guzzling dickhead yourself, we hope you will add your support to this excellent cause. (You can see a map of the route here.) We will certainly be there, if for no other reason that, without some sensible limits on vehicle traffic, by the time we earn enough money to buy one of these babies, it won't be any fun to actually drive it.