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An American [lawmaker / lawman] has said cycling is bad for the environment. He also said cyclists should [raise / pay] a tax to ride their bikes on the roads. Ed Orcutt, a representative from Washington State, sent an e-mail to the [owner / owned] of a local bike shop to [outline / outfit] his thinking. He wrote: "A cyclist has an increased heart rate and [desperation / respiration] . That means that the act [of / for] riding a bike results in greater [emissions / emits] of carbon dioxide from the rider. Since CO2 is…a greenhouse gas…cyclists are [actually / actual] polluting when they ride." Mr Orcutt said: “You can’t just say that there’s no pollution as a [result / cause] of riding a bicycle….You would be [given / giving] off more CO2 if you are riding a bike than driving in a car.”

Mr Orcutt also [believes / beliefs] cyclists should be taxed to use the roads. He said it was [unfairly / unfair] that motorists have to pay all of the costs of building and [repairing / fixed] roads. He wrote: "[Currently / Currency] motorists are [paving / paying] to use their cars on the roads…so if cars pay for the roads they are using, it only makes [cents / sense] that bicyclists would also be [required / requires] to pay for the roads they use when they are actually biking [on / of] them." Dale Carlson, owner of the Tech Bike Shop said Mr Orcutt's ideas were [wrong / wronged] . He wrote: "People who choose to ride a bicycle instead of driving a car actively reduce congestion." He added: "They save wear and [tear / worn] on our roads and bridges, and reduce the need for police to patrol our highways."