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