Mexico City offers bikes in its clean air campaign

 Mexico City (AP)- Pedaling placidly, black-suited businessmen and women in dresses and high heels wheel shiny red bikes between growling green buses, serenaded by shrill police whistles and coughing diesel trucks, the morning sunlight filtering through yellow smog.

Happy Earth Day, Mexico City.

With its scofflaw drivers, gridlocked traffic and cobblestoned downtown, Mexico City isn't the most bicycle-friendly place. But residents are being asked to take the risk for Madre Tierra as part of a larger campaign that leaders hope will clean up this 700-year-old metropolis.

"As we commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, cities around the world are putting innovative ideas into action to reduce their carbon footprints. And Mexico City has proven that we don't need to wait for a global commitment to care for the environment," said Mayor Marcelo Ebrard.

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