If there's one industry that's boomed in this climate crisis, it's the electric bike. It's an $11 billion industry and according to this New York Times report, it's an industry that began in China and is now worth $11 billion. And business for electric bike shops is booming.

The New York Times reports: "As the global market develops, two types of electric bikes are emerging. One is similar to a standard bicycle with pedals, but it has an electric motor that engages on command or when the cyclist pedals. These are the most popular type in the United States and Europe, with many people using the electric motor mainly for help in wind or on steep hills. By contrast, in China, electric bicycles have evolved into bigger machines that resemble Vespa scooters. They have small, wide-set pedals that most cyclists do not use as they travel entirely on battery power. The bikes move at up to 30 miles an hour, with a range of 50 miles on a fully charged battery."

Electric bikes have fewer emissions of gases than cars. But they do present certain challenges. Planners, for example, will have to work out how to fit them in with the rest of traffic. The autoblog says authorities in China are now even trying to work out how to limit them.

Another point is that each bike also uses electric batteries containing 20 to 30 pounds of lead and that can result in contamination problems.

Still, the use of electric bikes is set to increase with the worldwide push to reduce emissions. Governments and councils will just need to work out how to deal with the other problems.