Earth Day is a good time to write about what some people are doing to save the planet.
Consider David Kroodsma. Last fall he finished a three-year, 21,000-mile bicycle tour throughout Latin America and across the US to spread the word about global warming and possible solutions to the crisis.
Now he working with this September's Climate Ride 2008, billed as the first multi-day bike ride to raise money and awareness for climate change and renewable energy legislation.
Bike tour
Participants in the bike tour will ride 320 miles from New York City to Washington DC over five days — Sept. 20-25. Experts will talk with cyclists and community residents along the way about the science, policies and solutions for global warming.
The tour is limited to 100 bicyclists. They must each raise a minimum $2,500 to join in the tour. The money will go to support the work of Clean Air-Cool Planet and Focus the Nation.
Since this is a bicycle tour with sag support (luggage is forwarded daily by the organization), I asked Kroodsma how that fits with the tour's intended goal to curb global warming. He explained biodiesel or hybrid vehicles likely would be used for sag support.
Project leaders
Kroodsma is basically doing PR for the trip. Its founders and directors are Geraldine Carter and Caeli Quinn, two Montana bicycling enthusiasts and environmentalists. They want to inspire people to have a greater voice in governmental policies that impact global warming.
You can register for the bike tour at the Climate Ride website. You can learn more about the ride and the daily routine at the website, as well as information about how to solicit donationas and facts about global warming. Also, you can contact Geraldine Carter at info@climateride.org.
Americas tour
As for Kroodsma, I asked him about his own tours, documented at Ride for Climate USA. A former climate researcher at Stanford, he set out from California in November 2005 for a solo ride to the tip of South America. Then last April he and friend Bill Bradlee set out on a meandering 5,000-mile bike tour across the US.
I asked him what people asked him during his ride:
“One common question is “What do people in Latin America think of global warming?” My informal opinion poll of asking people – which is reflected in other more official opinion polls – is that a much higher percentage of Latin Americans than U.S. citizens think global warming is a problem and that governments should do something about it.
“I remember looking at a poll and finding it somewhat shocking. Over 90% of people in many Latin Americans think that humans are causing global warming and that we should take action, when that number is closer to 50% in the U.S.
“… Compared with surveys of countries throughout the world, U.S. citizens show some of the least concern around global warming. We are probably the most important country to take action on the issue – we have emitted the most carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and we are the only superpower. We have not only an obligation, but an ability to lead, and public opinion is not yet where it needs to be.”
So there's your reason to join the Climate Ride 2008. Your efforts might get more people thinking about the problems of global warming.
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