It’s Getting Hot In Here

Climate Riders arrive at the Capitol

Cross posted on the Climate Ride blog.

I’d never ridden a multi-day bike tour before. For that matter, until last week I’d never even  been on a ride as long as the shortest day of Climate Ride 2008, 45 miles. Many riders had never met with the Congressional offices representing them in Washington, and surely never before had 100 cyclists gone 320 miles to raise awareness of climate change and support for stopping it.

It’s appropriate that Climate Ride 2008 was full of firsts, because the issue it addresses is without precedent. The fact that each and every Climate Rider stepped up last week and did something they never had done before - be it the distance of the ride, raising $2,250 for the cause or meeting with their representatives in Congress - stands as an example for government, industry and all the citizens of this Earth.

As challenging as this ride was for some of us - my riding partner, Laura Westwood, just bought a bike in July - we all did it. Solving the climate crisis is going to require all of us to step up in courageous and at times difficult ways, but we can do it. As Betsy Taylor said to Climate Riders on night one at Princeton, this is not a technical problem, it is a political problem.

The science is in and the solutions are clear, the time is now for our Congress and President to begin aggressively supporting green jobs training, investment in clean energy research, development and production and negotiation of an international climate treaty.

This ride was an inspiration for every rider, and hopefully for our entire nation. Below are the words I shared with riders upon arrival in Washington, DC. I hope that this ride will be the first of many, and that everyone on it understands that while we have a long, long way to go, we can and will solve this crisis.

“We are here today because the global scientific community tells us that if we do not stabilize and begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the next few years, we may be faced with runaway climate change - a world that looks like the nastier parts of the bible, literally fire, flood and famine.

It’s scary stuff, but we aren’t here out of fear. We are here out of a love of our country, a love for this planet and a sincere belief in the possibility of a better tomorrow. Global warming is the greatest challenge civilization has ever faced, and our generation knows that solving it is our greatest opportunity.

Weatherizing and solarizing ever building in America won’t just generate and conserve energy - it is an opportunity to create millions of green collar jobs - green jobs that pay a family wage and provide pathways out of poverty for millions of Americans.

Investing heavily in research, development and production of clean energy technologies won’t just wean us of our addiction to fossil fuels. It is an opportunity to revitalize the ailing American manufacturing sector, and to re-establish America as a world leader - not one who coerces nations with the power of its military, but who inspires the world with the power of its ideas and innovation.

Negotiating an international climate treaty is not just a way to address global greenhouse gas emissions. It is an opportunity to reshape the international order to be more inclusive, more cooperative and more equitable.

All around the country, Americans are rising up. Initiatives like 350.org, 1sky, Green For All and Focus the Nation are bringing together communities and politicians to discuss available solutions to global warming, and to accelerate their implementation.

Many members of Congress are standing with us, and we applaud them. To those who have yet to join us, I say now is the time to either step up, or step out of the way, because there is no time to waste.

This is not a green issue, this isn’t a blue issue or a red issue - this is a red, white, and blue issue. To every patriotic American I am telling you, now is the time to stand up and do something, because we must stop global warming, we can stop global warming, and we will create a more just and prosperous clean energy future - not just for our children here in America, but for all of Earth’s citizens, for all generations to come.”