Alliance > Media center > People Powered Blog

Entries tagged: Climate Change

How can you enjoy the experience of a lifetime while supporting the Alliance? Sign up for the Climate Ride — the nation’s largest environmental cycling event and “green conference on wheels” this October 2-6 from Eureka to San Francisco.

Anyone who signs up for the ride gets to choose which organization they will raise money for — and you can choose the Alliance! Registrants can direct their fundraising toward multiple beneficiaries, too. That means, you can ride for, say, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Transportation Alternatives or other great Alliance member organizations and still direct a portion of your dollars to support the Alliance.

Climate Ride is a 5-day, fully-supported bicycle ride from Fortuna to San Francisco under towering redwoods, through the Russian River Wine Country, and along the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route - one of the most scenic coastlines in the world. The ride also features nightly speakers who focus on bicycle advocacy, sustainability, and renewable energy.

The organizers have opened up the beneficiary choices so now you can choose to support the Alliance specifically with your fundraising dollars. If you select us as your beneficiary when you register, we will be the sole recipient of the funds you raise. Sign up for $75 (which includes a great jersey) and then raise at least $2,400 to participate in this all-inclusive 5-day bicycle tour.

Please visit our team link to sign up or make a donation: http://climateride.donordrive.com/participant/peoplepoweredmovement.

The Alliance Gold Team is still rocking it in the 2 Mile Challenge, with members logging more than 10,000 miles of bicycle travel in the past week alone. We wouldn’t be in first place if it weren’t for dedicated folks across the country who have replaced car trips with bicycle travel and are putting their efforts toward winning the Alliance a $35,000 grant from CLIF Bar. To get to know these bike commuters and enthusiasts a little better, we’re doing 2-minute interviews with some 2 Mile Challenge participants.

Last week, we kicked it off by catching up with Pete “Dirt” Beers, a bike commuter in Virgina. This week, we spoke to Julie Viens, a senior designer living in Van Nuys, CA. Julie has racked up nearly 1,500 points, pedaling more than 2,600 miles, avoiding 675 car trips and keeping 2,430 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

What was the first car trip you replaced with a bicycle?
A trip to the grocery store. Once I realized how simple it was to replace a car with a bicycle, basket and backpack I began rethinking how I could navigate the city.

Why do you ride instead of drive?
Traffic in Los Angeles is nuts, then trying to find a parking spot can get crazy and expensive. It’s so much easier to ride a bike.

What’s your favorite two-mile trip
(Though this is always much longer than a 2-mile trip) Riding my bike to catch my favorite food truck, Lake Street Creamery.

Why did you take the 2 Mile Challenge?
The 2 Mile Challenge starts right as some of the organized rides I like to do finish. It keeps me on the bike, and out of excuses, when I am not training for a particular course.

If you could make two changes to make your community more bike friendly, what would they be?
First, I would add more bicycle friendly rail cars to the Metro system. Secondly, initiate a voucher/coupon system to help buy/provide bicycle helmets for kids and adults.

Join Julie and Pete- Take the 2 Mile Challenge today!

This fall, your organization has the opportunity to be part of massive global mobilization. On September 24, thousands — maybe millions — of bicyclists will flood the streets of capitols from Beijing to Washington, DC.

The event is called Moving Planet and it’s the latest international rally hosted by 350.org, a climate campaign started by journalist Bill McKibben back in 2007. The name is a reference to 350 parts per million — the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere according to the latest science. (Current carbon dioxide levels are at 390ppm). Over the past two years, 350.org has organized some of the largest mobilizations in the planet’s history: 5,200 climate rallies in 182 countries in 2009 and 7,200 “work parties” in 188 countries in 2010.

With more than one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation sector, the international day of action on September 24 will focus on biking and walking.

“This year is going to be about movement in every sense of the word,” Bill McKibben wrote earlier this year. “Not just the big shoulder-to-shoulder campaign we’ve built together across the world these last two years, but also powerful, fun, dramatic movement in the streets.”

The momentum is building already. According to the latest update:

• In Denver, Colorado, local organizers are planning a bike ride that will tour a few area coal power plants, encouraging the utilities to shut them down, as well as taking to the statehouse to demand better bike infrastructure throughout the state.

• In Seattle, Washington, a massive coalition of faith groups, climate, environmental and transportation groups are coming together for a mass organizer training and a day of bike rides, kayaking, skateboarding and rallies, calling for no coal exports, and sustainable transportation in the Seattle area.

• In Ohio, organizers are putting together events in Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati, where we’re working with the Mayor’s office to hold a ciclovia bike rally through downtown.

Here at the Alliance, we’re gearing up for the Moving Planet mobilization in DC. But more importantly, we’re also partnering with 350.org to get the word out and help your group create or partner on events in your area. Luckily, these folks at 350.org know how to organize. They’ve already set up helpful links so you can find:

• Planning meetings in your community
• Campaign planning workshops in your region
• Resources, like logos and posters

We’ll keep you posted with updates, but, in the meantime, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with any questions and I’ll be sure to direct you to the right person at 350.org.

The Alliance is proud to join CLIF BAR’s push to replace 100,000 car trips with healthy, pollution-free bicycle travel this summer and fall. Returning for a second year, the Alliance is excited to once again lead the Gold Team in the nationwide 2 Mile Challenge.

The 2 Mile Challenge is CLIF BAR’s innovative, online effort to fight climate change by encouraging bicycle travel for short trips. In the U.S., 40 percent of all urban trips are two miles or less, but 90 percent of those short distances are made by automobile. CLIF BAR started the 2 Mile Challenge to build community among current bicyclists, encourage more citizens to travel on two wheels and support nonprofits that are working to increase active transportation.

For this year’s Challenge, CLIF BAR aims to replace 100,000 car trips - while donating $100,000 to bicycle advocacy and climate protection.

• Three nonprofits have been selected as team leaders: Alliance for Biking & Walking, Safe Routes to School Partnership and 350.org
• Each team’s total points will determine how much money they receive. First place will earn a $35,000 grant; second place $25,000 and third place $20,000. 
• The remaining $20,000 will go to grassroots initiatives across the U.S., based on rider participation and creativity.

Join the Gold Team and start pedaling for the Alliance today! Participants will earn points for themselves and their teams by riding their bikes, logging their miles, challenging friends and sharing their progress through social media. In 2010, the Alliance Gold Team came in second place, logging more than 18,000 bike trips that traveled nearly 167,000 miles and saved 153,000 tons of global-warming carbon dioxide.

“We’re excited to continue the 2 Mile Challenge partnership with the Alliance in 2011,” Ryan Mayo, Brand Experience Manager for CLIF BAR, says. “By growing and strengthening grassroots bicycle and pedestrian advocacy in the U.S., the Alliance’s mission is in lockstep with CLIF BAR’s hope to encourage people powered transportation as a means to fight climate change and invigorate our communities.”

“The 2 Mile Challenge is a fantastic tool and incentive to get folks to park their cars and hop on their bikes for those easily pedaled short trips,” Jeffrey Miller, the Alliance’s President / CEO, says. “It brings out the best of everyone’s competitive spirit, the positive reinforcement of doing good by the planet, and a social media platform that takes bicycling advocacy to a new level. The Alliance is grateful and honored to be included and to share this tool with our many members and supporters.”

Visit http://www.2milechallenge.com and sign up for the Alliance Gold Team today. The Challenge runs from May 12 to October 31, 2011.

For many, riding a bicycle isn’t just a healthy means of transportation; it’s a moral imperative.

With international talks faltering and federal policymakers stalling on strong action to stop climate change, many of us are taking responsibility for our own carbon footprints. We know that 70 percent of oil is burned for transportation and that our obsession with car culture contributes nearly 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases.

By bicycling, we take ourselves out of that world-burning equation. But how do you get more people in your community to start subtracting Vehicle Miles Traveled, too?

A new report for the Advocacy Advance Team lays it out step by step.

In “Climate Change and Bicycling: How bicycling advocates can help craft comprehensive Climate Action Plans” our crack researchers at the Alliance and the League of American Bicyclists explain the process and provide examples from across the country.

“Climate Action Plans are strategic and comprehensive tools to combat climate change by reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions,” writes Darren Flusche, a League policy analyst and a lead author of this report. “They are being written and implemented by cities, states, and universities in lieu of aggressive federal action. Bicycling is a convenient, enjoyable, and efficient way to make short trips — 40 percent of all trips in the United States are two miles or less — and it does not emit CO2. As a result, policymakers are increasingly turning to promoting bicycling as a way to meet GHG reduction targets. Bicycling advocates can help shape Climate Action Plans to include pro‐bicycling policies.”

True to its title, the report gives a comprehensive overview, including:

• How pro‐bicycling policies have been written into the Climate Action Plans of states, cities, and universities,
• Examples of plans that include bicycling
• How bicycling advocates can best support these efforts
• How to ensure that governments follow through on the promises made in their plans.

Check out the full report here and get in touch with .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.