Brita Climate Ride California - Sept. 21-25, 2010 - 5 days - 320 miles

In this issue Read Climate Ride coverage in the blogosphere: Treehugger, 1Sky, The Lazy Environmentalist The Seaweed Rebel and Top USGS Climate Scientist Join the Ride Learn more about our unique Expert Speaker Series.  It's one thing to sit in a conference, it's another thing to RIDE in one!   It's July.  Can I still sign up? Want to help?  Check out our Wish List!	Can I do one simple thing to help Climate Ride?  Yes! Forward this message to a friend! Things are heating up in the Climate Ride world (but in a good way!).  Blake, our ride director, is hosting a training ride in San Francisco this weekend (click here for details).  Inspiring speakers are coming on board.  Not only do they "walk the walk" in the world of climate and energy, they RIDE the RIDE!  Remember, the ride is limited to 150 riders!  Click here to get your spot on Climate Ride.
David worked as a war correspondent in Northern Ireland and Central America, covered a range of issues from military science to the AIDS epidemic, and reported from every continent including Antarctica. An award-winning journalist, he produced more than 40 broadcast documentaries for PBS, The Discovery Channel, and others. His print work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, LA Times, Smithsonian, Popular Science, Sierra, and The Nation.	The Original Seaweed Rebel, David Helvarg, to Speak Considering our ride location along the prolific Pacific coast, the future of our oceans on a warming planet is a looming topic.  We are honored to welcome David Helvarg, president of the Blue Frontier Campaign and the author of four books: Blue Frontier, The War Against the Greens, 50 Ways to Save the Ocean and Rescue Warriors.   He's the editor of the Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide, organizer of several ‘Blue Vision' Summits for ocean activists, and winner of Coastal Living Magazine's 2005 Leadership Award and the 2007 Herman Melville Literary Award.
Dan helped establish the Western Mountain Initiative, a program to tie mountain science across different areas, and is active in several international science networks that address mountain issues.  He recently received the Director's Award for Natural Resource Research from the National Park Service and serves on the Montana governor's advisory board for climate change.	Renowned Glacier Researcher to Join Climate Ride!   Dan Fagre is the Research Ecologist and Climate Change Research Coordinator for the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center of the U. S. Geological Survey.   He's worked for the past 15 years in the Northern Rocky Mountains to understand how global-scale environmental changes will affect our mountain ecosystems.   His diverse research programs have addressed glaciers, avalanches, amphibians, alpine plants, paleoclimates, snow chemistry and ecosystem dynamics of bioregions.
	Ride News "It's July! Can I still sign up, fundraise and train?" Yes you can!  The ride is 2 1/2 months away.  Most of our riders are signing up now.  Have a question or concern?  Email Geraldine, our fountain of rider support and Climate Ride concierge (LOL)! Check out our Wish List!  Do you live in the Bay Area and want to donate your hybrid, bike racks, big coolers, fresh-baked goodies etc.  Contact us to make gear loans or donations.  Every bit helps!
Many thanks to our title sponsor Brita and the Filter for Good campaign! This charitable ride benefits Rails-to Trails Conservancy, 1Sky and Green America.



Join Blake Holiday, the Ride Director, this Saturday for a fun, easy training ride. Please feel free to bring along any friends who might be interested in learning more about Climate Ride-- this is a great opportunity to ask the Ride Director himself about it!

This spring, I had the chance to go up to Alaska with nine other classmates from my school.  We were up there for 17 days living in remote villages.  The focus of the trip was to study how climate change was affecting the environment and the lives of the people up there. Also, there are many proposals with drilling for oil in the area, so we heard their opinion on that was well.

So we first went to a village called Arctic Village, which is inland in Alaska, and visited the Gwich’in Indians.  They have been around thousands of years and have settled in different areas around Arctic Village.  The village consists of 160 people and has for most of its time there.  The Gwich’in people live off of the Porcupine Caribou Herd that travels by their home in the winter.  They catch as many as they can, to last them throughout the year.  But Shell oil is proposing to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where the caribou have their calves.  If they did so, the herd would change its course, and not stop by Arctic Village. Then the Gwich’in people would not have their food supply, and suffer greatly. 

As we were talking to many elders in the village, they all noticed changed in the land, because of climate change.  Since the weather was warmer, the river that they live by is depleting.  Also, the warmer climate is bringing in different plant, tree, and bird species that normally would not be there.  There are taller trees growing around where the caribou come by, which makes it harder for them to hunt and see the caribou.  There are many crucial aspects of their lives that are changing the lifestyles of the Gwich’in. When we went visit the temperature was in the 70’s, which was odd for that time of year.  As you cans see, the weather is still currently getting warmer.

The second village we went to was called Kaktovik. Kaktovik is an island in the Arctic Ocean, which is in the Arctic Circle.  The people who live there are Eskimos called the Inupiat.  The main source of food for them is whales, they also eat seal and duck, but whale is the majority of their diet.  Shell Oil proposed to drill off shore this summer, but thankfully Obama put it back a year because of what happened in the Gulf. When we were up there talking to the people, they said that Shell Oil was going to come up and answer any questions the Inupiat people had about the drilling.  We were fortunate enough to attend that meeting and even ask questions!  At first Shell did not want us to talk at all, but some of the elders told them to let us talk.  So other classmate and I challenged the ideas of Shell and even debated with them.  Looking at the spill in the gulf and how much damage its doing, it pains me to think that something like that, might happen in the Arctic.  If it did happen, the whales would be hurt, and then move their migration so the Inupiat people would not be able to hunt them, the polar bears and seals would struggle, and all of the ducks would not fly to that area any more. It would be quite a production. That is why it is so important to stop that from happening.

When we were up there, we saw and heard how much the elders cared about their land and their culture.  They brought us into their homes and just wanted us to listen to their ideas, problems, or life.  It was incredible being able to spend such a long time with them and live their ways for a week! I was a vegetarian before I went up to Alaska, but I knew that I would not get very far living like that up there, and I support the way that they hunt, by catching their own meals, gutting it, cooking it ect.  I had the opportunity of plucking and roasting ducks that I saw being shot down, and I got to skin a caribou leg that we would eat that evening.  I learned a lot about their culture and hopefully I will be able to go back again! 

Veteran Climate Rider Bernard Brennan was honored with a 2010 CT Climate Change Leadership Award for his active leadership of numerous initiatives that strive to respond to climate change by creating resilient re-localized communities.  His accomplishments include:

Founding member of Transition Greater New Haven, which has become the 30th official transition initiative in the US and the first in Connecticut.  Transition Greater New Haven fosters local sustainability and resilience through community conversations and practical projects, including recent skill-sharing events and nut tree plantings. 

Founding coordinator of SHARE Haven Time Bank, a local currency in which members exchange time and services, while stitching communities together.  

Steering Committee member of theNew Haven Bioregional Group which connects Greater New Haveners to their “life-place.” Activities include guided excursions, community gardening, and public presentations with critical discussions. 

Member of the Hamden Energy Use and Climate Change Commission: Bernard has initiated a clean energy sign-up campaign that included compact fluorescent lightbulb give-aways.

Founding member of the board of directors of the Turtle Ridge Cooperative: this is the first cooperative in Connecticut to administer a Community Supported Agriculture farm. 

Learn more about Bernard's accomplishments here, or talk with him on Climate Ride!