Vermonters join push for climate change
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By SUSAN ALLEN Staff Writer - Published: October 25, 2009
MONTPELIER – Across Vermont on Saturday, church bells rang, bicyclists pedaled in chilly temperatures and rainfall, "green" homeowners opened their doors to the curious, and Vermonters partied as part of the International Day of Climate Change.
"This is a big event," Bill Merrylees of East Montpelier told about 25 bicyclists gathered under an overhang at Montpelier High School on Saturday afternoon, preparing to head out into the rain. "This is about environmental awareness. This is about climate change."
The event was coordinated by 350.org, an organization founded by Vermont environmentalist Bill McKibben. Roughly 5,200 events took place in 181 countries, supporters said, a turnout that created dramatic photographs from around the globe of environmental activism from New Zealand to Egypt to Bangladesh.
"There is no way they are as hardy as this bunch out riding their bikes on a 40 degree, rainy day," said Todd Bailey, executive director of the League of Conservation Voters, speaking in Berlin to about 40 cyclists from Barre, Barre Town, Montpelier and Berlin – many wearing 350.org signs or T-shirts – riding for the cause.
The organization's mission is to reduce global warming by reducing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide from the current 390 parts per million to 350 ppm. Higher than that, advocates said, places the planet at risk of disasters, both human and natural, from global warming.
The focus of the day was to spotlight the problem in hopes of pressuring nations to push for a tougher United Nations treaty on global warming at an upcoming meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
"Churches across the state will be ringing their bells to sound an alarm about the urgent need for action to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis," said Betsy Hardy, coordinator of Vermont Interfaith Power and Light, in a statement.
Churches in Burlington, Barre, Bennington, Bethel, Brandon, Burlington, Charlotte, Greensboro, Killington, Montpelier, Northfield, Randolph and Tunbridge planned to ring their bells, as did the University of Vermont's Ira Allen Chapel and the Firehouse Gallery in Burlington.
In White River Junction, supporters planned to meet at the Main Street Museum to read statements, pray and take a group photo; a dance was scheduled in the Greensboro/Hardwick area; participants in Lincoln meditated for 350 minutes; in Pomfret, 350 food items were collected for food banks; and more.
In addition, a town meeting on climate change was held in Waterbury on Saturday morning, hosted by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the National Wildlife Federation and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. Sanders is chairman of the Senate green jobs subcommittee.
Twenty-five bicyclists met at Montpelier High School at 1 p.m., the same time roughly 15 others were meeting at the ReStore in Barre, for a 350.org ride toward each other, meeting in Berlin.
"This number – 350 – is really huge," said Darienne Chouinard, 16, of Barre, one of only three teen riders in the group. She said the global warming issue is serious, and she worries that as teens get their driver's licenses, they walk and bike less.
Chouinard said she felt it was important that young people were represented in International Day of Climate Change events, even though, she added, "I have some homework to do and it's really cold out."
Bailey said that if everyone who lives five miles from where they work rode their bike to work one day a week, 1 million tons of carbon emissions could be eliminated.
"That's not a huge effort … that is one day a week for five miles on your bicycle," he said, as chilled riders sipped hot cider and prepared to eat cake that had been provided by organizers. "Just think if we did this globally."
The treaty conference in Denmark will be held in December. Members of 350.org believe the terms of that treaty are too weak and hope to press for stronger controls to bring carbon emissions down to the 350 ppm level.
"This negotiation, on the surface, is between America and China and the EU and India and the developing world; between industry and environmentalists; between old and new technology. But at root the real negotiation is between human beings on the one hand, and physics and chemistry on the other," McKibben wrote on the 350.org Web page.
"Physics and chemistry have laid their cards on the table: Above 350 the world doesn't work," he continued. "They are not going to negotiate further. It's up to us to figure out, this year and in the years ahead, how to meet their bottom line."
Merrylees said in addition to highlighting the environmental issues, the 350.org ride was also a perfect time to cheer the new bike path that was part of the River Street/Route 302 construction project.
"Let's celebrate that," he said. "It's because citizens spoke out."
Montpelier Mayor Mary Hooper, who rode in the 350.org biking event and said she frequently rides the Montpelier-to-Barre route now that the bike lane has been constructed, highlighted "green" efforts the city has been making, including conducting energy audits of school and city buildings.
"We need to make sure we do our streetlights," Hooper said. "That's next on my list."
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For more information, visit www.350.org.
To read McKibben's words on global warming, see Page D5.
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