Climate change bike ride: Send-off the 350 Solutions Revolution bikers on Oct 16th

350 Solutions Revolution is a bicycle journey across America filming the story of local communities’ working to solve the climate crisis. They started biking from Portland, Oregon to Washington, D.C. and along the way, they are filming a documentary of local communities’ solutions to the climate crisis. On November 16, they will meet with senators in D.C. to share the homegrown solutions with them. Then they will take a train to Florida and sail to Cancun, Mexico for the United Nations Climate Change Conference November 29 – December 10, 2010.


Everyone is welcome to join! You are invited to ride for a day or the whole way. The next ride is on:

Participation Pedal: Sendoff Bike Ride – Oct. 16, 10am @ Walker Sculpture Park

Further, there is a Reception and Fundraiser on October 13, 5-8pm
Celebrate the halfway mark of our journey! Minneapolis, Minnesota! Riders Alec Neal, Katherine Ball, and Malkolm Boothroyd will share stories, solutions, photos and videos about the journey thus far. We will also have art for sale and light refreshments provided by the fabulous pastry chef and author Zoe Francois (www.zoebakes.com)
This reception is also a fundraiser, but their is no obligation to contribute.
Please RSVP: 313.605.2924, info@solutionsrevolution.org
Wednesday, Oct. 13, 5-8pm
Home of Craig and Patricia Neal, 3600 Zenith Avenue S. #101, Minneapolis, MN 55410


What does the number 350 mean?

350 is the most important number in the world—it’s what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Right now we’re at 387 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. We need to get below 350ppm to stabilize the climate and prevent complete disaster. Our friends at 350.org are supporting this ride and working to get our leaders to craft policies that will put the world on track to 350. Visit 350.org for more information on the science behind 350.
“The Solutions Revolution: Here’s a team that’s spreading the most important number in the world–350–one mile at a time across the middle of the nation. The ride is waking up a country that needs waking up, because our Congress holds one of the keys to solving the climate conundrum!”

- Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org

350.org Community Biking Event @Hamline Midway Library: Bike drive, workshops, & kid's activities

Community members in the Midway are joining the Global Work Party organized by 350.org campaign! Be a part of the world wide action day by participating in the FREE community biking event at the Hamline Midway Library. The joy of biking need not end when the snow starts to fly!

Our Free Winter Biking Workshop and Community Bike Drive takes place on Saturday, October 9, 12:30-4 pm. Learn some tips for your winter riding, AND contribute to a used bike drive to collect unwanted bikes to help power Sibley Bike Depot's community bicycling programs.

Here is the schedule line-up:

• donate used, unwanted bikes to Sibley Bike Depot, a suggested donation of $10 to cover bike repairs/parts is requested if possible. Used bikes power Sibley Bike Depot's great community programs. No bike turned away! (12:30-2:00pm)
• chat with Smart Trips and Bike/Walk Ambassadors about year-round bike resources (1:00 - 1:30pm),
• attend the winter commuting workshop (1:30-3:00pm),
• attend the “How to Fix a Flat (Bike) Tire” workshop (3:00-4:00pm).
• Kids' activities and treats available.

To pre-register, or for more information, contact Carrie at carriepomeroy (at) tcq.net. All are welcome to attend even if you don't sign up ahead of time, but pre-registering would be helpful for planning purposes.

The next day, we also have the chance to join our efforts with the larger Twin Cities communities at two exciting events on Sun., 10/10/2010: 1) a 10-mile group bike ride starting at Como Park and ending near the Stone Arch Bridge, and 2) a celebration at the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis to gather together the many people working on climate change in our communities and to share stories and information.


Why 350? Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO₂ in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. The thing is, we are presently at 390 ppm. Global Work Parties address the fact that communities need to keep trying to reduce their carbon emissions.

This event is co-sponsored by Sibley Bike Depot, Hamline Midway Environment Group, Hamline Midway Library Association, 350.org, Twin Cities Bike/Walk Ambassadors, and St. Paul Smart Trips.

About the photo: Was taken at the 350 Bicycle Ride in Mumbai, India. Students in Mumbai, India hosted a bike ride and formed a human 350 in celebration of the 350.org International Day of Climate Action in 2009. This was one of 5,200 creative demonstrations that happened around the world.

An observant son, a winter biking workshop, and community action with the 350.org campaign in the Midway

by Carrie Pomeroy
On Saturday, October 9, 12:30-4 pm, there's going to be a winter biking workshop and community used bike drive at the Hamline Midway Library, co-sponsored by community partners HMEG, the Hamline Midway Library Association, Sibley Bike Depot, and St. Paul Smart Trips. There will be workshops on winter bike commuting and how to fix a flat tire (I'm especially looking forward to that one!), as well as children's activities and a bike drive to collect used bikes for Sibley Bike Depot's many great community programs. This event is one of 1200+ locally organized climate work days in 110+ countries, inspired by the international group 350.org, and aimed at lowering carbon emission through local community actions. You can find more information on the event on the 350.org website or on Facebook.

I wanted to tell you a little bit about what motivated me to reach out to all these great community partners and basically say, "Hey kids, let's put on a show!" I've long been aware of climate change and the need to live simply and conserve energy, but this summer, the need to make some big changes really hit home for me. The images from the Gulf oil spill profoundly troubled me, as they did so many others. I did some pretty sobering reading, including Thomas J. Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and Sharon Astyk's "Depletion and Abundance" and "A Nation of Farmers." One day, my son and I were talking about how the world would probably look very different when he was my age. He nodded and said, "Things are either going to be a lot better or a lot worse."

I decided I really needed to start living, as Sharon Astyk puts it, as if I actually do love my children--in other words, to take responsibility for how my actions affect the world our children live in and will inherit. One of the baby steps I took this summer was to get involved with 350.org, a worldwide movement led by author and activist Bill McKibben. 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is the level many scientists believe is the level we need to be at in order to maintain a livable planet and stave off some of the worst impacts of climate change. We're now at 392 parts per million and rising. This year, 350's theme is "Get to Work," and as part of that theme, they're sponsoring thousands of climate work days all over the world. People are planting trees, installing solar panels, caulking cracks in buildings, picking up trash. One trio I've gotten to know is biking across the country from Portland, OR to Washington, DC, then taking a train and a boat to Mexico for the next big climate change conference in Cancun. All along the way, they'll be filming local climate change solutions around the country. You can find out more about them at http://www.350solutionsrevolution.org/

Inspired by the 350 Solutions Revolution cross-country journey, my own love of biking, and the love of biking I see in our neighborhood, I decided a winter biking event would be a fun way to take action here in the Midway. Planning this event, I've gotten to know folks in HMEG and been inspired by all the good, pro-active work they're already doing to lower carbon emissions and point our neighborhood toward a more sustainable future. From the Greenspirit Community Garden to this summer's Tree Team effort to document residential ash trees and offer trees to neighbors in danger of losing trees to emerald ash borers, from the Sunday barter market to the Bikes 'n' Bugs garden tour, they are building community and solutions in exactly the way our world so desperately needs.

As Bill McKibben has put it, cheap energy has given us independence and convenience, but it's also made us less reliant on our neighbors--and there's been a spiritual and emotional price for that, as well as an ecological one. Our future is undoubtedly challenging, but it may also point us back to a happier, more connected way of life.

We could use lots of help with the biking event on October 9, so if you'd like to volunteer, please let me know by emailing carriepomeroy (at) tcq.net . Or just attend and get inspired to gear up for safe, fun winter biking!