Empower Ordinary People With the Proper Tools and They Can Create Extraordinary Change
Empower Ordinary People With the Proper Tools and They Can Create Extraordinary Change
by Meg Gordon
Amidst a whirlwind season of floods, freezes and severe storms, the former United States President declared on June 1, 2017, that he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. On November 4, 2020, the U.S. officially withdrew. Businesses, colleges, universities, towns, cities and states throughout the country responded, vowing to persist with local actions to de-carbonize. Dane County established a 2020 Climate Action Plan and the City of Madison officially joined the de-carbonization effort on August 11, 2021. Essential to the success of the Madison and Dane County plans is decreasing vehicle miles traveled locally (nationally, transportation accounts for one third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.).
On February 19, 2021, freshly inaugurated President Biden formally announced the U.S. had rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement. But this does not mean large-scale coordinated change is happening. Biden’s climate-action plans remain trapped within a dysfunctional Congress, mired in Democratic infighting, Republican naysaying, pork pandering, and the embrace of free-flowing conspiracy theories.
But local actions continue. So, what does this mean for a Dane County mom of three young children under the age of six who wants to pitch in?
Photo by João Guimarães on Unsplash
“I'm a mother of three young kids, two that attend daycare in downtown Madison across the street from my office,” says League member Kelly Smithback. “My commute is nine miles from Middleton to Madison, across some steep hills, and Google Maps informs me it's a 50-minute bike ride, 50-minute bus ride, or 23-minute drive,” she says.
Smithback says, “I considered the regular bus, but it takes too long, requires precise timing (difficult with small kids), and is too difficult to wait at the stop with babies / toddlers. I considered getting an electric bike to help with the hills and the exertion, but it only accommodates 2 of the 3 kids I have, and I just don't feel safe on city roads. Even if there is a bike lane, I don't trust it. I pretty much only feel safe on bike paths when I'm with the kids. And I only bike with them in daylight, which wouldn't work with my work schedule in winter.”
“While this situation is unique, it does have some common threads we all struggle with,” says Smithback. “Timing (bus and bike much longer, which is really difficult for many parents and others), safety (I take safety much more seriously when my kids are there), reliability of bike lanes, shower access at work, and biking in the cold, for almost an hour (with little ones).”
These are some of the challenging logistical issues speakers at our upcoming forum, Kicking Carbon to the Curb: Ordinary People Doing Ordinary Things, will tackle.
“Any insight on how to get past these hurdles would be appreciated,” says Smithback. “As I see it, the only way I can get past using a car is to have my kids age, go to Kindergarten in Middleton, and hope a rapid transit bus option opens between Middleton and Madison.”
To get a head start on the forum, check out the following resources provided by one of our three featured speakers, Zia Brucaya. Brucaya is Program Manager for RoundTrip, the transportation demand management (TDM) program of the Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) that promotes sustainable transportation options in Dane County.
The Commute Tracker feature on the RoundTrip website as a way for people to track their sustainable trips (does not have to be a commute), possibly paired with an incentive.
Apps that help riders track their bus (Brucaya has found Google to be excellent)
How to create a RoundTrip account and searching for commute matches
Information about the Emergency Ride Home program for people who commute sustainably
Need a turbo boost of motivation? Watch this New York Times opinion piece illustrating Greta Thunberg’s words.
COP26 Convenes this Sunday, October 31, in Glasgow, Scotland. Delegate and League member Rebecca Boyd, will be posting on Facebook (Rebecca Boyd Nagel), Twitter (@RebeccaBoyd1111) and Instagram (rjbpix). She plans to explain what COP26 is, and keep people informed about her experiences and what is happening there. She asks: “Please follow/friend me so we can amplify the information about climate change.”