Greetings from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC)! My name is Kartik Sribarra, manager of policy outreach for RTC. I’m extremely excited to be participating in Climate Ride. I’ve been cycling regularly for five or six years now, and have always loved walking to get where I was going, avoiding the need to burn oil in the process. I’m honored to work for an organization that has such a strong history of embracing, encouraging and advocating for “active transportation” — walking and biking.

I truly believe in Climate Ride’s mission, and am excited to represent RTC on the ride in September. It’s not hyperbole to claim that climate change may pose a threat to humanity, the likes of which we have never known. If left unchecked, climate change has the potential to cause extraordinary harm around the world. Scientists believe that climate change can increase the frequency and severity of natural events like floods, hurricanes and tornados.

In spite of all of this doom and gloom, such enormous threats present equally great opportunities. Climate change has galvanized Americans, from the individual to the highest levels of our government, from nonprofit organizations to some of America’s largest businesses. Rarely does an issue come about that garners such universal support.

But it’s not just about organizations; it’s also about individuals. One thing I appreciate about the fight against climate change — something that RTC actively promotes — is the role everyone can play in addressing it. By making the very simple (and fun!) choice to walk or bike to get where we’re going, we’re able to fight climate change. To that end, RTC encourages everyone to take the Burn Calories, Not Carbon!^TM pledge. The pledge encourages participants to change the way they travel, committing to walk and bike more and drive less. These personal commitments have many positive impacts on climate change:

• We don’t burn gasoline (private transportation is a leading source of climate change gases)
• Our physical presence is a vote to our elected officials and decision-makers that we need more active transportation facilities.
• We set an example for others that walking and biking are viable transportation options.

This is in addition to the many other benefits of more active transportation, like personal health, breezing past congestion, getting fresh air, being able to stop and talk with neighbors, and more. Plus, we can take the opportunity to travel on some of our nation’s great trails. (To find trails near you, RTC hosts a great online trail-finder, www.traillink.com.)

It’s for these and other reasons that I’m very excited to be doing Climate Ride. Here at RTC, we’re working hard to communicate the connection between more active transportation and healthier people, places and the planet. See you in September!