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Rider Spotlight: Greg Dalton on Climate Ride California 2016

Greg Dalton training for Climate Ride

Greg Dalton founded Climate One at The Commonwealth Club in 2007 after traveling to the Russian Arctic on a global warming symposium with climate scientists and journalists. Today Climate One produces a weekly radio show broadcast on public stations in Marin, Monterey and Sonoma counties. Greg also hosts a monthly TV show broadcast on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV and a monthly Climate One radio show aired on stations around the country. The 2016 California Ride is Greg’s first Climate Ride.

Climate One is the only regular talk show that engages high level leaders from business, policy, advocacy and academic circles in a conversation about building a sustainable economy and stabilizing the Earth’s climate. Past guests include US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, US Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Chevron CEO Dave O’Reilly, GM Chairman Dan Akerson, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, and many other leaders.

Greg previously was a journalist for 12 years covering news in Beijing, Vancouver, New York and San Francisco for the Associated Press, South China Morning Post, McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, and Industry Standard magazine.

Why are you participating in Climate Ride?

“I have spent the last nine years bringing issues related to climate change to the forefront through my radio show, Climate One. It was not a hard sell when my friend and supporter of the show, Emma-Louise Anderson, who rode in the 2015 ride, suggested I join the ride in 2016. When Climate One was made a beneficiary, I decided to recruit a whole Climate Ride team. Emma-Louise was my first teammate, and I was happy to find several more eager cyclists. We have not even done the ride yet, and we already have people who want to join the team next year!”

Did you have any special challenges or breakthroughs while preparing for Climate Ride?

“Training has been a vigorous and challenging endeavor. A couple weeks in, I was mountain biking with my son when I took a pretty nasty spill. It was bad enough to set my training back a few weeks, and I was nervous about the distance from the beginning. But by the time I was back on my bike, our team kits had arrived, and on the next big ride we were recognized! A sustainability manager from Whole Foods who is a fan of Climate One recognized the name on our jersey. It was in incredible inspiration to know that the work I have been doing was reaching people who work on sustainability in their day jobs. Team building has been fun and the awareness that we are raising just by being out there on our bikes is encouraging.”

What does the world need to know about your work and why you are riding 320 miles for the cause?

“Over the years, I have had the fortune of interviewing many major thought leaders, industry leaders, politicians and more. Geeking out on how new electric cars and solar technology is going to change the economy is fun. But other programs have a deeper moral dimension. For example, we did an event called “Climate Equity,” featuring three heroes of the Environmental Justice movement. The discussion highlighted the fact that those who have been disenfranchised have contributed least to climate change, and yet it is those same people who will be affected the most. As we work to move from a brown economy to a green economy, it is possible to create a more equitable economy. Between my work, my ride and my passion, I hope I can make a small contribution to creating that greener and more equal economy.”

You can learn more about Greg’s story and support the Climate One team here!