Hamilton 350 Carbon Cycle

Friday morning began with about twenty-one committed, dedicated and courageous cyclists pedaling away from Hamilton City Hall under overcast skies, escorted by four police cyclists. With fresh energy and enthusiasm, the group made their way up the escarpment along the Escarpment Rail Trail. There at the top we made our first repair, replacing a leaking inner tube.

A pleasant ride along the Chippewa Rail Trail took us to Haldibrook Road, followed by country roads into Caledonia for lunch. By noon the rain caught up with the riders with heavy downpours. Fortunately, the rain eased a bit. With light drizzle to help cool us off, we crossed Indian Line Road and made it to Cheapside for our first staging point.

Our first protest point was the Esso (ExxonMobil) Nanticoke Refinery. Under dark skies, mist and drizzle, the refinery presented a rather ominous scene. With our 350, Pedal the Planet, Don't Peddle the Planet, End Dirt Energy banners in full display we lingered for ample photo opportunities. Next stop was the OPG plant just a short ride away. Again we did the photo shoots and answered the inquiries from the friendly workers leaving the afternoon shift.

With mission accomplished, it was an easy ride to camp. The enormous gazebo with the massive fireplace at the Haldimand campsite was a welcome sight. All tired, cold and hungry, we all gobbled up the hot and spicy veggie chilli and bagels. With a hearty sing along, guitar accompaniment and a glass of wine we socialized and celebrated before calling it a night. Strong winds off lake Erie faded into sweet dreams of the tired riders.

Saturday morning, 6:30am. What a lovely day awaited us. Mist still hovering over the OPG chimney stacks provided an eerie contrast to beautiful sunrise in the east. With coffee and hot chocolate to wash down the oatmeal porridge, we were ready for the ride back to Hamilton.

We stopped for lunch once more at Caledonia, relaxing on the banks of the Grand River for an hour. The ride back to Hamilton was easy going, with pleasant sunshine and downhill all the way. We came to the end of the bike trail at Corktown then made our way through city streets, finally to a round of applause from the waiting crowd at Gore Park where the 350 Moving Planet rally was underway.

We are proud of all our riders and organizers. Well done!
Special thanks to our sponsors Environment Hamilton and Mountain Equipment Co-op.


Hamilton 350 Blog

Hamilton 350 Blog

Time for reflection

It has been 10 years since September 11th, 2001. What have we learned since then? The racism, hatred and wars continue, all for oil and profit. The banksters and corporate moguls continue to rape and pillage the planet and it is ordinary people who suffer. It has been a wasted ten years.

No, it is worse than that. It is almost 40 years since The Limits to Growth was published by Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers and William Behrens. And it is still business as usual, pursuing along the perpetual path of economic growth. When we come to see that it is all in pursuit of money, greed and power, we will realize that we have wasted 40 years going in the wrong direction.

Hamilton 350 blog

What comes next?

Dear Friends,

I’m writing this from the lawn in front of the White House.

In front of me there’s a sprawling rally underway, with speakers ranging from indigenous elders to the great Canadian writer Naomi Klein. In back of me, another 243 courageous people are being hauled away to jail -- it’s the last day of Phase 1 of the tar sands campaign, and 1,252 North Americans have been arrested, the biggest civil disobedience action this century on this continent.

But we’ve been just as cheered by the help that has poured in from around the world -- today, activists in front of the White House held a banner with a huge number on it: 618,428. That's how many people around the world who signed on to the "Stop the Tar Sands" mega-petition to President Obama, including many of you in the 350.org network. Check out this beautiful photo of passion and courage on display:

(Photo Credit: Josh Lopez)

But this movement does more than sign petitions: many of you stood strong in front of the White House risking arrest, and protesters on every continent have picketed outside embassies and consulates. That makes sense, for global warming is the one problem that affects everyone everywhere.

And the next moment to prove that is Sept. 24 for Moving Planet -- the massive day of climate action that will unite people all over the world. We’ve heard news of amazing actions from every corner of the earth -— from a massive bike rally in the Philippines to an incredible eco-festival in Philadelphia. I truly can’t wait to see the pictures pour in.

But here’s why it’s important: we’re not just a movement that opposes things, we’re also a movement that dreams of what’s coming. And we don't just dream, we also transform those dreams into reality. On September 24, on bike and on foot and on boards, we’re going to point the way towards that future. By days' end, we’ll have shown why the bicycle is more glamorous than the car, and why the people have the potential to be more powerful than the polluters.

On some days fighting global warming means swallowing hard, mustering your courage, and making a sacrifice -- other days it means getting all your friends up in the saddles of their bikes to have some fun and help move the planet forward.

September 24 is the second kind of day; it’s going to be powerful, it’s going to be beautiful, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Please find or join a local event to get involved.

Onwards,
Bill McKibben for the whole 350.org team