"Biking for Balance" Summer 2009 Campaign

The "Biking for Balance" Summer 2009 Campaign is an incredible nationwide journey that involves graduate student, Dave DeSimone from Massachusetts, who will bicycle across the U.S. beginning May 24, 2009 (from Florida to Oregon, through 14 states, over 5000 miles) for 90 days. He will ride about 70 miles a day, have a GPS tracking system and camera/phone with him, and do a daily blog with pictures that will be featured on the new "bikingforbalance.org" website.

The purpose of Dave's trek is to promote awareness - all across America (in small towns, suburbs, rural areas, and big cities) - a strong message of environmental sustainability: of the need for a balance between people and the earth; that our resource consumption and lifestyle habits are having unprecedented affects on the natural environment, and; (on a very uplifting and positive note) how each and every person's everyday actions can, and do, make a huge difference in protecting the planet.

The "bikingforbalance.org" website features information about Dave's motivation, training and trip; his daily blog from the road; a map which treks his daily cycling progress from town to town; the means for the public to join him for part of his ride through their town or neighborhood; to pledge support for the issues or join an activists list, and; to interact directly with Dave via email or texting as he cycles his way cross-country for the Biking for Balance 2009 Campaign.

We expect lots of buzz and blogging about the Biking for Balance 2009 Campaign, with local community to nationwide involvement from schools, universities, the press, policymakers, and the public. It's an incredible summer-long event, as we follow and support Dave on his nationwide adventure. But it's also our adventure, and does so much good on other levels. First, it will help raise awareness about the issues with all Americans: youth, communities, policymakers, the press and public. The Earth Day TV Network will cover Dave's trek on a bi-weekly basis, and, local-national media will give coverage. Second, it provides the concrete means for people to become involved.

That's where the Center for Environment and Population (CEP) comes in. Dave's trip is linked to CEP (www.cepnet.org) a non-profit science-based research, policy, and advocacy organization (detailed description below), as a means to connect Americans with balanced, science-based information and resource materials for your use (hardcopy and online resource tools like power points, briefing sheets, school curriculm, etc.), as well as the opportunity to take action in the form of public forums, local Town Hall meetings, media coverage, policymakers' briefings, influentials' meetings, activists events, student involvement, and other ways. So you can be inspired by Dave's cross-country adventure, then do concrete action items through CEP, should you wish to take part.

It's one great way to spend the summer, making a difference balancing our collective environmental impacts. By following Dave, whether on the bikingforbalance.org website tracking his movements, blogs and videos, joining him for mini-rides through your town, or becoming activists and joining CEP's efforts, you'll all be part of our broader nationwide policy and public outreach efforts on these important issues. For more information contact go to the BFB or CEP websites, or email vmarkham@cepnet.org.

The Center for Environment and Population (CEP), www.cepnet.org, is a leading non-profit research, policy and advocacy organization that addresses the relationship between human population and its environmental impacts. The Center works to strengthen the scientific basis of policies and public outreach to achieve a long-term sustainable balance between people and the natural environment. CEP partners with major US organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Sierra Club, Yale University and others to link science to policy, public education and advocacy to better understand and address the issues. To do this, the Center: compiles and assesses current knowledge and emerging trends on the issues; produces easy-to-understand science-based materials for policy makers and the public, and; undertakes activities to integrate the information directly into policies and public outreach. CEP produces unique, cutting-edge reports and briefing materials including the "US State and National Reports on Populationand the Environment"; "US Population, Energy & Climate Change"; and the "AAAS Global Atlas of Population and Environment". Coming soon is an interactive web map which shows how population and climate change play out at the US national, regional and state levels. CEP is a project of the Tides Center and works in the US and
internationally. Visit us at www.cepnet.org.