For all the grandchildren

Things keep happening

2010-04-28T10:39:00.001-04:00

The 10 Step Carbon Action Program (note change of name from Car Addiction Pro to Car Action Pro) has its own website where folks can sign up and be counted. We currently have 28 members, plus 14 children who've singed onto the 10 Steps for Children, which is part of 10StepCAP, with a page of their own on the website.

We are also on Facebook as a group, with 47 members. Please join on one or both of these sites if you haven't already.

A group from the Lehigh Valley took a Climate Walk for Earth Day, on April 24th, from Allentown to Bethlehem (about 6.5 miles). I'll add a photo to this entry soon. The group consisted of only 7 but it was a good WALK. We carried signs, including Tim's huge CUT THE CARBON scissors, and handed out literature. We combined forces with the Gas Truth Group, a Clean Water Action initiative that calls attention to and combats the destructive Marcellus Shale drilling for natural gas in northeastern PA and elsewhere. We concluded the walk at the marvelous Wildflower Cafe in South Bethlehem, in time for the chili tasting and other fun activities of the annual Spring on 4th festival. The Gas Truth Group had a table where over 60 passersby signed letters to elected officials urging action to stop the drilling.

For May we have chosen an acitivity: Take a carbon footprint test (carbonfootprint.com or any other one) and report your score. You might also choose to share what you plan to do to improve your score.

Hoping to hear from you.

In memory of Granny D

2010-03-18T12:34:00.001-04:00

I just learned that my hero, Granny D, died at the age of 100 on March 10. Here's a link to the BBC News article about her. Today, with a beautiful blue sky and temperatures in the 60's, I plan to walk a few miles in her memory. I salute you, Granny D.

Gratitude for experiences in Texas

2010-03-07T12:42:00.006-05:00

I want to thank all the wonderful people I met - and those I already knew - in Houston and New Braunfels this February and March. I spoke at churches, a school, on radio and with individuals.

Greta Browne and Pat Estes at the Unitarian Universalist Society in New Braunfels, TX

I visited a permaculture garden, two farmers markets, and a City of Houston green energy center for builders. I met people who ride their bicycles everywhere, people who've built their homes with many sustainable features. and people who garden extensively and wisely. I met people who dedicate their lives to greening their cities and keeping their watersheds healthy, and radio reporters who go out of their way to get good environmental news on their shows. I met teachers and a principal who teach environmental wisdom to young children.

Upon my return to Bethlehem I realize that I am inspired and energized by these experiences. Thanks, everyone, and thanks to my sister who hosted me and helped make all this possible.

Greta

A Climate Change Suicide

2010-03-01T15:59:00.006-05:00

In doing research for a presentation tomorrow at an elementary school in Houston, I came across an article about a couple in Argentina that killed themselves in a suicide pact. Here's the link.

New article about my Climate Walk

2010-02-24T09:38:00.004-05:00

This morning the Herald Zeitgeist in New Braunfels, Texas, published an article about my Walk. I am speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Society there and my hosts made sure the newspaper heard about it. Check it out - click here.

Video of Climate Action - Slaying the Carbon Dragon

2009-10-25T12:58:00.004-04:00

This video was taken on the fly so please check the photograph below to see the details of the Dragon. Click on the photo for a large view.

DDancer: Evan Hoffman

Dragon artists: Jaqi Medaris and Adrienne Rayna

Scissors artist: Tim Chadwick

Videographer: Guy Gray

International Day of Climate Action - Oct. 24, 2009

2009-10-24T17:32:00.003-04:00

The Climate Walkers took a stroll on a rainy day from Allentown to Bethlehem, stopping for a photo in front of our congressman's office. Photographer: Alan Reinhart

Check again tomorrow for our movie, Slay the Carbon Dragon.

A nice link that mentions me

2009-09-30T15:15:00.006-04:00

A friend, Sidney Stevens, put together an online compilation of ten unusual environmentalists, and she included me! What an honor. Here's the link: http://www.mnn.com/10-intriguing-environmentalists (not the whole url, if you want to forward it to others). Enjoy.

Sustainability and carbon sequestration

2009-09-29T15:15:00.015-04:00

Some of the contacts resulting from the New York Times article have proven to be invaluable. Today a couple of documentary videographers came from NY to interview me for a documentary they are making on sustainablity and what individuals are doing to live in more environmentally sustainable ways. They say the film will take at least a year to make but when it's ready they will submit it to film festivals around the country. I hope it will come to Bethlehem, to the SSFF (SouthSide Film Festival) and to the EnergyFest in Kutztown next September.

Last week I accepted an invitation by the CEO of Rodale Institute, just east of Kutztown, PA, and visited the organic farm where the institute conducts its research and development of organic agriculture practices. I found it fascinating to learn that according to Rodale's research organic soil actually sequesters carbon dioxide, due to an underground fungus that uses carbon to build its shell. Chemical pesticides and fertilizers, as well as repeated tilling of the earth, destroy the fungus and the soil's ability to sequester CO2.

Also, I keep finding excellent articles and videos, photographs and essays, about Climate Change. Here's a very simple statement that reminds us to be aware of the impacts of our daily decisions, our carbon footprint day-by-day. I appreciate the comment about plastic bottles, because I've been astounded by people's attitude that they're doing their share by recycling. It's not enough, folks - good but not enough.

From Twilight Earth, guest post by Wendy Gabriel

Living sustainably is not trendy; it’s a thoughtful, responsible way to live. It’s not just about putting your plastic bottles in the recycling bin; it’s about realizing that you should avoid the plastic bottle all together. It’s about really thinking about your impact on your community, your city and your world.

The converse of living sustainably is living in a way that is depleting the very things we need to survive. We need clean water, clean air and healthy food for our continued existence on this planet. Currently, the worldwide population and global demand for these resources are both greater than ever.

A current dialogue about climate and justice

2009-09-25T08:10:00.003-04:00

View this report from Democracy Now, brought to my attention by Tim Chadwick.

10-Step Carbon Addiction Program

2009-09-16T21:41:00.006-04:00

This week I am launching a project that has grown in my imagination for almost a year. Last October, in response to conversations with others reading Six Degrees, by Mark Lynas, I started to conceive of a program where each of us could take responsibility for our own carbon footprint while at the same time communicating with others in a meaningful way about our struggle to overcome the habits of a consuming society that is dependent on fossil fuels.

I have added the 10-Step Carbon Addiction Program to the Climate Walk website, where you can sign onto the program by copying and mailing it to me by email or snail mail. I've also started a new blog - www.10stepcap.blogspot.com - to accompany the progress of the program. As of today three people have signed on, including me. I'm holding my breath, hoping that the program will take off by leaps and bounds, but knowing that it will probably be more like slowly, but surely.

This is a trial phase - comments and suggestions are welcome. My plan is to collect 50-100 signatures before an official launch. By then I hope to have a few people join me as an Organizing Team or Steering Committee, or Board of Directors. Please consider being part of such a team.

Blogging and culinary delights

2009-09-15T06:57:00.005-04:00

A vegetarian meal in Goias, Brazil (Jan, 2008)

On Sunday I saw the film, Julie and Julia, two love stories about women who love to cook and their husbands who enjoy eating their terrific culinary productions. The film is also the story of a blogger who chronicles daily her successes and failures in following all 524 recipes from Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I loved the film and recommend it wholeheartedly.

I also learned something about blogging and decided to step up my postings here. I learned that I can keep it short and share my reflections in a more personal way. Sure, I risk being insignificant, but when I see what people write on Facebook I realize that no thought is too small to chronicle. Not sure this is good, but it encourages me to go ahead.

As we walked to the movie, Guy and I talked about the way people share their most trivial and commonplace thoughts on Facebook and Twitter, concluding that these virtual spaces recreate the public gathering place - the pub, coffeehouse, club room, playground - where one could go to be seen and heard. When we speak and others hear us, show off and others see, we are reassured of our own existence. And we feel part of humanity as we absorb the small bits of communication around us: "Hey, what's up?" "I'm thirsty." "I just heard something funny." "My cat threw up."

So I'm not going to worry about how smart and consequential I am. I only set before myself the task of continuing to write about Climate Change in an ongoing effort to make the world better "for all the grandchildren."

Julie and Julia portrays a lifestyle where meat - beef bourguignon, de-boned duck, liver pate - define cooking, and you can never use too much butter. While my mouth waters at the thought of such pleasures, I know that a mostly vegetarian diet (if not entirely vegan) is the way to go, and thank God, is not without it's own delights.

Celebrating libraries

2009-09-09T13:51:00.005-04:00

If you haven't already gone to www.350.org, please do so today. Think about how you might organize or participate in a climate action event in your area on October 24th. Let the country and the world know that you stand up for facing the climate change challenge in a strong and urgent way.

Tim Chadwick took this photo through the window at a Syracuse library, with the reflection of the garden flowers, capturing me at my blogging efforts about a month ago.

Today I want to thank all the wonderful libraries and librarians that hosted me along Route 11, through Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York State, with special mention of libraries in Lumberton, MS, where I recuperated from my infected toe; Sweetwater, AL, where the librarians called in a reporter to interview me, and made sure I had enough water to continue my trip; and Mooers, NY, where six of us invaded the library just an hour before closing, on the last day of our walk. We couldn't find a place to buy the New York Times, but we were able to read the article online.

As my husband likes to say, "libraries will get you through times without money better than money will get you through times without libraries."

We did it!

2009-08-31T21:37:00.005-04:00

On Saturday, August 29, we approached the end of the Climate Walk in a cold, windy rain, perhaps the wettest day of the whole trek. Six of us walked the last 12 miles together: Guy, who is taking photos, and (left to right) me, Jaqi, Tim, Adrienne, and my son Zeke.

I felt wonderful with the great company and the end in sight.

We entered the Village of Rouses Point, which I'd been talking about from the first day, since New Orleans and Rouses Point are the two ends of US Route 11.

Mayor George Rivers of Rouses Point welcomed us and read a proclamation recognizing the achievement of the Walk that called attention to Rapid Climate Change. Village Clerk Carol Henfield was also there to welcome us. I felt honored by their generosity - they helped make the day very special. I was also delighted that several citizens of the village showed up to cheer us on, and s few even walked the final two or three miles with us.

And here, in steady rain, are the six of us at the very end - or beginning - of Route 11, just a few feet from the Canadian border. What a joyful moment! I walked 1150 miles of the total 1743 between New Orleans and Rouses Point.

My greatest hope is that several hundred people actually became aware for moment or a day of the importance and urgency of climate change during the months that I walked, by the sight of my shirt and through the fliers I handed out. My vision is that some day soon trucks will cease to fill the roads, cars will be much more fuel efficient, public transportation will be available everywhere, and we will always see many people getting around on foot and bicycle.

I plan to continue this blog - I'm not done. Please come back soon.

Today's the Grand Finale

2009-08-29T12:00:00.003-04:00

To anyone who's visiting this blog because of the article in the New York Times today, welcome. I'm delighted to have more people reading this blog and sharing the work of bringing attention to Climate Change.

Today I will be walking the final few miles of my trek, and below is a photo of my husband, my son, and three close friends who are joining me for the grand finale. I believe there will be others meeting up with us along the road and an official reception in Rouses Point at 4:30 or 5:00 pm. Join us if you can!

A wind farm near Chateaugay, NY. A good thing!

Mowers, new and old, lined up for sale. Not so good - gas mowers emit a lot of greenhouse gases. Alternatives? muscle and/or smaller lawns. Electric mowers are better as far as emissions are concerned, but then they use electricity that probably created a lot of emissions.

Please check again soon. I have more pictures to post, and more thoughts to share, but now I have to go walk.

The Northern Country, NY State

2009-08-23T09:52:00.003-04:00

As I drove back up to Gouverneur, I glimpsed these water lilies on Lake Brant, near Lake George. (Try clicking on the photo to enlarge it.)

Back on the road, I got a boost from this couple, Erin and Mike, who stopped to chat because they had seen the news10now video (Syracuse) about my Climate Walk.

I loved this bright red building in De Kalb Junction, near Canton, NY.

Some giants just don't give up. I wonder what happened to this tree that left the huge trunk standing tall without what must have been an amazing top of branches and foliage. Why didn't they take the whole tree down? If left to its own devices, what will it look like in five or ten years?

I haven't wanted this Walk to be about my "gypsy wagon," but I have to say that it's become a fond sight, my refuge from the rain and dark, my resting place when I'm tired and aching. Sometimes I feel like a gypsy, stopping on the edge of town in an unused clearing such as this one.

Back on the road Friday, August 21

2009-08-20T21:39:00.005-04:00

This week I've been taking a break to spend time with family, including one of my grandchildren. I plan to return to Route 11 tomorrow and walk every day until Saturday, August 29, when I will arrive in Rouses Point, at the Canadian border.

Several other walkers will join me for the final miles and I invite anyone who would like to finish up the Climate Walk with us to come on up and walk. There is a train from New York City, the Montrealer, that stops in Rouses Point. It would be great to make an event of it.

Nuclear power

2009-08-13T16:36:00.004-04:00

Yesterday when Tim and I visited the beach at the campground, I saw a nuclear tower off in the distance, on the edge of Lake Ontario. As I mentioned in my Berwick entry, the sight of nuclear towers and their plumes distress me at a gut level. Of course, they can be rejected at an intellectual and scientific level as well.

Here's what Chris Williams writes in his article Hothouse Earth: Capitalism, climate change and the fate of humanity, in the March-April 2009 issue of International Socialist Review:

Nuclear power is expensive and dangerous. Nuclear power stations only emerge as cost competitive with fossil-fuel power stations or alternative energy sources when government subsidies and the huge decommissioning costs are not included as part of the cost of building and running them.

Williams' critique of nuclear power concludes that nuclear power plants are expensive, "wildly inefficient and extremely dangerous,"The fact that the plants double up as atomic bomb factories is what attracts the US and other countries to nuclear power, "not its environmental benefits."

This is the second part of a two-part article by Chris Williams available at www.isrevierw.org/issues/62/feat-hothouseearth.shtml. Powerful reading.

1000 miles - Pulaski, NY

2009-08-12T12:01:00.003-04:00

Hurrah!! (Please scroll down and check the next post - it's new.)

This photo was taken by Tim, who has been walking with me for the last few days.

We talked this morning with a local man who told us that the fierce storm we witnessed two nights ago killed a couple people near Buffalo, NY, in flash floods. I asked if storms here are worse than in the past. "You bet," he said. "And the temperatures - we've had a weird summer: only one day in the 90's, and that was in April!"

Making our way through New York.

2009-08-12T11:37:00.003-04:00

Robyn and Brian, sister and brother who recognized us from the news10now TV newscast, came over to the gypsy wagon to chat for awhile with Tim and me, just north of Syracuse. It was great to have the TV coverage as we walked through town - we had many people stop to talk with us, and more honk and wave from their cars. We were able to hand out fliers to those who actually stopped.

When I read more about Climate Change, such as an excellent article in the International Socialist Review, my frustration and anger at the capitalist system that drives our consumer society rises again to the high level that prompted me to take this walk from New Orleans to the Canadian border. I don't have the article with me at the library but I promise to quote a couple of short sections next time I get online.

One of the purposes of my walk is to bring serenity in face of the heartache that I experience with the realization of the vast suffering that rapid climate change will inflict on children, the poor, and otherwise vulnerable populations, including other species. Beauty such as this scene below, between Binghamton and Syracuse, reminds me of the beauty we hope to protect, and it brings me calm and joy.

Ditto for this garden.

What a pleasure to come upon this Green Party office on Route 11 in the south side of Syracuse. I remain convinced that the Green Party has the best platform on issues across the board. We've been right on the environment from the beginning, as well as on peace and justice issues. I wish Howie Hawkins a successful race this fall.

Into New York State

2009-08-06T13:16:00.002-04:00

This is my last view from Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna River at Great Bend. I walked along this wonderful river from Harrisburg, past Shippensburg and Sunbury, Bloomsburg and Berwick, and Wilkes Barre, and caught up with it again at Great Bend. Someday I'd love to take a long canoe trip down my favorite river - Canoeing for the Climate!

My good friend from the Lehigh Valley peace community (LEPOCO), robert, and his girlfriend, Kim, came up to Bingamton to visit her sister and to walk a few miles with me. I loved their company as we walked 7.8 miles together, into the city and back out again. We were amused by this stop sign - no road, no traffic to stop.

These new friends from the Binghamton UU church, Wes and Gerry, braved a downpour to walk a couple of miles with me just north of the city. There was a lot of traffic because of the Spedie Fest (the spedie is a regional sandwich, a kind of chicken gyro), but the rain put a damper on the fest goers as well. I would have enjoyed the hot air balloons but they weren't flying.

On out into the hills between Binghamton and Syracuse - beautiful country. I was disappointed to learn that here too the digging for gas in the shale is going on.

A windmill - the first I've seen, having missed those in the PA northeastern area - is a welcome sight, but it seems it's too little, too late.

An article and a video

2009-08-04T11:47:00.001-04:00

From FOX40, Binghamton, NY - click here. From the article you can go to the video. Enjoy.

Three new posts

2009-07-30T16:26:00.004-04:00

This is the third entry I'm posting today - it will make more sense if you go back and read them in order, from the bottom up.

This beautiful viaduct is between Factoryville and Hop Bottom, reminding me again of the amazing accomplishments of the past. If we could apply this kind of energy and determination to cutting back our carbon emissions maybe there would be more hope.

Ah, the romance of the road - sometime this will be an ancient memory.

Vera and her sister, Olga, who took the photo, joined me for several miles on the road north of Hop Bottom - yes, this is a second viaduct, and not in as good repair as the first. Vera is an indy media person and took some video of the walk. She also fights the gas companies that are threatening this beautiful rural area. I enjoyed Vera's hospitality the night before at her lovely home in Brooklyn, PA.

I spent Wednesday night parked in a gas station lot in New Milford, and this morning I took some photos of the tiny buildings in this town. I wondered how many books there might be in this library, but it only opens a few hours a day, and it was too early.

Here's one more of those intrepid NEPA activists, Frank, who surprised me in the middle of the day by finding me along the road and walking a few miles with me. He's promised to send me some photos of the gas drilling equipment near his home, which will never be the same, he says, after the intrusion of the gas exploiters.

Northeast PA - past Scranton

2009-07-30T16:11:00.002-04:00

I just love the Endless Mountains, the summer flowers, the pristine creeks.

But to get there you need to go through strip mall America, with the fast food joints beckoning you on. Actually, Clarkes Summit had a dynamite natural foods store where I found an ice tea, drink, Tazo, without HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).

Another fine PA Green Party friend, Jay, joined me for a few miles on Monday.

He and Ellen extended me their hospitality on their beautiful homestead, where Jay has a big vegetable garden and Ellen raises delightful miniature donkeys. We watched the sunset over the rolling mountains while the half moon shone down on us from a cloudless sky.

But not all is well in NEPA (northeast PA) - if you haven't heard yet you should pay attention: the big gas interests are ripping into this beautiful area on a huge scale, clearing away acres of trees, drilling under the Marcellus Shale, threatening the aquifer, the landscape, the habitat. A few good people are raising their voices, fighting for some sanity. We talk about lessening our carbon footprint, decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels, and here this craziness is going on and the majority of the population thinks it's a good deal, and money-maker.

From Kingston to Duryea

2009-07-30T15:56:00.007-04:00

Walking through an urban area has its own set of pleasures: all the variety of homes with gardens and yards, and small and large businesses. Most places have sidewalks and crosswalks, though not everywhere:

"The earth will end October 14 2011." Sometimes I worry that people think the Climate Change Emergency is just another hype, another Y2K. It's one more way that people bury their heads in the sand.

We saw a double-decker train track, which got me thinking how much the railroad was used in the past, and how we've wasted a vast infrastructure of rails by abandoning them in favor of highways. Can we go back?

We were amused by this sign: "Sorry, We're Open" - I guess the owners would rather be elsewhere.

My husband joined me in Berwick

2009-07-26T21:27:00.002-04:00

Guy took a bus from Allentown to Berwick to walk with me for five days. (This photo was taken by a local boy, Aron, who rode past us on a bicycle with his friend Joey.)

Guy snapped this photo of my walking past the towers of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant. I oppose nuclear power even though it is cleaner at the production level than coal. It is too dangerous to the surrounding populations, and there is no satisfactory means of disposal of the spent uranium. In order to counter the argument that we need to build more nuclear plants to meet the growing demand for energy, we must decrease our use of electricity as much as possible until we can depend entirely on sustainable sources of power.

Again, the lovely Susquehanna.

This photo captures the disregard for pedestrians so common in urban areas - the sidewalk simply runs out, and the narrow shoulders make walking unsafe.

Enjoying central PA

2009-07-26T21:11:00.002-04:00

Except for the infuriating truck-centered quality of Route 11 - this is why we need to eat local/shop local - I had a great time in this portion of Pennsylvania. My daughter, Sofia, joined me in Sunbury and walked with me for five days.

I couldn't get enough of the wonderful Susquehanna River.

You may remember that when I was in Mississippi and Alabama I longed for a shady place to rest along the road, and a bench for my weary bones. This is closed motel right by the river. Wouldn't it be great for cohousing? Except for the trucks whizzing by 24 hours of the day.

Did you know that Furmano tomatoes are grown in central PA?

Walking out of Bloomsburg we saw this unique store which "sells mattresses like McDonalds sells hamburgers."

North of Harrisburg

2009-07-26T20:47:00.002-04:00

Tim, Jaqi and I walked out of the Harrisburg area on Sunday, July 12, and the next day we were in Duncannon, a town through which a short stretch of the Appalachian Trail runs. We enjoyed this mural depicting the area including the daily hikers.

We met these great hikers at the Doyle Hotel, and shared stories of the road. We would've shared a beer or two but it was hot and we still wanted to walk a few miles.

Later that week I walked a portion of Route 11 that made me furious because the new four-lane limited access highway cuts whole towns off from the beautiful Susquehanna River. Why are the needs of high speed travelers and truck drivers more important than the lifestyle of the folks that live right there, in the little river towns?

I asked a young Mennonite man what he and his people thought of the highway. He smiled gently and said, "We don't like it." I saw many horse carts and bicycles along the shoulder of the road and they seemed so vulnerable with the huge semis hurtling by.

I had to admire the Mennonite homes I walked by, with their wonderful gardens, full of vegetables and flowers - very little lawn. Many of the houses displayed beautiful handmade quilts for sale. I couldn't help thinking that they are living a much more sustainable life than most Americans: no electricity, bicycles, homegrown food. We're lucky to have them around because we can learn much from them even if we don't adopt all of their ways.

Approaching Northeast PA

2009-07-20T15:09:00.002-04:00

My daughter, Sofia, has joined me for several days before she leaves for a new job in Brazil. We've walked along the Eastern banch of the Susquehanna River, from Sunbury to Bloomsburg, enjoying the beautiful and pleasantly cool summer weather and the deep green of fields and forest.

I'm still unable to use my own laptop at the libraries I'm visiting so it will probably have to wait now until I get to Wilkes Barre. I'll post more photos then and some commentary I've been wanting to write.

In the meantime, all is well.

From Sunbury

2009-07-17T11:43:00.002-04:00

Please check out the newly annotated Photo Gallery below. Hopefully I'll be able to post again soon. I have experienced a very strong reaction to the stretch of Route 11 between Duncannon and Selinsgrove and want to share my reflections and some photos. No time today - libraries limit the time on their computers, and my laptop refuses to get me online using WiFi.

Photo gallery July 9 - 11

2009-07-11T15:22:00.002-04:00

July 17 - Sunbury, PA - Degenstein Library
Finally a bit of time to fill in the blanks about last week's walk through the Harrisburg area.

Tim, from Bethlehem, and Jaqi, from Coopersburg, joined me for several days, and bravely walked the long miles through Camp Hill and Harrisburg. Tim is in large part responsible for the media attention the climate walk received in Carlisle and Harrisburg. He's been sending notices of the Walk to the media from the beginning but with few exceptions the press in the big cities along the way simply ignored us (Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville, etc). Jaqi helped found the Lehigh Valley organization that concerns itself directly with Climate Change - ICE, Initiatives for the Climate Emergency - that drew more deeply into the issues and inspired me to do something dramatic to draw attention to the urgency of Rapid Climate Change

Walkers Unite!

A bit of beauty, one of the reasons for my concern. What will happen to the streams and rivers as a result of changing climate patterns? Will the birds and little animals that live in this habitat survive?

2009-07-11T15:16:00.001-04:00

Chris and Patrick joined Tim, Jaqi and me for a few miles just north of Carlisle. Most of the time we were walking along a landscape dominate by trucks and construction, but we found a little oasis at this spot.

Chris invited us to park in his driveway overnight, and we got to meet his lovely family: Carla, Zane and Everett

2009-07-11T15:12:00.001-04:00

This tender moment could be the image of what our walk is about: grandchildren.

Zane wasn't sure he wanted this truck in his driveway, but by the next morning he didn't want it to leave. He enjoyed pretending to drive it. I hope he has a carbon-friendly way to indulge this pleasure by the time he's ready to drive.

We stopped at a little yard sale to get a couple of coffee mugs and ended up buying some freshly picked green beans and visiting the beautiful garden behind the house. Jolene represents the ideal "of what your walk is all about," as she proudly told us. We enjoyed the herbs and other veggies that she threw in with our beans.

We were enjoying this gorgeous display of flowers and were going to compliment the store owner, but got sidetracked when he started telling us that we ought to walk to get Obama out of office, and that a woman would never be president because it's against the Bible - "Women are create to serve men." Scary!

Things are getting hot

2009-07-10T16:36:00.009-04:00

After so many months alone on the road and with very little attention from the media, things are getting hot, with friends and fellow greens joining me and the newspapers finally paying some attention.

A reporter for the Sentinel called me from Shippensburg to set up an interview as I walked through. We talked, he took a few photos and the article was published in the Friday, July 10, paper. Click here to read www.cumberlink.com

Also in Shippensburg I met up with Blyden, a PA Green, and Jaqi, a good friend and ICE co-founder from the Lehigh Valley. Blyden lives in Shippensburg and hosted Jaqi and me at his home where we enjoyed meeting his wife, Allison and daughter, Chalaina. On Thursday we walked 7.4 miles toward Carlisle then rode back to town where we had our photo taken near this huge array of solar water panels. I wasn't able to find out exactly who owns and uses them, but I was delighted to see them and hope they will be preserved.

In the countryside we saw several Amish buggies and even more bicycle riders, a welcome sight for me after so many months of being practically alone on the road with the cars and trucks.

We were astounded by the beauty of this flower - can anyone tell me what it is?

Please be sure to check the posting below this one as I just posted it today.

Visiting Wilson College

2009-07-10T16:25:00.003-04:00

This week I had the pleasure of meeting a classmate from the Class of '65 at Wilson College, in Chambersburg, PA. Route 11 passes directly by the college so we walked through town and stopped by our alma mater for a few hours. We ended up spending the night parked in one of the campus parking lots near the Conococheague Stream. We slept to the sound of water running over stones and woke up to the singing of birds.

The next day Martha walked 7.5 miles with me toward Shippensburg. We hardly noticed the miles passed because we talked so much, catching up on the 25 years since we had last seen each other.

Great company - thanks, Martha!

At last some co-walkers!

2009-07-07T16:56:00.006-04:00

Guy was the first to walk with me as I approached Pennsylvania. On Monday, July 6, a fellow Green from Philadelphia, Vivek, walked 7.5 miles with me, from Greencastle to Marion, PA. Here he is in a photo I took of him beside my motor home. Vivek wanted to make a strong statement and wore, back and front, signs I had made that say WAKE UP to the CLIMATE EMERGENCY. We walked in heavy fog early in the morning, then in hot sun later. It was wonderful to have his company, and people seemed to pay more attention to two of us than just to me alone. We kept thinking that a group of five or even more would make a real impact.

Yesterday evening and today, a Wilson College classmate ('65), Martha, joined me for a walk through Chambersburg, our alma mater. We were well received by the communications office, and we've parked the motor home here for the night. I hope to post photos very soon.

Tomorrow another friend joins me, and on the weekend another. Hopefully this will continue and we will find a way to make a splash. Let me know if you would be able to walk with us. The climate problem isn't going away, and far too many Americans are oblivious to the issue. Let's make it VISIBLE!

Northern Virginia/West Virginia

2009-07-03T13:46:00.004-04:00

Guy has joined me for a few days and we're in West Virginia now, blogging in a Mexican Restaurant in Martinsburg. We spent two days with relatives, helping them pick berries on their fruit farm - we had a good time.

Back in Virigina - my friend, Nancy Tate, told me to be sure to stop at the Little Grille Collective, right on Route 11, when I reached Harrisonburg. Good advice! The good food - I had a bowl of vegan chili - and gentle vibes reminded me of the Green Cafe.

Across the street I saw this neighborhood center which I couldn't resist visiting.

In back of the center I found a community garden, reminding me of the garden I visited two days earlier in Charlottesville. It makes my very happy to see thriving community gardens because they represent one of the main ways we need to face into the future: neighborhoods producing at least some of their own food, people of all ages becoming closely involved with the earth, understanding their connection to the soil, the water, and the sun that come together to make our food.

One of the pleasures of walking is coming across odd buildings like this one.

Happy 4th of July - Interdependence Day!

A reminder of the urgency

2009-06-25T17:26:00.003-04:00

Guy sent me the abstract of an article from the most recent New Yorker magazine. I'm quoting part of it below. To see the whole abstract click here.

A few months ago, James Hansen, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), in Manhattan, joined a protest outside the Capitol Power Plant, in Washington, D.C. Thirty years ago, Hansen, who is sixty-eight, created one of the world’s first climate models, nicknamed Model Zero, which he used to predict most of what has happened in the climate since. Hansen has now concluded, partly on the basis of his latest modeling efforts and partly on the basis of observations made by other scientists, that the threat of global warming is far greater than even he had suspected. Unless immediate action is taken—including the shutdown of all the world’s coal plants within the next two decades—the planet will be committed to climate change on a scale society won’t be able to cope with.

Studies in orange

2009-06-24T16:58:00.004-04:00

Hello! I'm back in Virginia - I hope to post often, but my laptop isn't doing so well. I'm meeting someone in two minutes to go off to a community garden supper in Charlottesville. Bye!

Heading back to Virginia

2009-06-22T08:22:00.003-04:00

After a lovely two weeks at home, I'm heading back to Virginia today: bus to Philly, train to DC, bus to Charlottesville, and a ride to Stuarts Draft. Tomorrow morning I'll pick up the motor home with its repaired transmission, head back to Route 11 and walk ten miles or so. Check my progress map on Wednesday.

National Clean Energy Action Day

2009-06-21T07:26:00.005-04:00

On Friday, after a very last-minute effort to gather a few people to participate in the 1SKY National Clean Energy Action Day, seven of us gathered in front of our US Congress Representative's local office. We were joining others around the country who took the same message to their congressional representatives:

Take action to strengthen HE 2452, the American Clean Energy and Security Act in the following ways:

- Require poser companies to produce more clean energy.

- Restore authority to the EPA to crack down on global warming pollution from

power plants.

- Reduce giveaways to polluting industries in order to bolster green job

development and protect vulnerable communitites.

Before we got started I met Lehigh student Robbie Sherrard, a rock musician, who was looking for a business at the same address, and was bold enough to ask me what "WALKING FOR THE CLIMATE" meant. We had a good conversation and Guy took a picture of us for this blog.

Margie and Bob are friends from the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley, and are very committed to environmental issues, including the preservation of barns.

Sharon is an associate member of Veterans for Peace and a longtime activist. We stood along Broad St. and let the passing world know what we thought. Many passers-by slowed down to read our signs, and several honked their approval.

Tim has been working to get support for the Clean Energy Bill, one of the many ways he works for a just and peaceful world.
My husband, Guy, doesn't show in the photos because he was taking them.(I should have taken one of him instead of being in all the photos.) The seventh person, Bernie, a veteran and ardent activist, stood across the street with his sign.

After 30 minutes of holding up our placards, we went upstairs to Rep. Dent's office to deliver the packet provided online by 1SKY. Margie did an excellent job as our spokesperson, and Bob kept things friendly with his ready sense of humor.

HR 2452 will likely come up for a vote this Wednesday. It's an imperfect bill, and special interests have weakened it. Our best hope is that action by people and organizations around the country will succeed in taking out the worst provisions and restoring others, such as EPA authority. There's still time to call your congress person!

Friday - National Day of Action on Climate Change

2009-06-17T16:26:00.003-04:00

Hi, I just signed up to join a National Day of Action for a strong clean energy bill on Friday, June 19th. I'm going to Charlie Dent's office to raise my voice for a strong clean energy and climate law that will create millions of jobs and begin to tackle global warming. Those of you who live in the Lehigh Valley, please join me on Friday in front of Charles Dent's office on Broad St. during the lunch hour, between 11:30 and 1:00. I will have signs, a packet to deliver to Mr. Dent, and I will notify the press. Hope to see you.

Those of you who live elsewhere, google 1SKY to organize in your area.

Walk with me in PA

2009-06-16T18:47:00.005-04:00

Below is my tentative schedule for walking through Pennsylvania, always along Route 11. It has been my hope that, this close to home, my friends and fellow activists will be able to join me for a day or two, a week, or even more. Out-of-staters are just as welcome.

Please let me know if you're considering Walking for the Climate with me, as it would be good to coordinate our plans. I have no problem with several people joining at once - the more the merrier - but there will be logistical matters to consider, such as where and how to spend nights.

The media has ignored my Walk except in two or three cities. Perhaps larger numbers of walkers can create events that will result in coverage, to call attention to the Climate Change Crisis. I would especially like to achieve this kind of attention in Harrisburg, on the weekend of July 11-12.

July

Mon 6 - Marion

Tue 7 - Chambersburg

Wed 8 - Shippensburg

Thu 9 - Carlisle

Fri 10 - Camp Hill

Sat 11 - Harrisburg

Sun 12 - Harrisburg

Mon 13 - Marysville

Tue 14 - New Buffalo

Wed 15 - Liverpool

Thu 16 - Selingsgrove

Fri 17 - Sunbury

Sat 18 - Northumberland

Sun 20 - Danville

Mon 20 - Bloomsburg

Tue 21 - Berwick

Wed 22 - Hunlock Creek

Thu 23 - Wilkes Barre

Fri 24 - Wilkes Barre

Sat 25 - Duryea

Sun 26 - Scranton

Mon 27 - Clarks Summit

Tue 28 - Lake Sheridan

Wed 29 - Alford

Thu 30 - Hallstead

You can reach me by phone at home until this coming Sunday, June 21. Then I'll be back on the road, in Virginia, and you can call me at 832-971-6658. Or email me - greta_browne@hotmail.com. Can't wait to hear from you.

To leave a comment

2009-06-09T13:19:00.002-04:00

Someone told me that it's difficult to leave a comment on my blog because you have to sign in or create an account. So I decided to remind my readers that you can leave a comment as an Anonymous poster. To identify yourself simply include your name as part of the message (please remember to do so). It's quick and easy.

Your comment can be a question, a suggestion, a point of information, a correction, or just a friendly hello. Hope to hear from you.

Greta

Halfway point

2009-06-08T11:22:00.010-04:00

From the train as it approached Philadelphia, 6/7/09

I'm home after a good train ride from Staunton, VA, to Philadelphia and then a bus to Bethlehem. Guy, cats, garden - all is sweet and well.

Google Maps tells me it's 1620 miles from New Orleans to Rouses Point on Route 11, and about 900 to Lexington. So I've passed the halfway point by almost 100 miles. Hurray! I've actually walked 485 miles - I'd thought the percentage was higher. I think I'll travel back on the 22nd and start walking again on June 23. Maybe I'll get my walking percentage up.

I hope to do some research and culling through climate watch releases during my time at home, and I'll share some of that on the blog. So check in now and then.

The motor home gets towed again

2009-06-06T10:05:00.002-04:00

I blew the transmission of my TranStar motor home and on Thursday (6/4) had it towed from Lexington to Stuarts Draft, Virginia, for an overhaul. It wasn't an easy decision because I'm so ambivalent anyway about driving while I advocate for deep lifestyle changes such as not driving or at least opting for vehicles with excellent fuel efficiency. However I'm still unable to conceive of a way that I, being who I am with my particular limitations, could complete my pilgrimage without a vehicle to live in as I walk.

I plan to travel to Bethlehem for a second two-week recess, taking the train from Staunton, VA, to Philadelphia tomorrow. A bus will get me home late in the evening. I'm looking forward to time with Guy, and a visit from my Boston-area children and grandchildren next weekend. I hope to also see some of you who live in the Lehigh Valley. Give me a buzz or email me. I hope to catch up on correspondence and other chores. I will continue to post to the blog during this time.

Peace and good energy to all, Greta

Things I'm reading

2009-06-03T15:36:00.006-04:00

My daughter, Sofia Hart, sent me this article from the Boston Globe, knowing that this is one of the main concerns I have about Climate Change, ie. the suffering of the poor and vulnerable throughout the world. Click here for the article:

The following appeared on Boston.com:
Headline: Report estimates deaths by warming
Date: May 29, 2009

"LONDON - Climate change kills about 315,000 people a year through hunger, sickness, and weather disasters, and the annual death toll is expected to rise to half a million by 2030, a report said today.

Also: I missed the opportunity to meet David Roper, retired Physics professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, but I exchanged emails with him and have a couple of suggestions that you might want to check out. I started reading his manuscript and think others would enjoy it.

Triple Threats to the Human Future: http://www.roperld.com/science/HumanFuture.pdf

Consonant with his belief that Blacksburg represents the type of community that is best equipped to survive in the coming times, David Roper has been involved in setting up a solar greenhouse in Blacksburg:

Why Build a Solar Greenhouse?

Global Warming and Peak Oil require that humans acquire their food from local farmers or grow it themselves. In climates with cold winters, such as at Blacksburg, Virginia where Virginia Tech is located, acquiring local food in the winter time requires the existence of solar greenhouses. Of course, one could preserve summer crops by canning and drying, but fresh vegetables in winter months would make a healthy diet more likely.

Southern Virginia

2009-06-01T13:47:00.000-04:00

Crossing into Virginia felt like entering a new country and the city of Abingdon exemplified all the sense of gentility and long traditions of education and art. Historical markers dating back to the eighteenth century, log cabins in the middle of town, women's colleges established two centuries ago - these brought me right into the history and novels of that period of American history. I don't care for the history pertaining to battles, but I love to see how people lived and what they valued. A few examples:

A reference to Daniel Boone: "Wolf Cave - Lair of wolves which attacked Daniel Boone's dogs 1790 and from which the came the original name of this town: Wolf Hills."

This magnificent Inn used to be a women's school.

In the continuing post below (blogspot only allows five photos per posting), you will see more of the countryside as I walked northeast on Route 11.

Into the hills

2009-06-01T13:23:00.002-04:00

I had to ask how to pronounce the name of this town. It's "Chil-howie" and, according to the oldtimer who told me the pronunciation, it means "Valley of Many Deers." The sign below gives two possible meanings.

This was the first mountain I climbed. I think you can read the fascinating story on this plaque. Check the children's blog for a photo of the Black Snake that greeted me near this outlook.

On the other side of the mountain lies the town of Pulaski, where the rails are busy. I saw many freight containers with Chinese logos, a well as other languages I didn't know with certainty, perhaps Greek and Swedish.

I crossed the New River in Radford, took a side trip to Blacksburg to visit the UU church there on Sunday, and parked my van in the hay field of a wonderful couple who keep horses. I had the opportunity to speak about my Walk with a few folks at the church. Then on out of Christianburg into the rolling hills heading toward Roanoke.

Nancy Tate, who runs the Lepoco Peace Center in Bethlehem, gave me the name of her family church in Salem, just west of Roanoke, as a place to park overnight. I arrived on Sunday evening and found a very friendly group of members of the Green Hills Church of the Brethren, including the pastor and his family. I had a peaceful night in the parking lot of the church and coffee and conversation before I left this morning.

Assessing the Walk

2009-05-23T14:55:00.006-04:00

As I start walking in Virginia and celebrate the completion of 400 miles, I'm in the mood to evaluate what I've been doing. Some days I wonder about the value of this adventure, especially given the problems and expenses of the motor home. So here go some thoughts:

I've come to see myself as a walking Poster Board, and the van as a moving Bulletin Board. As I walk along the highway people in hundreds of cars see me every day, and I notice that many of them read my shirt, WALKING for the CLIMATE. If even one or two out of a hundred actually think about what that means, awareness has been tweaked. And if a few every day talk with the others in the car - "Hey, what do you think that means?" - then my walk is worth it.

I also notice people reading the signs on the van. On a humorous note, people think the handwritten signs in the windows are For Sale signs. I've actually had people turn their cars around and come back to look and ask me if I'm selling. Sometimes they then ask what "WAKE UP to the CLIMATE EMERGENCY" means, but usually not. I thought of changing the signs somehow so that people wouldn't come out of their way, but I decided that my message is worth a little inconvenience on their part.

The other day in a park a group of children engaged me in a conversation about the signs on the van. When I started explaining global warming one girl sighed and said "School's out." (Indeed it is in Tennessee.) But several of them took my fliers and one of them said she'd love to walk like I do. I referred them to my children's blog.

That blog might be the most successful of all my efforts. I love it that many of the children leave comments, and we've actually developed a blog relationship. One of them was inspired to start her own blog and recently posted a wonderful dream about the end of global warming. During the next couple of weeks I'm planning to post some suggestions for their summer holidays.

This original blog and the Progress Map serve to keep my friends and supporters informed of my journey and I appreciate the comments that let me know that folks are checking in. I also try to keep the issues of the climate change crisis in front of us all so that we don't slip into living our daily lives as if nothing was going on - while the ice caps and the permafrost melt, temperatures rise, the oceans become more acidic, trees wilt and perish, and fauna and flora species teeter on the verge of extinction. Whew!!

There seems to very little awareness around America, and little support for measures to address climate change. One big disappointment regarding my Walk is the almost total lack of interest on the part of the media. My friend, Tim, has contacted many newspapers, TV stations, and student and environmental groups, but with the exception of Tuscaloosa there hasn't been any interest. I think that if there were a few more people walking it would be more of an event, and I'm hoping that by the time I get to northern Virginia and certainly in Pennsylvania I'll have some company to shake things up.

I've been nurtured with interest and hospitality by Unitarian Universalists along the way, and most Sundays I attend services at a UU church. Usually I light a candle during 'joys and concerns' to mark the number of miles I've walked. I'm learning from my successes and my failures at generating good dialogue about Climate Change, and mostly I realize that I'm best at telling stories, and not so good at providing strong arguments for those who question the scientific basis of global warming. You tell people the kitchen's on fire and they want to talk about who caused it and if it's really going to affect the rest of the house.

So I guess I'll keep on walking (and driving my behemoth as long as it holds up). Leave me a comment now and then, and join me if you can.

Good energy to you,

Greta

Northeastern Tennessee

2009-05-20T11:54:00.004-04:00

I've reached the Appalachian region of Tennessee.

Don't you wish you were walking with me?

Much better than driving a stupid Humvee.

One of the advantages of walking is that you can pause and really look at things you might otherwise miss, such as this lovely monument in Sweetwater, Tennessee.

Walking along Highway 11W in northeastern Tennessee has made me happy in a number of ways: the beauty of the hills, streams, lakes, woods, and pastures is wonderful; I'm delighted to be able to walk long distances again on my bum knee; I've completed 350 miles; and people along the road here greet me and seem to read and appreciate my "WALKING for the CLIMATE" T-shirt. There are of course some who don't seem to like my cause, like the young man who revved up his vehicle noisily as if to say, "I'll guzzle as much damn gas as I want to."

I must say that the whole car culture I've witnessed from the day I started out in Louisiana discourages me and makes me aware of the tremendous obstacles ahead as we try to lower the American carbon footprint. Whole communities everywhere depend on their cars day in and day out, with significant distances separating people from the dozens of places they need to go. Public transportation is rare or non-existent most places I've been. And even the most enlightened people I've talked with seem to think nothing of driving many miles several times a day. I'm actually hoping the price of gas will go up and stay up - though it'll make it harder on my pocketbook as well.

Hello down there in Mississippi

2009-05-13T14:09:00.001-04:00

Monday night I received a surprise call from Ritha Solomon. She is a lovely woman who gave me a ride back to my gypsy wagon in Hattiesburg. It was out of the way for her thus an act of pure generosity. It also made her late in joining her son who was going fishing that afternoon.

I was thrilled to hear that Ritha has been following this blog regularly, along with her son. We talked about some of the things I'd observed in Alabama, and she told me that Pay Check Cashing and Car Title Pawning are everywhere. I kinda knew that but had never seen so many pawn shops and advance loan shops in one place as in Bessemer, just southwest of Birmingham. Ritha and I agreed that Rapid Climate Change would only put more people in the category of the poor that use those predatory services.

So, hello Ritha and son. Keep reading and stay in touch.

Greta

The gypsy wagon gets towed

2009-05-13T13:52:00.005-04:00

Well, my friends, I had a rude surprise yesterday when I stopped to get directions to the library in the Friendly City of Athens, TN. The engine wouldn't restart, a cable jump didn't do the trick, roadside service failed, and today my van had to be towed in for a new starter and a blown fusible link. The whole operation ends up being very expensive, quite a blow to my budget. But such is life on the road. I expect to be back on Route 11 later today.

This weekend, starting Friday, the Annual Antique and Rummage Sale on Highway 11 will be taking place. This is a huge yard sale that stretches along the highway all the way from Alabama to Virginia. Apparently it makes for enormous traffic jams and difficult parking and I don't know how it will affect me. I'll try to use the whole affair to bring attention to Climate Change - what else?!

Hopefully I'll make it to Knoxville by Sunday in time to attend the service at one of the Unitarian Universalist churches there. I had a wonderful visit to the church in Chattanooga last Sunday, and enjoyed the Mother's Day service led by the Rev. Jeff Briere. He invited me to give the opening and closing words, for which I wore my stole over the Global Warming shirt that I like to wear on such occasions. Here's a photo snapped by church member and avid photographer, Leslie.

Farewell, Alabama - and Georgia, I hardly knew you

2009-05-10T19:29:00.006-04:00

I've had a bit of a set-back with a bum knee. I only walked 3.7 miles in the last three days. I was very sorry not to be able to walk more in the little corner of Georgia through which I passed on Saturday. I've had a nice stop in Chattanooga, parking in the driveway of a hospitable couple from the UU church. It seems the rest has been good for the knee and I plan to be out on the road to Knoxville tomorrow. Here are a few last photos from Alabama.

From a poet in Fort Payne

2009-05-06T14:22:00.005-04:00

I met the author of the poem in the library in Fort Payne. He commented on my "WALKING for the CLIMATE" t-shirt and we struck up a conversation. He showed me his poem and I offered to put it up on my blog. It gives me a feeling of solidarity. We share a concern for the children and the animals, and a love for the trees.

Green Earth Movement Creed

by William R. Miller

Oh this world what a beautiful place.

Magnificent, touched with Gods grace.

Red, yellow, and gold the trees in Fall.

Splendor in not just one but in them all.

The whisper of air as birds fly on wing.

The sight of an eagle joy to my heart does bring.

Creatures of God sent from the heavens above.

To give us joy, excitement and love.

Oh what a special thing birds of air and the fishes of the sea.

They touch me deep inside a great joy to me.

The cackle of geese the song of the loon.

I fear they will be gone too soon.

For I can not help but see what pollution can do.

To reverse this destruction is up to me and up to you.

For what do you tell your children when they cant tell night from day?

What do you tell your children when they cant go outside and play?

Who do you call when all the fishes lie dead by the sea shore?

Who do you turn to when all the animals are here no more?

Who can help you when the skies are turned black instead of blue?

What is your government going to say,

What are they going to do?

I pray that we open our eyes before its too late.

For this is Gods world and I know he would want us to keep it great.

We owe our children a brighter future a better place.

A smile instead of a frown upon their face.

Oh this world what a beautiful place indeed.

Northeastern Alabama

2009-05-06T12:54:00.007-04:00

I'm back on the road and loving it. This is certainly a very pretty part of the US and it's great to walk through such lovely countryside. I'll let the photos below speak for themselves.

As I returned from walking yesterday and approached my motor home, a woman whose pickup truck was stopped at the intersection came up to me an gave me a hug. "Everyone is talking about you," she said. "About your walk for all the grandchildren. Look, someone else is reading your signs." Sure enough, another vehicle had just pulled up to my van to read the lettering and the handmade sign that says WAKE UP to the CLIMATE EMERGENCY.

Please check out this article by Lester Brown on food shortages. A new friend in Birmingham forwarded it to me, knowing that it is part of the larger climate change picture. It's pretty scary, as is everything about the future we're looking at. That's why I sing as I walk, to keep my spirits up. Somehow this song pops into my head every time I start singing:

Come, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow me.

Whither shall I follow, follow, follow?

Whither shall I follow, follow thee?

To the greenwood, to the greenwood,

To the greenwood, greenwood tree.

Re-visiting Birmingham

2009-05-04T08:50:00.008-04:00

Roses from the garden of my hostess

What a fine time I've had in Birmingham on my second visit. I arrived by train from Philadelphia around noon on Saturday. On my trip north I'd walked from the Unitarian Universalist Church parking lot, where I left the gypsy wagon, down the hill to West Valley Avenue and caught the city bus to downtown. When I returned I discovered that the Saturday bus made a shorter loop and didn't run on W. Valley Ave. I had to walk the last leg of the trip, rolling my suitcase behind me, on a four lane street with no sidewalk or shoulder. Ah, the indignities pedestrians must suffer!

I was going to recommend that people use the bus to go to church, at least now and then, but I also learned that the bus doesn't even run on Sunday. So much for that. Maybe as the fossil fuel situation becomes more urgent cities will be pressured into offering more public transportation. If I lived in Birmingham I think I'd advocate for that now.

I received wonderful hospitality from the UU's, both at church on Sunday, and in the homes of two dynamite women. I stayed Saturday night with an artist who in her retirement years has taken up weaving, metal work, stained glass mosaic, and other mediums whereby to express her astounding artistic talent. Her house is like a museum albeit a cozy and warm place where you feel right at home. Her patio juts out into a forest that fills the hill below. We sat there for supper and the birds sang and showed off to us the whole time. Sunday night I stayed at the home of an avid political enthusiast, a retired history professor, who can rattle off the names of senators from each state and where they stand on the political spectrum. She reads The Nation, The New Yorker and a political journal, and has a quick an agile grasp of contemporary issues. I know that I would learn a whole degree-worth of knowledge if I could spend more time with these two ladies.

Mid-afternoon yesterday, while I was still at the UU church, we were told to go down to the basement because of a severe tornado warning. We watched its progress on television and, even better, some of us opened a basement door to the outside and enjoyed the fierce weather as long as we could: dark clouds, heavy rain, lightning and thunder, and some wind. We heard that the funnel had touched down here and there, but it passed us by. For me the lesson is that I need to pay attention to the weather and seek out shelter when tornadoes approach.

Today I'll replenish the larder of my home-on-wheels, and make sure it's all set to travel. And then it'll be back to the road for my Climate Walk for All the Grandchildren.

A good story

2009-04-27T13:12:00.004-04:00

Here's a BBC story about a family in England that did a year-long experiment in cutting their carbon footprint. Give yourself half an hour to watch this inspiring tale - you might want to give up your car, go vegan, and eschew future flying vacations. Not? Well, even half measures are better than none. Give it a look.

100 months

2009-04-21T09:23:00.004-04:00

I recommend reading about this European initiative that Guy brought to my attention. In February I posted a quote from Prince Charles in which he referred to this figure. We are now down to 92 months, or about 7.5 years.

"Summary

We calculate that 100 months from 1 August 2008, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will begin to exceed a point whereby it is no longer likely we will be able to avert potentially irreversible climate change. 'Likely' in this context refers to the definition of risk used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to mean that, at that particular level of greenhouse gas concentration, there is only a 66 - 90 per cent chance of global average surface temperatures stabilising at 2o Celsius above pre-industrial levels.1 Once this concentration is exceeded, it becomes more and more likely that we will overshoot a 2o C level of warming. This is the maximum acceptable level of temperature rise agreed by the European Union and others as necessary to retain reasonable confidence of preventing uncontrollable and ultimately catastrophic warming. We also believe this calculation to be conservative. The reasons why and the assumptions behind our conclusion are detailed below. "

http://www.onehundredmonths.org

The other side of the tracks

2009-04-16T17:47:00.008-04:00

Some miles after I left Tuscaloosa I began to feel some hostility toward me and my motor home. I'd put up a sign in the window saying "WAKE UP to the CLIMATE EMERGENCY" and I saw people driving up to my vehicle, when it was parked, to check the sign. Unfortunately I never had the chance to ask people what they were thinking, but it didn't seem friendly.

In the Birmingham area I spent the first two days in a poor southwest section of town, and described some of my observations in the entries from those days. Then I crossed into the northeast section of the city, a beautiful place with many wealthy neighborhoods and gorgeous homes. The businesses were much more interesting and attractive.

As I walked north into the rural area, I realized I was in a more settled and economically viable farm country.

A few days earlier I'd heard on NPR that Alabama farmers were up in arms due to a rumor that the EPA plans to charge a head tax on cattle because of the methane. I wondered if the hostility I was sensing came from that connection of global warming and taxes. If they read my flier they would see that climate change activists support small farms and recommend shopping and eating local.
Not everyone is a farmer; in fact most of the rural dwellers probably commute into town, causing traffic congestion 15 and 20 miles out of town, near the interstate exits.

I continued to feel hostility toward me and for the first time I was asked to leave one shopping center where I wanted to park for the night, and was also rejected at a gas station. One police officer, from whom I requested information on parking in the village, did not return my greeting when I said "Good morning," and treated me with utter condescension. That day as I walked in the beautiful countryside I felt a Joyce Carol Oates edge, as if at any moment reality could take a twist for the worse.

On April 15th there was a lot of talk on radio about tea parties and the signs below seemed to capture the worst attitudes of the far right.

The truth is that I am safe and sound, and that entering the little library in the town of Springville was like a breath of fresh air. I learned that people couldn't remember the last time they had their heaters on so late in the year, and that the other librarian didn't come in early because she was caring for three baby goats born overnight. One woman told me that she and her husband moved up from the Alabama Gulf Coast after damage to their business and home from nine hurricanes, culminating in Ivan, convinced them to leave. "But the coast is very beautiful and most people, including my parents, stay and rebuild," she said.

I'm leaving tomorrow for two weeks back in Bethlehem, but I will be back in early May to continue the Climate Walk.

Highway 11 approaching Birmingham

2009-04-11T14:05:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I walked through Bessemer and Midfield, the suburbs just southwest of Birmingham. Highway 11 spreads out into a handsome four lane boulevard with a grassy median, making me think that once upon a time it made the citizens of the city proud. Now however it's been abandoned to the folks that have a hard time making ends meet. All the photos below were taken in one mall, less than 100 feet from each other.

I walked many miles of this road, encountering few other walkers and just a handful of people waiting for the bus, which comes, one rider told me, once every hour and 20 minutes. I saw people shopping in little convenience stores, picking up their children from daycare, enjoying burgers, chicken and biscuits at fast food joints. I saw endless numbers of closed shops and abandoned homes. Folks greeted me in a friendly manner and I never felt threatened, even when walking in what could be termed as 'wastelands.' But I felt a mounting outrage as today I continued to walk into Birmingham with no relief from the decay and blight.

(Continued below)

Signs of hope

2009-04-11T13:20:00.003-04:00

"The Southeast's Largest Black Weekly"

I saw bright spots along the way, signs that people keep their hope and their pride even through bad times.

How will climate change affect the people who live in this area where I've been walking? The heat will devastate many, food will become more scarce and expensive, clean water might become less available, violence may escalate. Already the economic crisis has crashed down hard on the poor, and, of course, this part of Alabama is just one of the many thousands of communities around the world that have no resources but their own determination and hope to face the coming climate crisis.

I imagine using the wealth and human power of our nation that is currently going into war efforts to battle instead the poverty and blight where so many Americans live.

Looking back on a cold day

2009-04-07T12:32:00.008-04:00

I'm hibernating, actually sitting out this cold snap in the library of Tuscaloosa where I've returned for a few hours because the cold wind discouraged me from walking. Maybe this afternoon I'll walk a few miles.

I want to celebrate some of the things I've enjoyed in the last month. First of all, I want to thank all the wonderful people who've offered me their hospitality, starting with Dora, Jamie and Nina in McNeill, MS, who I mentioned in the blog at that time. A few days after my stay with them I drove over to Magee (Maghee), MS, to visit Green Party members William and Lynn. They gave me space for my van, an electrical hookup, dinner and conversation. That was on Tuesday, the night before a tornado devastated Magee. William writes, I'm happy to report, that they and their dogs were not affected by the storm even though it passed by so close, on the other side of town.

This weekend I was treated to wonderful hospitality be several Unitarian Universalists in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. For the first time people joined my WALK, going four miles with me through Tuscaloosa. I've added a new category to the Support page on my website for Co- Walkers.

I have to celebrate this sidewalk in Livingston, AL. It followed Highway 11 right out of town for almost three miles! Later I was told that the sidewalks of Livingston were in the Guiness Book of Records at one time.

I've been looking for signs of economic activity in rural Mississippi and Alabama. In addition to cattle, goat and horse farms, and the replanting of forests, I hadn't seen much else that I recognized , but this week I admired the fine pecan orchard above and noticed this ranch with two oil pumps (one white and one black on either side of the tower). It surprises me that I don't see more farming of food and other agricultural products. Maybe it's too early in the Spring.

If you haven't seen it already, check out the article in the Tuscaloosa News about my walk.

First media coverage of Climate Walk

2009-04-04T16:46:00.009-04:00

I just discovered that the Picayune Item, a small daily newspaper in Picayune, Mississippi, printed an article about my WALK on Saturday, March 21. The interview was on Monday of that week and I had looked for it on Tuesday and Wednesday. By Saturday I had moved out of their circulation area and assumed that they'd decided not to run the story. I think Ginger Schmidt, the reporter, did a good job and I'm very pleased. Here's the link: www.picayuneitem.com

Hopefully tomorrow The Tuscaloosa News will print an article with photographs. A young reporter sought me out along the road and interviewed me while we sat in the gypsy wagon. Two photographers caught up with us and took some photos in the van and a few of me walking along the Highway 11.

Much more than my personal pleasure in these articles is my satisfaction that they bring attention to the Climate Change Crisis. I'm hoping that the WALK will get more and more media coverage. If the human interest angle serves the purpose of getting people to pay attention to the issues my goal will be achieved.

Leaving Mississippi

2009-03-31T17:27:00.010-04:00

Yesterday, after two weeks in Mississippi, I crossed over the border into Alabama. It makes me a little sad because I developed a kind of intimacy with the Mississippi of Highway 11, a road that suffered the impact of Katrina's fierce winds, that rushed up the middle of the state after she was finished with New Orleans and other coastal areas.

At first I thought that all the deterioration I saw along the highway - abandoned homes, boarded-up stores, closed businesses, empty lots and warehouses - was the result of the 2005 storm. But slowly I came to realize that even before Katrina the booming towns along Highway 11 must have been losing their traffic and their customers to the new interstate, Route 59, and to all the chains that sprung up at the highway exits.

Such has been the progress of our market force-capitalism. Such is the progress to which countries around the world aspire. Nothing can withstand the inexorable advance of the culture of oil-based locomotion: cars and trucks in hundreds of shapes and sizes. Everybody needs one or two, all business requires the transportation of people and goods, and new businesses spring up at an amazing rate to fill yet new needs and desires. Surely traffic glutted the two lanes of Highway 11 and a new superhighway seemed essential.

Now the traffic along Hwy 11 in Mississippi is largely local retail business and the maintenance of public works, roads, forests, wetlands, with all kinds of work trucks dominating the road. I noticed in the vicinity of Laurel that every other business related to the upkeep of those trucks. There were gas stations and mechanic shops, tire shops and muffler shops, shops for barding and welding, tinting and detailing, hydraulics and pneumatics, nuts and bolts, oil tools, wheels and brakes ... A lot of run-down stations, fenced up shops, empty lots that had once seen plenty of activity. I saw oil addiction at its sad end, where it left a destroyed landscape and users gasping in their agony. Yes, sometimes I go for hyperbole - it wasn't all that bad, but I suspect that's where the oil business is headed.

No one walks. There are no sidewalks, no benches to sit on or shaded places to rest. No public restrooms or even water fountains. Bridges have no lanes for pedestrians. Still, it's worth walking. I've shared some of my nature photos with you and mentioned the wonderful stillness of moments when there is no traffic along an isolated stretch of road. Have I mentioned the birds and the flowers? I will remember Mississippi for all these, and for the kindness and warmth of the people I met, the storekeepers and folks who offered me rides along the way.

They told me that they take care of each other. But they also said that it was no longer as safe as it used to be before Katrina. Refugees from New Orleans have moved up into Mississippi communities, some of them bringing a more predatory culture that has changed folks' perception of their own safety and that of the neighborhoods.

Climate refugees, this is what we're talking about. People displaced by ravaging storms in delta areas. People who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, in some cases their families. Violence is only a step away when all is lost. We cannot afford to be complacent in the face of rapid climate change, even if we live in relatively safe areas, because the reality of climate refugees is bound to affect us all. We should be roused to action first by compassion for all those who will be in the path of destruction, rising waters, drought, famine and thirst; and second we should be motivated by our own desire for survival, for ourselves and our families.

On a more genteel note, I give you one of my first images from Alabama. The face of Highway 11 has changed.

New map to follow my progess

2009-03-31T11:21:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the collaboration among several of my family members, an interactive map that can be updated on a daily basis is now available. Check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/gretasprogress. Click on the text entries in the left column to see the complete posting. For future reference, the link will be listed with other links on the right side of this blog.

Tomorrow, March 28 - Turn it off

2009-03-27T12:20:00.007-04:00

You probably all know, but tomorrow, Saturday 3/28, the world will mark Earth Hour by turning off lights and electrical appliances between 8:30 and 9:30 pm to raise awareness of global warming. More info at earthhour.org. Please join in and make it a success.

Yesterday I met the public works supervisor in Heidelburg, MS, a very knowledgeable man who proclaims himself a longtime environmentalist. As soon as he realized what I was about he mentioned the Earth Hour action tomorrow. He told about how at the time of Katrina he made sure the county was ready for the inevitable disruption of water service: he prepared generator backup for the water supply system and was able to put it in place immediately. Some other areas went without water for a week.

Yesterday's heat made me wonder what it would be like in the summer. After a longish walk I stopped at this church to sit in the shade and sip my V8 juice. A member of the family who 'owns' the church stopped by to see if I was up to any harm since not long ago someone broke in and hauled all the hymnbooks outside. I asked him to take my picture so you could see the shirt that I had made last week when I got the signs for the van.

The shirt is effective. People don't stop to offer me rides, they just slow down - sometimes they honk or wave. The other day I really wanted a ride back to the van but no one would stop. Oh well.
I've seen a lot of trucks carrying logs, mostly larger trucks barreling down the highway, making me afraid they'll topple over onto me. I always think logging is a bad thing, but here I wonder if they plant enough trees to effectively replenish the forests. The other type of truck I see all the time is the tanker - carrying oil or gas perhaps?

Tavern encounters

2009-03-23T13:16:00.006-04:00

From Hattiesburg, Mississippi

(After over a week on the road I need to post a disclaimer: for reasons of safety and logisitcs I've decided that I shouldn't try to walk every stretch of the road. With a driver for the van I'd be able to walk most of the way, but alone I'm doing what I think makes most sense. To give you an idea: I walked 46.8 of the 76 miles between Slidell, LA, and Hattiesburg, MS. The two contributing factors for not walking the other 29.2 miles: I chose not to walk a dangerous stretch where Rt. 11 joins superhighway 59 to cross Honey Island Swamp between Louisiana and Mississippi. And I drove forward to find a clinic when I developed a nasty infection on my Morton's toe.)

Since I last posted, I walked my farthest yet in one day: 12.8 miles on Friday, from Purvis to the outskirts of Hattiesburg. Since then only 6 miles on Saturday, into a little place called Eastabuchie. When I stopped at a tavern to ask for a glass of water, a bunch of men and two women welcomed my with beery cheer. The water was icy and delicious, and I stayed to talk awhile with the folks. I handed out my flier after I told them I was walking to Canada - that always gets people's attention.

One of the guys, particularly talkative and jovial, commented, "Go to bed early? No way. Eat vegetarian? You gotta be kidding!" My answer: "Maybe you can find something there you can do to help. Plant a garden? Change your lightbulbs?"

Another fellow spoke to me quietly, so the others wouldn't hear, "I have a book to recommend to you, Walking Across America." "By Peter Jenkins," I asked. "Right. And two other books, Blue Highways and Walk Thru Time."

Here are a few photos from the road:

A sign of hope along the way.

A reminder of how foolhardy our culture has been.

Another hopeful sign: cows, sheep and lambs, and a donkey. But will they survive as temperatures rise?

This one's for Guy - he'll know why. But the rest of you might enjoy the thought of the carnival setting up in the dusty town square come June or July.

I came back to Hattiesburg to spend Sunday here. I'm off to Ellisville today, Laurel tomorrow.

A new sign on my support vehicle

2009-03-19T18:31:00.003-04:00

I'm really pleased to have a sign on my 'gypsy wagon' that will let everyone along the way know about the WALK and the website.

Tuesday morning I saw a sign company from the road - M&M Industries - and went in to check if they could do something for me right away. Sure enough, they put a team on it and in two hours I had signs on both sides of the van.

(This is my third posting today. I've had to sit the day out while an infected toe heals, so I spent the day at the Lumberton Public Library with my laptop. Hurrah for public libraries! Don't miss the other posts.)

Photo gallery

2009-03-19T13:44:00.004-04:00

A house that stayed intact during Katrina.

A house that didn't.

An unusual sight along the road, a health food store. The owners are to be commended. The juxtaposition of 'yard eggs' (local) and 'açaí' (from Brazil) amuses me.

Churches abound along the road: gathering places and literally refuges from the storm. I loved this sign.

My hostess for a night. Thank you, Dora.

Please read the blog entry below.

First five days

2009-03-19T13:07:00.004-04:00

Miles walked:

3/14 5 miles at the beginning of Highway 11, just east of New Orleans
3/15 9 miles from Slidell to Pearl River, LA
3/16 10 miles from Picayune to McNeill, MS
3/17 9 miles from McNeill to Derby, MS
3/18 6 miles from Derby to Poplarville, MS
3/19 recess in Lumberton to recover from staph infection in toe

In August, 2005, after leaving the coast, Hurricane Katrina raged up Highway 11 (as the locals call it) wreaking damage, blowing off roofs and felling trees and posts. The aftermath was brutal: no electricity for weeks, difficult communications, impassable roads, and suffocating heat. "My two little children stopped eating when the heat got up to 105°," a woman in a little diner told me. Another woman who invited me into her home and showed me photos of Katrina's damage told me that the fish in her pond all died because of the heat.

This is what climate change will bring to millions in the vulnerable coastal areas around the world.

People are still rebuilding their homes, those that can. But along the road I see many vacant buildings, both homes and businesses. One man told me that a huge tree fell on his house, just eight inches from where his wife was sitting. "I spent $70,000 to rebuild my home, but if we get hit again I won't rebuild. I'll buy a mobile home for $4,500." A couple told me that the storm picked up their house, twisted it and put it down again totally destroyed. They couldn't afford to fix it so they've moved in with his mother, in her dilapidated mobile. They invited me in for a shower and a St.Patrick's Day dinner of cabbage and ground beef with hamburger helper. I parked in their yard and they set my van up with electricity. Fresh coffee in the morning before they set off to fish for catfish and I started out on my first walk of the day.

You don't talk to these folks about a vegetarian diet. Steak, fried chicken, catfish are deeply ingrained comforts they're not ready to give up; not now when life is so hard. I noticed that people smoke a lot, especially the women. Obesity is a problem, along with diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes. They might try to raise a few vegetables, maybe some strawberries, but it isn't easy in the heat and with all the insects.

And except for someone as crazy as me, walking isn't an option. Villages are far from each other and homes spread widely through the countryside. The roads have no shoulder, just a thin strip of pavement outside the lanes where the vehicles barrel by. (I step aside, into the grass, every time a vehicle approaches. This slows me down, of course, and I watch my step because I've seen snake carcasses along the road, as well as other roadkill; armadillo, nutria, possum.) Everyone around here has a car, mostly SUVs and large pickup trucks. There are no buses, no public transportation. The Amtrak train blows its whistle every morning as it speeds by to Hattiesburg, Birmingham and north. The local people are utterly dependent on oil.

On my own

2009-03-15T10:49:00.002-04:00

Guy just left this morning on the 8 o'clock train to Philadelphia. The sun is peeking out and I'm hoping to walk 7 miles to Pearl River this afternoon.

Thanks to those who sent me well wishes. Please let me know in the text of your emails who you are unless your sender identity is really clear. All you need to do is sign your name at the end of the message. Thanks.

The southern end of Route 11

2009-03-14T20:57:00.008-04:00

After a Sounding near the Mississippi River this morning, where Guy and I were joined by four Unitarian Universalists for a time of listening and reflecting, we found the very beginning of Route 11, in the Bayou Sauvage Wildlife Center east of New Orleans. We walked for two hours in rain that sprinkled or poured most of that time.

Warm days in Baytown, Texas

2009-03-10T15:53:00.015-04:00

First I want to welcome the new 'followers' of this blog - you encourage me and give me new energy. Also, thanks to those that post comments. If you want to leave a comment without signing in, use the Anonymous option and let me know who you are by putting your name in the text. I love to hear from you.

In the lobby of the church I visited in Galveston on Sunday, rows of moccasins mounted on globes line the wall, representing a lighter footprint on the Earth. In the photo here you can see some of the actions recommended: Switch to socially responsible investments, Reduce the use of PVC, Drink tap water, Drive no faster than 55 mph. I'll add a tip from a posting I received this morning: ultra-soft toilet paper "comes at a high environmental price - the destruction of millions of trees in North America, including rare old-growth forests in Canada." This comes from www.stopglobalwarming.org. Check today's issue for the article including suggestions of what to use instead of the softest whitest tissue.

Why are we stuck in the Houston area? For me it's a nice place to be stuck for a few days because I'm at my sister's home in Baytown, enjoying her company and her comfortable home. I've been walking with her in the early mornings, when the birds are singing full-throat in the trees and the azaleas glow in their red, pink, purple and white glory. Guy is enjoying the garage-full of tools as he fixes cabinet doors on the support van and installs a vent dome to replace the one I broke two weeks ago. The truth is that we weren't going to indulge in this pleasant stay, but on our way here for the visits to Houston and Galveston, we blew a tire and discovered an oil leak, two problems that had to be dealt with before we could continue on our way. Turns out the oil leak is not serious, and we're picking up the new spare tire on our way out of town tomorrow.

We'll go down to the Louisiana Coast and spend some time walking along the area where Ike and Rita wreaked their damage not long ago. I'll send some photos. This area between Galveston and New Orleans is the prototype of coasts around the world that are suffering the impact of climate change. I'm aware that this landscape may be gone forever the next time I come this way.

March 8 - The symbolic start of my Climate Walk

2009-03-08T19:50:00.011-04:00

Even though I did little walking today, I count it as the symbolic start of my WALK. I visited the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston where my sister is a member, and was invited by the minister to deliver the benediction at the end of the service - an amazing service that started with a song about our love of nature, moved through a sermon that spoke of how fear constricts and grace surprises and lets us move ahead, and a song that proclaimed "When the Spirit says Go, I Go." I felt that the service had been designed to help me on my way.

These were the words of my benediction: "I bring you a blessing of love and gratitude for our Earth, for its beauty, its fierceness and its mystery; and I take from you the blessing of your strength and commitment to creating a better future. May we go from this place of worship in peace; may we walk gently on the Earth. Amen."

In the afternoon my sister and I drove down to Galveston, past the huge refineries, over great bridges and causeways, and into a city that has suffered two big hurricanes in the past years: Rita, in 2005, and Ike in September of last year. I needed to go to Galveston because the Gulf Coast from Galveston to New Orleans has become the beacon symbolizing the vulnerability of the land, the people and animals, and the plants in face of global warming.

A small but wonderful group of members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Galveston County met with us in front of their church at the eastern end of the island. I was glad that one of them brought her dog, Collie, to represent all the pets and other animals. I told them about my walk, why I was doing it and when and where, then we went down to the beach along the Gulf Coast for a sounding. We stood in a circle to listen to the sounds around us - silently for a full minute - then shared our sense of the power of the waves, the strength of the gulls, the vulnerability of the people. I asked them to share with me their stories of hurricanes, the evacuations, the losses, the starting over - waiting in lines, eating Red Cross meals in the streets when there was no electricity, deciding to stay on in Galveston despite the belief that there will be another big storm, and another... I am grateful to them for helping me understand a little of what it's like to live through a hurricane and its aftermath, and to love the land and their community.

I'd hoped to take the ferry across to Port Bolivar after the meeting in Galveston, to begin my trek along the coast to New Orleans, but I had to come back to my sister's in Baytown to deal with a couple of problems that emerged with the motor home on the trip down from Pennsylvania. I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Off to Texas

2009-03-05T05:11:00.017-05:00

Today I set out for Houston and Galveston, Texas. My husband, Guy, is joining me for the first week of my adventure. We will take the gypsy wagon, a small 1982 GM TranStar motor home, my base of operations, to New Orleans. Along the way we will check out the systems and ready everything for my first steps on Route 11, on March 15 or 16. (See my blog for children - www.climatechangechildren.blogspot.com - where I write about my gypsy wagon and carbon emissions.)

This Sunday, before setting out for New Orleans, I will have the opportunity to address the members of the Unitarian Universalist congregations in Houston, at the morning service, and in Galveston that afternoon.

Climate Walk Website

2009-03-02T23:32:00.003-05:00

Please check out my new website - http://climatewalk.homestead.com.

I will continue to post on the blog. In fact, in just a few days I will start posting data on my actual walk. Guy and I plan to leave Bethlehem this Thursday evening enroute to Houston from where, on Sunday, March 8, we will start off to Galveston in the early afternoon. It's really going to happen, folks.

If you would like to become a sponsor of the WALK, giving a small (or not so small) donation to ensure that materials can be printed and communications maintained, the website gives information on how to do so, including a PayPal DONATE button.

Even if you don't donate, your support as a follower and reader of this blog is important to me. I would love it if you leave a comment now and then.

Museum of Natural History

2009-03-01T07:50:00.005-05:00

This Thursday, on our way to Boston, Guy and I stopped in at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, to see the Climate Change Exhibit. It occupies six or seven rooms and outlines the history of climate change since the 1600's and especially in the 20th century, as well as demonstrating the effects of global warming in a variety of ways. Even though we were already aware of much of the information, we found the exhibit interesting, compelling, and sometimes beautiful.

I highly recommend it for everyone - it will probably convince those that are on the fence or haven't been interested, and it will deepen the understanding of those who have been paying attention. In the first room of the exhibit was a large, unequivocal statement on the wall to the effect that the current warming of the planet is caused by humans.

My only caveat regards the cost of a visit to the museum: $24 for adults, $18 for seniors. I don't know the price for children and students. The ticket gets you into the whole museum, where most of the other exhibits are open to visitors, whereas the Climate Change Exhibit requires the ticket to enter. So I recommend going with time and energy to take advantage of other exhibits, spending as much time there as possible. We only had four hours between buses and weren't able to go through other amazing areas that just caught our eyes in passing: Primates, Animals of Asia, Civilizations of Asia, and much more.

Turning exercise into electricity

2009-02-24T16:05:00.002-05:00

I remember learning a long time ago that Chinese farmers used bicycle power to pump water to irrigate their fields. This is an image that has held my imagination all these years and I have often thought that it would be smart to generate electricity from stationary bicycles while people used them for exercise.

Lo and behold, this is what's happening, and it makes me happy:

Oregon State University Students Exercise to Generate Power

"Thousands of college students regularly hit the cardio exercise machines to work off stress after an exam or to stay in shape. Oregan State University is harniessing the energy the machines can generate and converting it to electricity to feed back into the power grid." AP, February 20, 2009

Any chance this initiative could spread to other colleges, to fitness centers everywhere and even to home gyms? It would motivate me to exercise more if I knew that I was actually making electricity!

I'm entering a new phase of my preparations for my WALK, the nitty-gritty phase. I'm communicating with people I hope to meet with along the way and preparing equipment and materials for the walk. One of the things I need to do this week is put out a request for people to sponsor the WALK. I'll get out some information about how to do so in the next two days.

Back in Bethlehem

2009-02-21T19:56:00.007-05:00

When I arrived home yesterday I was treated by my husband to the last two paragraphs of the book he had just finished reading, The Long Thaw, by David Archer:

"If we add up the total amount of energy trapped by the CO2 from the gallon of gas over its atmospheric lifetime, we find that one gallon of gasoline ultimately traps one hundred billion kilocalories of useless and unwanted greenhouse heat. The bad energy from burning that gallon ultimately outweighs the good energy by a factor of about 40 million.

The enormous world-altering potential of that gallon of gasoline has taken the reins of Earth's climate away from its natural stabilizing feedback systems, and given them to us. May we use our newfound powers wisely."

The Long Thaw is one of many books on global warming and climate change listed on the website of ICE (Initiatives for the Climate Emergency), the group here in the Lehigh Valley that I joined as it started up in September 2008, convened by Len Frenkel due to his immense concern about global warming.

I recommend the website for its information on global warming, its proposals and the lists of books and further websites. Check it out at www.iceworks.org. I have listed it in the sidebar as a permanent link on this blog.

2009-02-18T18:43:00.006-05:00

My last night in Brazil; back to cold Pennsylvania tomorrow. I learned just this week that cruise ships emit more carbon per passenger than airplanes. What about freight ships? Several comments to BBC's Ethical Man suggested that he should come to the US by ship, container ship for example, but now I wonder about the carbon emissions of those ships as well. We need a large-scale comeback of sailing ships, new ships equipped with solar collectors and other green technology.

Did you hear about the French man who climbed a skyscraper in Hong Kong to call attention to global warming?

"Alain Robert, dubbed the French spider-man, has scaled dozens of tall structures without ropes or harnesses, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York and Malaysia's Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur...

'The global warming is something that is going to affect the next generation,' Robert told reporters on the ground level. 'The future is really compromised if we are not doing anything.'"

(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090217/ap_on_re_as/as_hong_kong_skyscraper_climber)

Oops - Fourteen more grandchildren

2009-02-16T16:12:00.004-05:00

Yesterday's newspaper in Brasília carried a story about the American woman who, even though she already had six children under 8, no home or financial security, and no partner, got pregnant through artificial insemination and brought eight more children into the world. Aside from all the other issues of the safety and nurture of these fourteen little children, there's the whole issue of overpopulation. Our civilization needs to give a strong message to people of child-bearing age: don't bring any more children than you absolutely must onto this stressed-out spaceship called Earth.

I have a quote to that effect today from the comment section of a blog in which BBC's Ethical Man, Justin Rowlatt, announces that he is coming to the United States to look for "solutions to the biggest problem on earth," global warming. The following comment is posted under the name Lord_Stormshadow:

"There is only one solution to Climate Change, and it's the one no-one's willing to talk about. People need to stop having babies. We need to get the global population down, and the only ethical way to do that is to get vast numbers of people all across the world to decide not to have children. Anything else really is just papering over the cracks."

(www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ethicalman/2009/02/ethical_man_is_reborn.html)

My own position is that we cannot expect those who have a deep desire to have children to give it up entirely. But we must strongly suggest that they have only one or two per couple, as promoted by ZPG, Zero Population Growth.

In the meantime, I am dedicating my walk to Nadya Suleman's fourteen children (the new octuplets and the six others), along with all the grandchildren already on my list.

Another climate change blog

2009-02-13T05:51:00.011-05:00

(Look for my next post in two or three days as I'm off to the farm with no internet connection for a while.)

This morning I decided to see if I could find this blog on Google, typing in 'global warming' and 'blog' - result? over 7 million sites with no mention of this one. I kept trying with word combinations until 'blog, walk, grandchildren' brought up 'forallthegrandchildren' in third place.

In the meantime I became aware of the amazing amount and variety of blogs on the subject. Two days ago I was bemoaning the fact that no one was writing about conservation, but here is someone who mentions it two years ago:

Climate Ark

www.climateark.org/blog

January 9, 2007

Personal Sacrifice and the Climatic System

"As the science of climate change becomes more widely known, we are entering a period of angst where the reality of climatic system collapse is accepted, yet the search for climate solutions lags. One dispute is to what extent individuals must sacrifice modern conveniences to reduce emissions such as driving less, eating less meat and many other energy conserving activites; or whether the required necessary changes are of such a scale like public mass transit, global carbon caps and a carbon tax, which can only be carried out by governments. Given we must reduce emissions dramatically, by some 60% and perhaps more as soon as possible, the answer is both. I am very disappointed in Tony Blair's recent statement that we should all carry on with our air travel because science will find and answer to the problem. The hard reality is that some degree of personal sacrifice is going to be required."

So, what have we all been doing in the past two years? I for one have been slow to alter my habits and still have a long way to go in lowering my carbon footprint. I have a concern around air travel: when asked about the purpose of a trip, business and leisure or vacation appear as the main choices; I would like to add family as a purpose separate from the other two. The reality in this age of great mobility is that many of us must travel to see our children and grandchildren, and it would be unwise to stop nurturing those connections. Right now I'm in Brazil to visit my son and his family, flying back to the States next week. So I will continue to work on conscientious travel, and lowering my footprint in other ways.

If you haven't done so already you might want to calculate your own carbon footprint. You can find many online instruments to help you with this calculation if you google 'carbon footprint.'

Or just go to www.carbonfootprint.com

Map of the WALK

2009-02-12T18:55:00.004-05:00

I posted this map on the new blog, for the children, and figured I would also post it here. It's not exact but a good approximation of the route I'll walk, about 2000 miles. Wouldn't you like to join me?

No quote today because my granddaughter is demanding my full attention.

What about conservation?

2009-02-11T19:31:00.004-05:00

I've been looking for statements about conservation. Instead everything is about continuing to produce, build, go places, shop, all of which must happen to some extent, of course. But where are the quotes about shopping less, staying in your own neighborhood, turning off the lights, having fewer children ... I'm sure such statements exist but not at the policy level - LESS is not considered good for the economy.

What I did find today was the following note, from the Guardian (UK), about scientists convening in Copenhagen in March:

"Scientists are to hold an emergency summit to warn the world's politicians they are being too timid in their response to global warming... The meeting follows 'disturbing' studies that suggest global warming could strike harder and faster than expected... Katherine Richardson, a marine biologist at the University of Copenhagen, who is organizing next month's event, said: 'This is not a regular scientific conference. This is a deliberate attempt to influence policy.'" By David Adams, February 10, 2009

Development in the Amazon rainforests

2009-02-10T04:21:00.011-05:00

It's 7:15 in the morning and I'm back from my first walk of the day. I completed one lap in the Parque Olhos D'Água near my son's apartment in Brasília. The lap equals 2 kilometers or 1.24 miles, but I count it as 1.5 miles after adding the walk to and from the apartment. I went out in the dark to a bright orange eastern horizon, and full daylight by the time I was done. The display in the park read 20°C, or 68°F. I imagine walking on Route 11 in Mississippi a month from now, early in the morning to get in my first three or four miles before breakfast.

Today's newspaper in Brasilia, the Correio Brasiliense, carried an article about the struggle between the Minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc, and the Minister of Agriculture, Reinhold Stephanes, a struggle that repeats itself throughout the developing world at this point. Minc is opposing new clearing in the Amazon rainforest for the cultivation of sugarcane for the production of alcohol fuel. He insists that sugarcane plantations must use land that is already cleared, and they must not burn the residue, because of the carbon emissions, but should use the residue instead for composted fertilizer. Minc also opposes the opening of 82 projected thermoelectric plants in the Amazon region by 2017. These would be plants that produce electricity from fossil fuels such as natural gas. Brazilian officials like Stephanes who defend both the opening of new sugarcane plantations and thermoelectric plants argue that they are essential for economic growth. In developing countries, as much as anywhere if not more so, economic growth is still the holy grail.

California's farms and vineyards

2009-02-09T13:27:00.006-05:00

Back from the farm in Goiás, where it rained and rained and everything was green and beautiful. I had trouble remembering that the planet is in trouble and human life on the Earth in peril. The truth is that we must keep a healthy balance between our sense of urgency and need to act on the one hand, and our ability to enjoy life and love the world on the other.

I'm quoting today from the Los Angeles Times, but first I must acknowledge that I am taking many of my quotes directly from Earth Equity News, a collection of quotes that the Climate Crisis Coalition sends out two or three times a week. I recommend subscribing to this service and will try to put a link to their website, www.climatecrisiscoalition.org, on the blog. I trust that they are happy to have their quotes reach more people, and I am grateful to them for making them available.

Here's the quote: Chu Warns: California Farms, Vineyards in Peril from Warming. By Jim Tankersley, LATimes, February 5, 2009. "California's farms and vineyards could vanish by the end ot the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said Tuesday... In a worst case, Chu said, up to 90% of the Sierra snowpack could disappear, all but eliminating a natural storage system for water vital to agriculture. "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen,' he said. 'We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California...'"

Steven Chu's words confirm my belief that anything I can do to raise the awareness of Global Warming is worth doing. The Walk for all the grandchildren IS ON!

Deltas and Global Warming

2009-02-05T19:42:00.015-05:00

For the next two days I'll be away from my internet connection and will not be posting entries to the blog. Please check back again on Monday.

In the last two months I've spent time in two of the world's largest deltas: at the end of December Guy and I were in New Orleans in the delta of the Mississippi River, and last week I visited Belém in the huge Amazon River estuary. These areas provide a variety of resources to the planet, from swamplands and rainforests to fertile farmlands and ores and mineral deposits.

They are vulnerable to climate changes that threaten the low coastal lands as ocean waters rise and storm patterns change dramatically.

Today's quote describes another of the world's large deltas:

"The Nile Delta region is home to approximately half of Egypt's population of 80 million people ... Vast farmland that extends for miles. It is an impressive - and rare - expanse of green in Egypt, a land dominated by desert ... According to U.N.'s Environment Program, a rise in only 0.5 meters (20 inches) would displace at least four million people and damage 1,800 square kilometers [700 square miles of farmland]. A one-meter rise (39 inches) would displace at least six million Egyptians and damage more than double the farmland." By Joseph Mayton, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, February 5, 2009.

It doesn't matter where in the world the carbon emissions occur, the effects are felt across the planet. Our excessive use of fossil fuels in the United States contributes to the rising waters in Egypt, along the Brazilian coast, as well as the Louisiana coast where the Walk for all the grandchildren will begin. For me it's not about feeling guilty - it's about being aware of the connections around the planet - a feeling of solidarity with all the people. And about a love for the trees and the waters, for the shells and rocks, for the birds and all creatures great and small.

The question of MEAT

2009-02-04T18:32:00.004-05:00

My youngest son, whom I'm visiting in Brasília, has followed a vegetarian diet for many years and is now raising his little daughter as a vegetarian. When my children were young I followed the same diet and raised all three of them without meat until the youngest one was three or so. Since then we've gone our different ways and I've considered myself a semi-vegetarian.

Now, as I confront the issues of climate change, I am trying to decrease my consumption of meat, especially of factory-farm animals. In addition to the environmental reasons for cutting back on meat, there are multiple health benefits, so it should be a no-brainer. But meat-eating is a deeply ingrained habit in most western cultures, and for many of us eating a lot less meat would be easier than cutting it out altogether.

Today's quote comes from Planetsave webmail, written by Scott James and published on January 24, 2009.

"German Government Advisory: Eat Meat Only on Special Occasions

Germany's environmental issues advisory issued a strong advisory for German people to lower their meat consumption, effectively asking the population to eat meat only on special occasions. The advisory board cited that 15% of Germany's greenhouse gases come from agriculture. Dramatically reducing meat consumption will diminish Germany's carbon footprint."

Photographs and a quote

2009-02-03T14:27:00.011-05:00

I am posting the first photos of grandchildren today, my own three grandchildren to whom I dedicate my walk. As others send me photos of their grandchildren I will post them and dedicate the walk to them as well. Please pass the word to anyone you know who might want me (and others who join me) to walk for their grandchildren.

My quote for the day comes from a Detroit Free Press Editorial, Feb. 1, 2009

Now's The Time to Speak Up on Global Warming

"Americans have to get serious about what tools they want deployed to ratchet back emissions of global warming gases ... A carbon tax that puts the cost directly in the customer's face offers the fastest way to change individual behavior ... Manufacturers would have no choice but to respond quickly to what consumers want, be it high-milage cars and more mass transit, solar hot water tanks and bales of attic insulation or their own backyard windmills ..."

Words from Prince Charles

2009-02-02T19:01:00.005-05:00

I spent a few days last week at the World Social Forum in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River. The importance of the rainforests was one of the reasons the Amazon region was selected as the venue for this year's Forum. At the Forum I attended a Climate Change workshop where Brazil's Minister of the Environment, Minc, announced that the government is cracking down on deforestation by forbidding the export of soy and beef from areas that have been cleared, and by closing the huge sawmills and auctioning off the lumber so that the owners receive none of the profit. I can't say that I totally trust the Brazilian government, or any other, to follow through with such promises, but it's certainly an improvement to have the government indicate its concern so proactively.

Another speaker at the Climate Change Workshop said that it's time for Brazil to catch up with Great Britain, which is the leader in initiatives to fight global warming. Here are some words from one of that country's leaders:

"Britain's Prince Charles called yesterday for the world to act with a 'sense of wartime urgency' to protect the rainforests, warning that they were 'umbilically connected' to the phenomenon of climate change. The heir to the British throne says rainforests 'are the world's lifebelt', acting as the 'world's air conditioning system' and helping store the largest body of flowing water on the planet. Such ambitious, ecologically-based policy is welcome from the nation that unleashed industrialism."

From Earth's Newsdesk (http://ecoearth.info/newsdesk/) Sept. 11, 2008

Twin threats: global warming and nuclear proliferation

2009-02-01T17:53:00.006-05:00

A new month begins and it's time to turn up my level of activity on this blog. My intention is to post a pertinent quote each day this month as well as sharing with my readers what's going on with plans for the Walk for All the Grandchildren.

My first quote is from Alex Thurston of www.theseminal.org who writes of a provocative statement he heard by Joe Cirinicione of Ploughshares Fund.

"Cirincione made the compelling point that nuclear proliferation and global warming rank as the two greatest threats to America's national security and to the well-being of people in general. He believes that the movements on both of these issues should coordinate to reframe the entire national security debate ..."

Oh, no!

2009-01-15T13:34:00.003-05:00

I looked up the distances from town to town and discovered that, unless I made mistakes with my arithmetic, it will take me 5.5 months to walk the whole route as projected. Maybe I need to make some adjustments. Or I could do it in stages ...

One possibility is to drive from Galveston (or Baytown/Houston) to New Orleans, along the coast, in the gypsy van with Guy, between March 8 and 13, then start walking on Route 11 on March 16 or so. That might cut three weeks from the total but would still make the trip well over four months. So watch for other changes.

I would love to know if anyone is reading this. Please leave a comment - you can use the 'anonymous' option, but sign your name at the end of the text so I can know who you are. Or become a 'follower' to follow the walk and the plans leading up to it. Thanks for your interest.

Time to get serious

2009-01-13T16:58:00.002-05:00

It's the middle of January, the time I set for myself to start making more specific plans for my walk.

Now I am appealing for walkers and a driver to join me for at least some of the way. Please let me know if you are interested: greta_browne@hotmail.com. If you know of anyone who might be interested, pass the word on. Thanks.

Walkers must be able to walk 15 miles a day, and they should have enough money to cover basic food expenses and to get home again. As long as someone is driving the support van we will have a kitchen and we will be able to transport sleeping bags, tents and other items in the van instead of having to carry them on our backs.

As it stands now, I've set the beginning of the walk for the 8th of March, from Galveston. I hope to make the 360 miles to New Orleans by the weekend of April 10-12. That's an average of 11 miles a day, which is less than the 15 miles I've projected for the entire walk. But I hope to meet up with my husband in New Orleans that weekend so I'll just have to push harder as I turn north on Route 11. It's probably a good idea to start slowly and give myself, and whoever else might be along, time to get used to walking every day.

Extending the walk

2009-01-09T15:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I received a wonderful boost from Adrienne, one of the women who had hoped to join me for the walk but found that her circumstances weren't opening up for such a commitment. At a meeting of Global Warming Crisis activists Adrienne suggested that those who wished to walk to focus attention on the urgency of the crisis could do so locally, one walk at a time. I would love to see that happen, here in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere.

Adrienne painted the image of a person wearing a T-shirt with a Fight Global Warming logo, walking alone or with others, talking to passers-by and passing out information. If this happened all over the country it would have an impact. We know that others, in Australia and England if not other places as well, have been walking to call attention to Global Warming. As far as I know, theirs have been one day walks through towns and cities. I hope that my walk inspires many to walk a day or two, or a week or more. I would love to help organize such walks, so please contact me if you have nay interest in this idea: greta_browne@hotmail.com.

From Houston

2009-01-05T14:05:00.008-05:00

I'm on my way back now from Louisiana and Texas, and soon I will write a longer reflection on my days in the area where I plan to begin the walk two months from now. Suffice it to say for the moment that the trip has reaffirmed my decision to walk for all the grandchildren, even if I have to do it alone. It also confirms my preference for walking with companions so let me know if you're thinking about it.

Today I want to share just a short quote from yesterday's Houston Chronicle, on the editorial page. A list of 5 SIGNS THE WORLD IS CHANGING quotes Peter Bishop, a professor of strategic foresight at the University of Houston:

# 2 Danger to the planet is different

• Once we worried that nuclear war would destroy the planet. Now many believe we are killing the environment

• Some consider this period the Sixth Great Extinction. The fifth one wiped out the dinosaurs.

This, my friends, is what I'm talking about, and what I plan to walk about. I'm glad more and more people are waking up, but we have to act fast, and everyone needs to get on board.

Posting from New Orleans

2008-12-27T19:29:00.002-05:00

Today I did something for global warming - my husband and I volunteered for a project in New Orleans called Green Lights. We bicycled to two homes where we replaced for free all possible incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). In the first house that was 24 bulbs, in the second 18. We were not able to fit dimmer or 3-way lights, and in one house the bathroom lights were decorative and it would have been an aesthetic loss to change those. I probably would have done it in my house but our young client preferred not to.

It's a good program. We reflected that even thought we believe in CFLs and have replaced many lightbulbs in our own home, we haven't done them all. Having someone come into the home and go through every room changing bulbs is certainly efficient. Green Lights has already done this in something like 5000 houses, churches and schools in New Orleans, enough to reduce CO2 significantly. The local newspaper ran an article on the program today - what a nice coincidence for us.

The urgency of Climate Change

2008-12-22T19:21:00.005-05:00

Most of the time it's very hard to stay in touch with the sense of urgency that the climate change requires of us. Right now in Bethlehem, PA, where I live, we are chilled to the bone, with chill factors in the single digits, the streets icy and forlorn. We might celebrate the decreased traffic if it weren't for the knowledge of thousands of furnaces burning oil, coal and gas, and huge amounts of electric heat from nuclear and coal powered plants.

How can we keep our focus on global warming when winter freezes our brains? But focus we must. We can turn off lights we aren't using; turn the thermostat down when we go out, keep the temperature at 68° rather than above 70°; consolidate errands and use the car less, perhaps not at all some days.

I'm trying to learn to dress more warmly indoors: this year I've taken to wearing leg warmers most of the time. I also recommend bathing less frequently - only every two or three days: you'll save on water and heating energy. Our parents to some degree and certainly our grandparents knew about saving energy, keeping warm, turning off lights.

It embarrasses me that I have cold-induced asthma, which limits my ability to walk outdoors in this kind of weather. Because that is what I would recommend: that we face the cold as the generations before us did, walking and playing even in the coldest of weathers.

As I started preparing for this walk that starts in March, I read Granny D's book, Walking Across America in my 90th Year. A hearty New Englander, Granny D wasn't afraid of the cold, and she actually took to her cross-country skis when a blizzard blocked the roads in the last few weeks of her trek from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. - she was 90 years old at that point. What an inspiration!

The scientists tell us that chaotic weather patterns result from global warming, and some places will face much colder weather even as the overall temperatures rise on our planet. So keep the focus, don't let down your guard, and lower your carbon footprint every step of the way.

Join me on the walk

2008-12-18T17:17:00.006-05:00

See Introduction below, Dec. 13, 2008

Email me: greta_browne@hotmail.com

Call me: 610.865.9050

Today Jaqi informed me that she doesn't think she'll be able to go on the walk because of complications in her life. I'm very sorry to hear this, and I'm holding out some hope that either she'll find she can go after all, or she'll decide to go on a portion of the walk.

But this throws me back to where I started, which was to do this on my own, like Granny D did back in 1999.

I am also hoping that other people will be able to join me for pieces of the walk, and maybe even for the whole way. Be sure to email or call me if you want to discuss the possibility.

Greta

Introduction to the walk

2008-12-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

For all the grandchildren -

Perhaps you've seen the flier that describes our walk; if not, check it out below. This walk is our witness and our prayer in face of the threat of global warming to our grandchildren's future. Not only our own grandchildren but all the grandchildren throughout the world face climate changes that could bring about storms and floods, droughts and fires, shortages of water and food, loss of habitat and homes, violence and combat.

As of today, December 13, 2008, two of us plan to go on the walk from Galveston, Texas, to Rouses Point, NY: Jaqi, who will drive the support van, and Greta, who hopes to walk all of the 1,750 miles. A third potential participant, Adrienne, awaits a decision according to how circumstances play out. Greta's husband Guy will join us along the way when work permits. We expect others to walk with us for part or all of the way. We would welcome a secondary driver so that Jaqi could walk some.

We plan to start from Galveston in the second week of March, walking first along the coast and inland to New Orleans. From there we will follow Route 11 through Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, ending on the border with Canada at Rouses Point. We hope to talk to people along the way, hand out information, conduct large walks through the cities, and speak to any audiences that will have us. Even when none of that happens, we will walk in the spirit of witness and prayer.

Our support van will provide us with an office, a kitchen and a place to sleep. Additional walkers should plan to bring their own tents and some money for food, as well as enough money to return home. Along the way we will accept offers of lodging and meals, or just a place to park our van, as long as we don't need to go more than a few miles from our route. We will also accept donations for gas, printing and other expenses incurred along the way.

Some will question the use of a gas-guzzling vehicle, and we share this concern. Indeed it seems like a contradiction as we celebrate walking and ask our fellow Americans to drive less. We believe that the support, flexibility and safety provided by the van will end up enhancing the goals of the walk, and Jaqi would be unable to accompany Greta without the vehicle. To make our trip as sustainable as possible we hope to set the van up with one or two solar panels and take along a solar oven for some of our cooking.

Here's the text from our flier:

We will walk because we want to do whatever we can to make this world safe for our grandchildren. We believe that global warming is one of the greatest threats to life on this planet, with the potential to cause immense suffering to the generations that follow ours: to our children and especially our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

We believe we must cooperate with all efforts around the world to reduce the effects of global warming. We must do our share to reduce carbon emissions by changing our individual consumption patterns, and by enacting and enforcing legislation that will drastically decrease our national output of greenhouse gases.

We are walking to call attention to global warming, and hopefully to inspire people along the way to do whatever they can to fight this danger. We are not scientists or environmental experts. We are grandmothers (and grandfathers, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, neighbors, teachers ...), concerned citizens who love the earth and its creatures. We hope that large numbers of Americans are ready to join in this challenge to change our ways.

What exactly do we need to do? Our success will lie in a combination of good individual efforts, good laws, and good inventions.

It is our belief that the most effective solutions are those that can be mandated by the Government. We know that it is part of the American spirit to resist big government, but it is also part of our spirit to rise to big challenges. This is an extraordinary time when we must demand that our government set radical goals and we must be ready to take on those mandates as our own. So we are walking to urge you to rise to the challenge and act boldly for the sake of all the grandchildren.

You can contact us at greta_browne@hotmail.com.