Ride for the Future

In the summer of 2012, our Ride for the Future team will travel exclusively by bicycle together from New Orleans to ExxonMobil’s headquarters in Irving, Texas. Along the way, the participants will learn from and highlight local efforts to improve communities while transitioning them away from fossil fuels.  At the same time, the riders will highlight the harms fossil fuels cause communities, visiting communities suffering from pollution from refineries and power plants, communities still suffering from the the BP oil spill, and communities suffering from natural disasters in line with scientists’ predictions of a changing climate, including the droughts and wildfires in Texas and hurricane damage across the region.

While learning from those who have suffered from fossil fuels and those who are building a better future, riders will engage in direct community service to mitigate the suffering and ease the transition.  At ExxonMobil’s headquarters, the riders will call for a meeting with executives from the world’s wealthiest fossil fuel company to ask them to recognize their responsibility to help America and the world rapidly and responsibly transition away from fossil fuels.

From Louisiana to Texas, communities across the Gulf Coast are actively addressing society’s addiction to fossil fuels through local solutions and building a more sustainable world. We know that these communities are leading the way, but recognize that their stories are not being shared. They are not getting the respect and attention they deserve, and their ideas are not traveling as quickly as they need to.

Over 9 summer weeks, Ride for the Future bikers learn from, cross-pollinate and spotlight these initiatives by working with community leaders to connect diverse constituencies and weave a powerful movement for a better future. Riders live their values as they travel exclusively by bike and join the next generation of movement leaders.