By:Laura Asermily
While lightly attended, the STEP IT UP 2 national day of climate action eventin Middlebury, VT went very well. (Other Step It up events occuring simultaineously in Burlington and Montpelier as well as the Powershift Conference in D.C. may have drawn some of our expected attenders.) We invited folks to Step Up On the Bus to Ripton. I set up MAGWAC's "Cool Ways to Go" table at the bus stop in front of the diner with info on benefits of mass transit, bus schedules, idle-free brochures, hybrids, and global warming. People could claim these or lawn signs reading: "One Climate. One Future. One Chance. www.1sky.org." About two dozen people came to Ripton, including Jon Isham of Middlebury College and his family. Some chose to explore the Spirit In Nature paths. Others, including myself, met Kelsey and other North Branch students and walked up to the Robert Frost Cabin to read Frost poems, sketch, write, and reflect. The ACTR Snow Bowl Shuttle bus delivered and returned us on schedule. Some of us claimed our ACTR Frequent Rider Cards in honor of ACTR's 15th anniversary. We all converged on the Middlebury Town Green at 3:30p to toast our local leaders and groups past and present on climate action in keeping with the theme of Step it up 2 on leadership. By then, the sky had darkened, the wind was blowing colder and harder, and a drizzle was starting, but we felt it was important to experience weather as we shared our comments and thanks under the gazebo. We echoed the charge of other Step It Up groups in calling for Congress and presidential candidates to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, have no new coal-fired powerplants, and build green jobs. We urged Middlebury area residents to wake up and attend to energy and climate uncertainty and plan sustainable lives now. We're informing residents that they can go to www.1sky.org to learn more about this national climate action initiative and to Carol's Hungry Mind Cafe to claim additional 1sky lawn signs.
