Climate change activist gets tribal blessing prior to 1,200 mile bike tour
Summer Goddard
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Mountain West Regional Director Bill Barron began his 2-week bike tour at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo.
Summer Goddard
From left are Marty Zobel with CSKT Natural Resources, Dave Atkins of CCL, Mike Durglo, Jim Durglo, Robert Schulz and Les Trahan of Eagle Pass Drum and cyclist Bill Barron, CCL.
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PABLO — A man from Utah began a 1,200-mile bike ride in Pablo last Saturday to bringawareness to the issue of climate change. Combining advocacy for the planet with his personal passion for adventure and cycling, Bill Barron, the Mountain West regional director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, began his 2-week journey that will eventually end in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at Salish Kootenai College. Members of the Eagle Pass Drum group met with Barron at SKC at 8:45 a.m. on June 15 to send him off with honor songs and a sweetgrass blessing.
From Salt Lake City, Utah, Barron does outreach tours on a regular basis to support the work of CCL volunteers in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. He seeks to spread awareness about the importance of bipartisanship, voting and advocacy for the future people wish to see. He encourages people to make advocacy “a lifetime practice.”
In a press release about his bike tour, Barron shares: “I’ve been deeply concerned about the increasing droughts, wildfires, and extreme weather events driven by climate change and how these will impact my daughter’s future. The world is now heating up 50 times faster than at any other period in history. This ride is about listening to the experiences of our neighbors and spreading the message that we have actionable solutions to protect our planet for future generations.”
With numerous public engagement events planned along the way, Barron seeks to hear the varied perspectives of citizens about climate change and how it affects them as well as raise funds for CCL education and advocacy. Funds raised, he explained, will be used for travel expenses of regional volunteers lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. as well as the development of bipartisan solutions to climate change.
Transitioning to clean energy, Barron says, has economic benefits. “In the past three years at least 84% of the new energy capacity in the U.S. was clean energy,” he said. “More than 95% of new energy projects currently waiting for permits are solar, wind and battery storage,” he continued. “The market is moving to clean energy and there is opportunity for much more growth. Those states who resist this transition will be left behind for areas where clean energy is embraced and the economic benefit will go there.”
“Currently CCL’s primary ask is advocating for comprehensive permitting reform and the PROVE IT Act and our secondary asks are the Increased TSP Access Act and Seedlings for Sustainable Restoration Act,” Barron said.
Permitting reform is about speeding up the process to build clean energy infrastructure. The PROVE IT Act (Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable, Emissions Intensity and Transparency) “would require the Department of Energy to study the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of certain products – including aluminum, cement, crude oil, fertilizer, iron, steel, plastic and others – that are produced in the United States and in certain covered countries.” A CCL press release further reads, “Greenhouse gas emissions are a global issue, and trade and the power of the American market are some of the best tools we have to reduce global emissions.”
The TSP Access Act addresses “the current Technical Service Providers (TSPs) shortage, which is impacting the ability of agricultural producers to fully utilize current conservation and climate programs.”
The Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration Act supports “the development of seedling nurseries to improve and expand restoration efforts … (and) has the potential to significantly aid in forest recovery from wildfires.”
A non-partisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on the issue of climate change, CCL encourages people to let their voices be heard - transitioning from spectators to engaged citizens in the democratic process.
Those interested in following Barron’s route should visit CitizensClimateMT.org or follow his journey on Instagram @cclmontana and @BillBarronUtah.
