Bicyclists ready for a greenway 
Thank you for reading the Sustainable Energy Transition (SET) blogs and being involved in our initiatives over the past 13 months! The experience I gained working on SET efforts has been essential for me as I stayed abreast of recent changes in our energy system and their effects on climate change. After ~35,000 visits, more than 250 blogs, and scores of endorsements for our campaigns – I have found an amazing opportunity that I can’t pass up. I will be the next Executive Director of the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA).
A Tangible Project to Reduce Emissions and Drive Economic Recovery
I’ve been writing about the importance of addressing climate change and oil supply insecurity for years now. Finally, I found a project to commit the next several years to do just that. I will still blog every now and then on developments in solar, wind, and energy efficiency, but my focus will be building relationships with allies up and down the east coast to deploy a bike/ped corridor that gives people a local and long-distance option for green travel that lowers transportation costs and thus supports American economic recovery.
Building on a Solid Foundation
The ECGA was founded in 1991 by 10 committed cyclists who had a vision of a bikeway/trail to connect cities up and down the East Coast. Within a few years, a growing nonprofit emerged from this interest under the leadership of co-founder Karen Votava. Karen, the other seven that came on staff, and scores of committed volunteers transformed the ECG from an idea into 600+ miles of greenway that now make up 21% of the eventual trail. A number of people have already biked this urban sister to the Appalachian trail, as on-road portions are mapped out connecting the current greenways.
It is now my task to build on the solid foundation laid out by the ECGA and its 5,000 members. By 2025, I aim for a complete off-road greenway to be a commuting and recreational path for millions of people from Florida to Maine.
We’ll Need Your Help
By 2015, we plan to have a smooth ride available for travelers from New York City to Wilmington, Delaware. And by 2020, the path from Washington, DC, to Boston should be accessible to all – while still making tremendous progress on our trail sections to the South and North of this route. To meet our ambitious goals of trail growth, we will need you to support the East Coast Greenway Alliance as a member or an ally.
Please check out our ECGA daily blog, twitter stream, and facebook page which will go live in September to keep our members and the public up-to-date on progress. If you like SET and care about global warming and the American economy, you’ll love the East Coast Greenway.
Let’s complete it together!
Tags: bicycling, climate change, east coast greenway, economic recovery, freedom from oil, global warming
Does this tie into the National Greenway effort? I understand that they National Bike Greenway has neared or is completed now?