Ride Planet Earth

And so, what of the aftermath?

Its been over 2 months since I last wrote, and my life has changed so much I almost can’t recognise it. Turns out its harder getting back into real life than it was leaving it.

I’m in Holland, in considerable debt, unemployed and homeless. My visa runs out soon and I don’t know where to go. But I feel safe. I feel like the world is looking after me. I have friends who are so good to me I can barely contain my happiness and gratitude. I am healthy, and so long as money keeps coming out of the machine, I usually have a full belly. I hope I can find I job before I am forced to return to Australia prematurely and bankrupt.

There is so much to do, things I have to do while I’m still on this side of the planet. I at least want that opportunity before I return home.

Well that’s me, but the planet? It is still in peril, greater than just over 2 months ago when the COP15 talks were still ongoing, the result still undecided. The failures and dashed hopes of those 2 weeks in December have all been covered in acute detail already, but the reality of what it meant for the world seems starker to me after months have passed and everyone has gone home. We are living in a time bomb. We are staring catastrophe in the face and simply choosing to close our eyes.

I live by a personal rule to never focus on that which is negative, it serves no purpose to me and creates stress and worry. Instead I must insist that I gained commitment, determination and a genuine feeling of optimism during my weeks in the Danish snow. Optimism, its more precious than gold.

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More than before I see the task is to be left to the ordinary people of the world. The action that is needed to protect the planet, the leadership and change, will come from the immense well of ordinary humanity, one of the few resources increasing in quantity.

What I learned in Copenhagen were some fundamental rules of politics. Change is inevitable. Change is constant. But change will never come from political leaders whose livelihoods are built upon the will of the greatest majority. These people follow trends, they don’t start them. To change the politic of climate change, to prioritise ensuring a safe planet for future generations, the majority of public opinion must change first. Politicians must believe that if they don’t take the necessary action they will lose their jobs. In Copenhagen, for the leaders of the powerful, rich, industrialised nations, it was the other way around.

To change nearly the entirety of a global social and economic system is one hell of a challenge. But it is far from impossible. Change is inevitable. Change is constant. Our social and economic system is totally and entirely different from what it once was in our history. It will also be so in our future. But we need to take control of the process of change now, for the good of the planet. Take control away from those people who use it only for the good of a few.

I left Denmark with an increased commitment to engaging myself in this monumental effort. I promised myself I would do everything in my power to help shift public opinion and behaviour. To become more political, more active, and influence more people.

I saw many people on the brown, wet streets of Copenhagen who want a revolution. To bring an end to capitalism, and replace it with a system that places the rights of the poor, the majority of the planet’s population, along with all life on earth, above the compulsion to accumulate wealth. This is an honourable aim, it is probably exactly what is necessary to ensure that sustainable future. But the revolution has a fundamental flaw. As far as I can see, the majority doesn’t want it.

And so the efforts, of those whose faces were marred by pepper spray and batons, to wrest power directly from the leaders hidden in the depths of the Bella Centre, proved ineffectual. Because without the support and the will of the majority such a revolution will continue to remain out of reach. This is the hardest part in the struggle for our future. Because we are not struggling against some great unknown, not against the evil, the corrupt, the damned, the inhuman. We are struggling against ourselves. We are struggling against our own way of life, what we have come to take for granted. Before we can change the social, political and economic systems, we have to give up our luxuries. It is the hardest struggle but the one we have the most control over. If we can do that, then we can do anything.

In order to put what I write about into practice I am continuing to organise another worldwide cycling/climate action to urge and encourage all of us to stand up and make a difference. If you don’t like bikes that’s fine, don’t get involved in this. Get involved in something else. Ride Planet Earth 2010 is on 28th Nov. People will get on their bikes and take over the streets all over the world. We did something good last year. All those people that took part in Ride Planet Earth not only showed their willingness and capacity to take action, not only sent messages directly to the Australian Prime Minister and the world, but demonstrated that an act as simple as riding a bike is an act that will help secure our future.

We didn’t convince Barack Obama, Hu Jintao or Kevin Rudd to put national interests aside for the greater good but we still made an impact. A small but important impact. For each person who steps out of a car and onto a bike is making a significant personal step towards protecting this planet. Don’t let anyone tell you one person cannot make a difference. Every great social change is made up of many, many individuals making individual changes, each one personal and significant. We need to keep doing that, and the impacts will get bigger and bigger until we have created a way to live that can be sustained into the future. Free of a dependency on resources that are fast diminishing, that when we burn destroy the life that surrounds us.

Jeff Katrencik is cycling from New York City to the COP16 in Mexico this year to arrive on 28th Nov. He will be adding his thoughts to this blog. Other long distance cyclists will also be adding their thoughts and words of inspiration. If you want to get involved email me at kim@rideplanetearth.org