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November 8th is our Trip Exit Date - It's Time to Vote!
November 4th 2022
November 8th isn’t a trailhead meeting date, it’s the trip exit date.
It's a deadline, not a starting time.
Nov 8th is the LAST day to vote in the mid-term elections.
Right now, in the final days leading up to the deadline, we must prepare. Attend community events. Ask tough questions. Read voting guides - whether online or the one that comes with your mail-in ballot. Reflect on what really matters most to you - what change do you want to see in your local community, and in your state?
Climbers Cutting Carbon is not here to reinvent the wheel or tell you what decisions to make. Instead, we provide tools and guidance, and encourage you to make a positive impact in your community and on your environment.
First, we recommend reading through the bullet points under each heading on our homepage. Then, do your research and see which marks on your ballot will align with each item on our roadmap.
Here are a few resources we’ve found helpful:
American Alpine Club (AAC) - A Climber's Voter Guide
This includes a mid-term election guide formatted like a climbing route guide. It’s well done and entertaining, well worth a look. This is followed by several articles about climbing and politics to inspire you with the impact of your vote.
Coalition Snow - Everything You Need to Know About the 2022 Mid-Term Elections
This guide focuses on hot topics, like which states have abortion or slavery on the ballot this election. They also list each state's voter registration deadlines for mail-in and in-person, and pinpoint the key races in each state.
Click “Make a Plan to Vote” to begin researching candidates and measures, save your choices, and confirm where you can vote in person or drop your ballot.
Protect Our Winters - Midterms Matter
A strong perspective on how we need to treat voting, and our preparations for it, like we do our outdoor pursuits. Just like recreating outdoors, the tiniest details can have a huge impact.
Interesting Facts About Voting You Might Not Know:
If you want to vote in person, you probably don’t have to do it on Nov 8. Many voting centers have early voting leading up to the final date. This is a great way to save time by not waiting in line, and allows you to show off that you voted before the last day so you can inspire others to vote.
If you missed the registration deadline to vote by mail, you can still register to vote in person, during early voting, or on Nov 8th, and still vote. (Except for North Carolina - they seem to have a deadline of Nov 5th.) Double check deadlines for your state using the links above!
Not everyone in your community is eligible to vote. Many of the people we interact with everyday, who are the most susceptible to the results of elections, are not able to vote. Voting rights are on many ballots, depending on the state you live in.
This is an exciting, and exhausting, time of year. Yet, as POW outlined, preparation helps us attain the results we're after, much like on an outdoor adventure. Commit to the act of voting like you would commit to a big climbing project.
If you want to share that commitment, take the Climbers Cutting Carbon pledge, and make sure to click the first box for “committing politically.”
CCC Educates Climbers at Craggin' Classics - Smith Rocks, OR
October 1st, 2022
At the Smith Rocks Craggin’ Classics, one of the co-founders of Climbers Cutting Carbon stood behind a table, and blew the minds of his fellow belayers. “People didn’t know what they personally could do, and 90% were mid 30s or younger,” explained Roger, with surprise.
Roger felt excitement and relief when this was the audience’s main question. “Our website is built to answer those exact questions. That this what we are all about! The sooner we can get the info out, the better.”
One person said, “I really don’t know if there is anything I can do to change anything.” She mostly climbed at the gym.
Roger asked, “How far is your gym?”
A lightbulb went off in her head. “I could bike there!” she realized and was quite keen to make this change.
Climbers Cutting Carbon is about getting people to think outside of the box. For example, Roger flew to the lower 48 from his remote home in Alaska via Alaska Airlines, because they are listed as a green airline. Most people don’t know that some airlines are making a concerted effort to reduce their carbon emissions more than others. If you must fly to get to where you need or want to go, at the very least you can try and choose an environmentally conscious airline.
Roger also shared the various actions him and his wife, Pam, commit to at home. From gardening, to biking, or stacking their errands to be done in fewer trips. “I was basically there to give people ideas and persuade them to try those ideas.” Roger told them about our website, and invited them all to take the pledge and join Climbers Cutting Carbon. All of them took the time to look through the website on their phone. “It was an interesting first encounter with our website being up and running. We got folks onto our website and got them thinking about their carbon footprint.
It was a small cross-section of the climbing community, but they were all strong conversations. 36 climbers took the Climbers Cutting Carbon pledge that day. One-third of those that pledged ranked their knowledge of how to cut carbon at a 3 or lower (out of 5). After visiting the website, 92% ranked their knowledge at least one-point higher than prior to reading our roadmap.
Most people remarked at how easy it was to take the pledge. It only took 2-3 minutes. Then they would start asking questions. Roger gave each person who take the pledge a sticker. And when he had no stickers, he took down everyone’s mailing address and personally mailed them a sticker from Alaska! One person was so excited to get this sticker they immediately stuck it on the front of their climbing helmet!
“Because of the reaction from the folks I talked with I’m really inspired. [It] showed me that we are on the right course.”
Roger hopes his fellow team members going to the next events will learn from what he learned at Smith Rocks. In the future, he would have his laptop ready to walk people through the climberscuttingcarbon.org website. Some people didn’t have smartphones with them so they tried to do the pledge on someone else’s phone. He also feels it would have been more powerful if people were semi-educated on what CCC is doing prior to arriving, maybe through social media posts, or through the organizers' pre-event communications. Lastly, Roger would love to have shared his CCC presentation with all 400 climbers that were at the event all weekend.
“This is what people want to hear.”
Want to meet the CCC team at a future Craggin’ Classic event? We’ll be in Bishop, California on Nov 12th! Interested in having a member of the CCC team at your event? Email climberscuttingcarbon@gmail.com.
CCC Joins Panel at Craggin' Classics - Rumney, HH
September 16th, 2022
In September we were able to announce the Climbers Cutting Carbon (CCC) initiative to about 75 climbers at the American Alpine Club’s Craggin’ Classic at their campground in Rumney, New Hampshire. CCC is the evolution of Sustainable Summits, a long-running series of conferences on climbing and the environments in which we climb. The singular significance of the effect of climate change on our craft and our planet has caused us to switch our brand and focus to one purely centered on the greatest threat of our time.
The presentation was well received. Climbers appreciated our understanding that we are all “imperfect advocates” and that our greatest strength is as motivated voters and voices for change.
"I know from personal experience that the cachet around climbing opens doors with policy makers at the State and National levels. Now is our time to use that capital to influence our political leaders at every level." - Phil Powers
Introduction to the Climbers Cutting Carbon Blog
September 27th 2022
The Climbers Cutting Carbon Initiative has gathered to help guide climbers through actions that will help make the natural environments we recreate in last. We’ve seen the glaciers melting, felt the record-high heat, and smelled the smoke in the air. Like Conrad Anker says, “I’m a warrior for the climate because I love being (out there).” It’s a global issue that has seemed near impossible to make a real difference. However, the team at CCC wants to help you gain a new perspective.
You can make an impact. And you don’t need to be perfect.
Here at Climbers Cutting Carbon, we’ve drawn a roadmap and are focusing on 10 overall actions. As a person on planet earth and a climber who wants to take care of the beautiful places you recreate, you can take action right now in your community, home, and local crag.
Remember, you don’t need to be perfect. Pick a few changes that you are excited about or interested in. And if you only pick one, pick voting.
The most significant impact comes from policy changes at the local and national levels. And all the changes that should happen in our governments can come from the CCC roadmap. Pick something you are passionate about that your entire community would benefit from, and speak up. For example, if you are passionate about biking around town, to work, or to the trail, rather than driving, lobby for infrastructure that supports safer bicycle commuting. If you are intrigued by alternative energy and are excited about buses, raise your hand at council meetings to support a full fleet swap for city and school transportation.
“3.5% of the public (or a user group, community, etc.) taking on non-violent’ street level activism’ (SLA) is enough to effect big change. In fact per the data, this (SLA) is the only thing that works, so be prepared to step it up.” - Explorer’s Club Presentation September 20, 2022
Our blog posts will go into more detail on each topic, sharing personal stories, the challenges, the benefits, and resources that will help you make those changes. We’ll dive into it all-- reducing your trips, carpooling or alternative transportation, solarizing your home or your town, speaking up and voting locally, using a carbon calculator to track your progress, growing a home garden, and much more. You’ll see interviews with our founders, Roger and Ellen, the owners of a vegan food truck, and the author of Outdoor Minimalist. We’ll also have guest blogs from fellow climbers you know and love.
We hope that you find the information and discussions from these posts informative, thought-provoking, and actionable. If you’d like to join our initiative today and pledge to do at least one of our ten actions to reduce your carbon, fill out our quick and fun pledge form! Have questions or what to offer other ways to show your support? Email us at climberscuttingcarbon@gmail.com.