Click Track My Tour for interactive map of last year's route
LESSONS WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY FRAMING CLIMATE AS A HEALTH ISSUE WORKS Learning about health impacts helps bring climate home. We got a positive response from a broad variety of audiences. WANTED: HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Climate activists need health professionals and health professionals want to help. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION Activists can learn from the lessons of chronic disease care. A switch from the traditional pejorative focus to a more positive empowerment model gives people energy and confidence to act instead of putting them on the defensive. COMMON GROUND We found common ground with political conservatives in parts of the country where the word climate was an immediate conversation stopper. We can agree on active transportation to address our obesity epidemic and housing retrofits to lessen dependence on foreign oil without agreeing on ideology. TIME TO MOVE ON Its too late to waste time debating climate deniers. The center of controversy is no longer "Is it real?" but “What do we have to do about it and when?" THERE IS HOPE The media has done a good job of making us afraid and suspicious of our fellow citizens. The slice of America we traveled through gave us a different perspective. Most people in America are good, kind, generous, and ready to pitch in to help if they see a problem and a way to fix it. We face a huge challenge, but its not impossible if we join together.
