T R AV E L
B Y F O R R E S T WAT K I N S
FINDING A BETTER PATH
People around the world changing how they live
he crisis of our ecology is not like others we’ve
dealt with. Its origins are our origins, and it’s taken
humanity a while to get its collective head around
— enough time, in fact, that we don’t have time to
sit and ponder. Climate change has already con-
tributed to social collapse in Somalia and Syria and will
continue to convert injustice to crisis as the world’s poor-
est are left without the economic means to adapt.
That’s not the end of the story, though. We have con-
crete solutions just waiting to be put to work. We don’t
have time to sit and ponder, not anymore. We’ve got to
think on our feet and act decisively. Drastic climate action
is the first step away from a path of destruction and
decline, and the next step toward a world of more genuine
equality.
The truly exciting thing is, we’re already tending
toward the better path.
People from all races, creeds, geographies and social
classes are changing the way they live. They’re starting to
exist in ways that cooperate with each other and the world
around them, ways that allow them to prosper more equi-
tably and stably than economic growth ever did. In many
ways, in many places, we’re still stuck at the crossroads,
lost in the thrall of more things and false pragmatism, but
in others we’re already well on our way to the next gen-
eration of social change.
Where are these people? They’re in cities and towns
and on farms across America, and even more so, around
the world. They’re getting into “the good kind of trouble,”
as John Lewis would say. They’re building responsibility
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into the core of new businesses and putting thought into
their consumption. They’re just living their lives, but
doing it in a way that reflects our changing world.
To most of America, these change-makers are invisible.
Our newspapers and television networks don’t pay them
much mind. Old narratives rule, ones that don’t take into
account the new data we’ve gathered since the end of the
Cold War.
That’s why I’ve started 360bybike.com. For the next four
years, I’m going to act as a conduit for climate action as I
travel one circumference of the earth by bike. Starting in Asia,
I’ll make my way to Europe and Africa, and then North
America and South America.
Along the way, I want to highlight the fundamental
change that is taking place in communities around the
world. I want to help communicate the sudden pull of
action that happens when you realize that a better world is
again possible, is in fact around the corner if only we
choose the right path.
People’s lives and livelihoods are more disrupted every
day by climate change. But even with some of the most
powerful, entrenched interests in the world against them,
everyday people are working, fighting, dedicating their lives
to stopping climate change. And against all odds, slowly,
surely, they’re making progress. 360bybike will tie this ris-
ing tide of people closer as we organize community actions
and events together along my route and as we join a global
network working for solutions to the problems we see. I’ll
gather the energy and creativity of people I meet in inter-
views, stories and art collaborations that show the raw force
and courage of this movement. While I hope these stories
will raise questions and change minds, I’ll try to contribute
more concretely to climate action by raising $10,000 for
350.org.
A new generation of change-makers is looking for the
path at the intersection of pragmatism and idealism. This
project will try to share their knowledge, their experience
and their dedication in a way that will nucleate action. ■
Forrest Watkins, who grew up in Eugene, is on a four-year bicycle trek around
the world documenting how people are responding and adapting to a changing
environment. Follow his trip at 360bybike.com.
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