View from the top of Hawk Hill, after a steep climb of 1,100 feet.

In just one month's time, 190 riders will cumulatively bike a total of 60,000 miles to spread the message: climate change is the most urgent problem we face today, and it’s up to us to take action. Our 4-woman team with the alias of “Lean Green Two-Wheeled Machines” will be riding on behalf of Earthjustice, a recently added beneficiary of the fundraising efforts associated with the ride. In December, Earthjustice became one of the 30 teams participating in this 5-day bike journey, thanks to a recent partnership between Earthjustice and Climate Ride. Both non-profits focus on inspiring and empowering citizens to work toward a sustainable and clean energy future.

Throughout this biking journey, we hope to demonstrate that daily changes in our routine can drastically reduce our carbon footprint. By altering our lifestyles, we can make a big difference.

A scarred landscape from fracking pads. (EcoFlight)

The technological advance of horizontal drilling was a game changer for the oil and gas industry. When oil and natural gas were previously being harvested, vertical drilling was the only way to extract the fossil fuel. With horizontal drilling, wells can now be fracked and re-fracked, at different depths and in all directions. By increasing the area of exploration for natural gas, many previously untouched landscapes are now being scarred due to the fracking boom.

Fracking, shorthand for hydrologic fracturing, uses tons of water, sand and chemicals- under high pressure—to create cracks in the bedrock, allowing methane gas to escape. Some claim this process is “cleaner” than dirty coal, but, on a global warming potential basis, new research shows that natural gas, oil and coal, are all equally dirty on emissions.

Black soot easily seen on ice formations in the Arctic.

Soot is melting the Arctic. Even scientists are alarmed with the disappearance rate of ice in the northern hemisphere. When soot falls on snow and ice it increases the amount of light and heat that is absorbed, just like any reflective surface. The Arctic is not alone in this unprecedented melting; the life-supporting snowpack in the Himalayas is also feeling the impact. Soot now has twice the heat-warming potential than previously thought, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates in 2007.

Crops shriveled to dust this summer while thermometers hit continuous triple digits in the Midwest and Southwest regions. Yet, what about the current “snowmageddon” occurring in our mountain regions, and record lows on the east coast?

Global warming is the all-encompassing term for what is happening to our planet today. As we increase the amount of anthropogenic pollutants in the air, we trap heat within our atmosphere. Yet, this seems contradictory if the weather channel reports on freezing temperatures and cold fronts nationwide.

What defines global warming is climate, not weather. Weather is what we see on a 10-day forecast, what dictates the clothes we wear, and if our flight will be delayed. Climate, on the other hand, is a compilation of weather over a minimum time span of 30 years. This provides a baseline to compare historical climate patterns, and gives an overall picture of what the weather has been doing for three or more decades.