Cool Earth Relay

On October 11 and 12, 2008, a team of ten Bloomington runners completed the first Cool Earth Relay, running 64.2 miles from Bloomington, Indiana, to Indianapolis.

“This is not about raising money, it’s about raising awareness,” said organizer Stephanie Kimball. “We hope to get runners involved in communities throughout Indiana, energizing the movement to address climate change everywhere.”

Record heat made it easy for the runners to remember their mission, especially along the route north of Martinsville, where there is little or no shade cover. The team started at 4pm on Saturday at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, following a day long Climate Change Summit. Runners carried the baton as far as Morgan Monroe State Forest that evening, where several participants camped for the night before resuming the run on Sunday morning.

Arriving at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis amidst throngs of Colts fans, the team was received by Bowden Quinn of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, and John Gibson of Earth Charter Indiana. Gibson read the message carried in the relay baton, which includes this call to action: “We call upon all Hoosiers to find ways to reduce our energy needs; to switch to clean, renewable energy sources; to cut waste and inefficiency; to invest in green jobs; to take personal and community-wide actions to transform our economy, transportation, and patterns of consumption.”

“While a relay team of runners carrying a message by hand (and foot) from Bloomington to Indianapolis is obviously a symbolic gesture, the message is anything but symbolic,” said Terry Usrey, who completed two segments of the run for a total of 13.1 miles. “Indiana is way behind the curve in dealing with climate change, and even further behind other states in providing leadership in transitioning to renewable and clean energy. Speaking for the relay team and for many voices in the Bloomington community, our message to the Governor and the State House is that we must have a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) for Indiana utilities, and we must have state sponsored incentives for homeowners and businesses to invest in renewable energy, and both must happen now!”

Sarah Combellick-Bidney, a graduate student at Indiana University, agreed: “I decided to participate because it's a public way to call for the kind of action people are demanding, like cutting carbon pollution and creating green jobs. The most important thing is to spread the word through public action so lawmakers know they will be held accountable. Now is the time. Pass it on!”