Support sustainability in the Heights: Ride for Miles on Sept. 16

JCU math professor Bob Kolesar at the 2011 Ride for Miles.

Everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it. The recent mild winter and hot summer have convinced even skeptics that human-induced climate change is a reality.

Although one climate event does not signal global change, scientists have been predicting global warming for decades. Northern Ohioans may be delighted to be living in a Carolina climate without migrating, but climate change is a global catastrophe.You can do something about it:

• Drive the most fuel-efficient car you can afford.  Better yet, walk, ride a bicycle or take public transportation.
• Reduce, reuse and recycle.
• Modify your diet.  Production of protein from meat uses far more fossil-fuel energy than plant sources.
• Become involved. The Sustainable Heights Network is a group of citizens promoting sustainability in Cleveland Heights and University Heights. Join them.

Another local initiative is about continuing to educate ourselves and others about the environment. The 5th annual Ride for Miles, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 16, is a 15-mile bicycle ride that raises awareness and funds to continue the work of the late Miles Coburn, biologist at John Carroll University. The Ride for Miles route, which begins at JCU, is one that Coburn rode each day before he went to work.

Coburn, who died in 2008 in a bicycling accident, studied minnows—tiny creatures whose habitat has been threatened by environmental degradation. With his biology colleagues at JCU, he initiated classes in environmental sciences. His wife and children provided the initial support for the Miles Coburn Endowed Professorship in Environmental Science at John Carroll University to continue his work—to educate students about the environment.  Fundraising continues for the professorship, with a goal of $500,000.

Everybody talks about the weather, and everybody can do something about it. To donate to the Miles Coburn Endowed Professorship in Environmental Science, go to jcu.edu/coburn or contact Mary Rycyna at 216-397-4921.

Attend the Miles Coburn Environmental Symposium on Friday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m., at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Author Jeff Mapes will be discussing Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities. Register for the symposium at www.cmnh.org.

Participate in the annual Ride for Miles on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 10 a.m., beginning at John Carroll University. To register for the ride, go to www.rideformiles.org.