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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Citizen’s Climate Lobby

  • Op-Ed from Pete Vordenberg on Getting Involved

    Op-Ed from Pete Vordenberg on Getting Involved

     

    This op-ed comes from Pete Vordenberg, former fast skier and U.S. Ski Team Coach, and present dad, husband, photographer and climate activist. 

    Join POW, CCL, and a huge list from the outdoor industry and many of our outdoor and Olympic skiing heroes such as Jessie Diggins, Lowell Bailey, Alex Honnold, Angel Collinson and others in supporting the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act

    A bipartisan bill that will help make the United States a leader in taking steps to combat climate change has been introduced to Congress.  This bill was introduced by both Republicans and Democrats.  It is called the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.

    It is the product of hard work over 8 years by thousands of individuals and many organizations.  Like all things, it is the result of individual and collective work.  It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of individuals and small groups working together, and that is what this letter is about.

    The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act is endorsed by heroes like Kikkan Randall and Caitlin Gregg, and big organizations like the National Ski Areas Association, Trout Unlimited and Protect Our Winters as well as folks from outside our world of skiing such as General Wesley Clark (ret.).  These voices make a big difference, but the biggest difference is the power of all our voices together.  Yours and mine, small when alone are undefeatable when in unison.

    Here are two great quotes from Protect Our Winter’s press release:

    “Protect Our Winters strongly supports setting an economy-wide price on carbon, and therefore supports the new bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Carbon pricing is a comprehensive strategy to emission reductions, mitigating climate change. This legislation, in particular, will reduce climate-driving greenhouse gas emissions while also benefiting both people and the economy.”

    “Given the majority of Americans believe Congress should do more to address our changing climate, Protect Our Winters is pleased to see Republicans and Democrats come together to sponsor this bill. Alongside the more than 75 percent of Americans that believe that carbon dioxide should be regulated as a pollutant, Protect Our Winters strongly supports the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.”

    There are five key points to this bill.

    • One, it is effective! The policy will reduce America’s emissions by at least 40% within the first 12 years.
    • Two, it is good for people. Poor air quality causes as many as 200,000 U.S. deaths per year. This bill will help clean the air. At the same time, it puts money back in the pockets of American households.
    • Three, it is good for the economy. The clean energy economy is estimated to create over 2.1 million additional jobs in just 10 years.
    • Four, it is Bipartisan. What America does best, it does together, and that is what this bill, cosponsored by Democrats and Republicans shows.
    • Finally, it is revenue neutral. The government will not keep any of the fees collected, rather the money goes to American households.

    To learn more about the bill: https://energyinnovationact.org

    Here is a list of supporters:  https://energyinnovationact.org/supporters/

    So what do we do?

    By writing your representatives in support of this bill you help push this bill into law.  Just getting this bill to congress has taken years of work, and your voice is what remains to push it into law.  Our representatives work for us and they must hear from us.   This letter is especially for the kids.  You might not be able to vote, but you have a voice.  Reach out with respect and realize your power.  The link is below, with tools to help you use your voice most effectively. Bookmaker 22bet pl takes care of customers players and offers them a lot of nice bonuses. Each new user receives a bonus on first deposit of $25 (equivalent in another currency). Periodically, the company draws valuable prizes (cars, game consoles, cell phones, home appliances, etc.) among players.

    The most effective action we can all take is to read about the act (here), write our representatives and then pass this message along to everyone in your contact list – it doesn’t matter if they are conservative or liberal, if they work for the oil industry or for Green Peace. This is something we can all get behind. It is amazing to see what we can do when we are united toward betterment for all.

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    One of the keys to this bill making it to Congress and to succeeding on any meaningful level is communicating with respect.  This is a key tenet to working together and moving in any positive direction.  Treat others with dignity, respect and kindness. Not only is that how we succeed, but it is success in itself.

    To get some guidance on writing your reps about the bill go here:

    Write to Congress

    Here are some more quotes from supporters:

    National Ski Areas Association

    “The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act is a very important piece in the larger puzzle of solving climate change. NSAA wholeheartedly supports this bipartisan measure, as a market-based approach is critical to incentivizing the changes needed to swiftly and significantly reduce carbon emissions,” says Kelly Pawlak, NSAA President.

    Conservation Hawks

    Conservation Hawks, a group of hunters and anglers working to defend America’s sporting heritage, recognizes the serious and potentially catastrophic threat we face from human-caused climate change. Because of the certitude of the science, Conservation Hawks supports every reasonable effort, including carbon fee & dividend legislation, to limit greenhouse gas emissions and protect our American way of life. Conservation Hawks considers human-caused climate change to be the number one threat to our hunting & fishing, as well as to our children and to a prosperous American future.

    Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

    We’re pleased to see members of both parties working together on a bill designed to curb dangerous climate change, and we are particularly thankful for renewed Republican leadership on this topic. Climate protection wasn’t always the partisan issue it has become. And it should not remain so going forward. Climate change threatens all Americans and is already causing real harm today in all parts of the country, red and blue. Given the threats we all face from climate change, we need political leadership from both sides of the aisle. We hope this bill marks the start of that process.

    The cross-country ski community is a potentially powerful player in any movement.  But that power is only latent until we as individuals and in small teams take action. Let’s throw our collective energy behind this.  We owe it to our kids.  We owe it to ourselves, our planet and our future.

    Pete Vordenberg

     

  • Maddie Phaneuf on Finding Her Voice, Lobbying in D.C.

    Maddie Phaneuf on Finding Her Voice, Lobbying in D.C.

    From left to right: Maddie Phaneuf, Arielle Gold, Jessie Diggins, Stacey Cook, and David Wise in front of the U.S. Capitol in late April in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Barbara Weber/Protect Our Winters)

    Young and empowered. Twenty-three-old Maddie Phaneuf, a 2018 Olympic biathlete and member of the US Biathlon’s national team, has been finding her voice this short offseason as she lobbied members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on April 25. Phaneuf, along with 2018 U.S. Winter Olympians Jessie Diggins, Arielle Gold (snowboarding), David Wise (freestyle skiing), and Stacey Cook (alpine skiing), spoke in D.C. on behalf of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and Protect Our Winters (POW).

    “I have been working with POW for about a year now,” Phaneuf explained on the phone on April 24. “I have been helping them out as a winter-sports athlete giving presentations to schools and teaching kids about climate change and its impact.”

    Phaneuf may have been destined for winter sports, but until the age of 8, her life was a snow-void. Phaneuf was born in Virginia and spent her early childhood in South Carolina. Her limited exposure to snow consisted of a single freak snowfall where the snow melted within a day. Fortunately for US Biathlon, Phaneuf said her father wanted his children to experience the full spectrum of the seasons and relocated the family to Old Forge, New York, in the Adirondack Mountains.

    “The whole town is really into skiing, whether it be downhill or nordic,” Phaneuf said of Old Forge, where her parents still reside. “So my parents wanted us to get into that because it would be a great way to experience winter in the Adirondacks, and for us kids to stay active.”

    Maddie Phaneuf (USBA/PBSC) racing to fourth in the women’s mass start last August at 2017 US Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)

    Nominated to US Biathlon’s X-Team in 2014, Phaneuf climbed the ranks and to reach A-team status last season. Last month, she was named to the B-team, part of the US Biathlon’s top-tier High Performance Team. While continuing to train and race with the national team, she planned to move from Lake Placid, N.Y., to her new training base in Boulder, Colorado, this summer.

    New York’s North Country, where Old Forge is located, is a reliably conservative region. At least on electoral maps, the politics can skew towards an anti-climate-change perspective. However, Phaneuf said she has felt backed by Old Forge as she explains her point of view to others.  

    “My hometown is very supportive of me,” Phaneuf said. “I went into the local school and they were excited to learn about my climate-change presentation. But I am sure there are parents that don’t necessarily agree with what I am saying, but they are not going after me.”

    Politics and athletics can be a non-starter for athletes. Being outspoken about a cause, in particular, one as divisive as climate change, can alienate an athlete — especially on social media. But Phaneuf has used the resilience she has developed in the fickle sport of biathlon to weather the storm and move forward with her activism.

    Phaneuf admits she is still learning how to navigate the potential minefield of exercising her free speech. This past February, Phaneuf penned an op-ed piece for Syracuse.com, expressing her belief that change must be enacted to save winter, and by extension, our ability to sustain the winter sport economic engine and way of life in places like the North Country.

    Phaneuf was eventually alerted to the many negative comments her piece received when she posted it on her personal Facebook page.

    “I went to the article and 90% of the comments were bashing me,” Phaneuf explained. “Saying I am too young, I have never experienced anything — what am I talking about? Not even bashing climate change but bashing me personally … When I shared the climate-change article I wrote, one guy replied something like, ‘What’s up? You are not posting things about the Olympics. This is bullshit. I don’t want to read this. I want to follow you.’ I replied, ‘OK, the Olympics are over. It’s my offseason. I think it is irrelevant to post things about the Olympics right now because we aren’t there. And I want to show my followers what I do in my free time. Just because you are an athlete doesn’t mean you can only post about training and racing.”

    Phaneuf recognizes that her Olympic-team nomination has given her more exposure. She said her Facebook page went from 1,000 to 4,000 likes during the 2018 Olympics in February. As she had matured, Phaneuf explained she’s become wiser when it comes to engaging detractors.

    “I have been trying better than in the past,” Phaneuf said. “In the past, I would reply to all the comments kind of aggressively, like ‘what do you mean?’ But now I take a step back and simply read the comments. I understand everyone on the internet is human and all have their own opinion. I just try to not respond unless they are trying to put words in my mouth or saying other things about me, then I will respond and clarify the facts in a respectful way.”

    The halls of Congress, on most days, are not the wild west of internet commenting. The tone is soberer. There is the understanding that change comes about from the steady persistence of advocacy, lobbying and voting at the ballot box.

    Two weeks ago in D.C., the talking points for Phaneuf and the other athletes present were clear They were to speak about the following: What impacts have they witnessed regarding climate change? How is climate change impacting their sport? How might climate change impact future Winter Olympics?

    The athletes also spoke of the regional economic boost snow availability brings certain regions across the U.S. (POW and Citizens’ Climate Lobby cite that in New York alone, the outdoor-recreation economy contributes $41.8 billion dollars and provides 313,000 jobs.)

    US Biathlon’s Maddie Phaneuf outside the D.C. office of U.S. House Representative Elise Stefanik (New York). (Photo: Barbara Weber/Protect Our Winters)

    The Congressional briefing was a bipartisan event sponsored by Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado and Senator Susan Collins of Maine. The athletes also met with Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik from Phaneuf’s district in New York, Congressman Scott Tipton of Colorado, and Congressman Mark Amodei of Nevada.

    “It was good,” Phaneuf said on April 26, the day after her D.C. experience. “I was definitely nervous going into it. I had never been in the position of talking directly to congresspeople or senators. They definitely heard our message. It was definitely more chill than I expected it to be. I was afraid it was going to be judgmental and scary. … The biggest part of our day was simply talking about our own experiences with climate change. And not getting too much into the politics.”

    Although Phaneuf has chosen to emulate a long line of athlete activist, her biathlon career remains a priority as she transitions from upstate New York and her residency at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center to her new base in Boulder.

    Phaneuf’s B-Team status comes on the heels of what she calls her “worst season ever”. Although qualifying for Olympics, Phaneuf said she struggled before the Olympics and spent her time in PyeongChang, South Korea, bedridden.

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    “I struggled a lot with fitness last summer and lost tons of training,” Phaneuf said of the start to her 2017/2018 racing season. “Then I didn’t make the World Cup team in the first period, and then I made the IBU Cup team, but was not performing well and barely made the Olympic team. [In PyeongChang] I got sick the day of my first race and got strep throat and a virus on top of that. I was totally out for two weeks. Being at the Olympics and being around that atmosphere and being so close to racing — having that stripped away from me, made we want to figure how to get better at training and do a lifestyle change. This is why I am moving to Boulder.”

    A new training season has begun for Phaneuf. In the meantime, she’ll be juggling her sport with her more seasoned political voice.

    “I don’t think I have ever voted in midterm elections,” Phaneuf said of the midterm elections set for this November. “I don’t think I ever thought of it as a big deal. So we are are trying to get the word out because it is a big deal. We want to elect people who will actually listen to us.”

    US Biathlon’s Maddie Phaneuf (l) gets tagged by teammate Joanne Reid during the final exchange of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay at 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. The team finished 14th. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
  • Nordic Nation: Two Words … Jessie Diggins

    Nordic Nation: Two Words … Jessie Diggins

    Post-PyeongChang, post-World Cup, it’s been a whirlwind tour for Jessie Diggins. Where hasn’t she been? As a recent Olympic gold medalist, her time and attention have been in high demand. Just a few of those commitments have involved the following: an appearance at the Minnesota State Capitol where she advocated for a Minneapolis World Champs. And just last Wednesday, April 25, Diggins was in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and Protect Our Winters (POW), lobbying members of Congress about the effects of climate change on winter snow sports.

    Jessie Diggins (U.S. SKi Team) after placing fourth in the women’s 10 k classic mass start at Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de Ski (TdS) in Val di Fiemme, Italy. She went on to finish the Tour in third overall to become the first non-European woman to finish in the top three of the TdS. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    Reflecting on her ski season, here’s the no-nonsense: Diggins simply crushed it. Lots of firsts. The Tour de Ski podium. The gold with Randall in the Olympic team sprint. Her second overall on the World Cup and third in the distance standings. More than $110,000 dollars in World Cup prize earnings alone. And all that face-time and the front-row seat as she led much of the Holmenkollen 30 k skate this year. You’ve got to love that midwestern chutzpah on the Oslo holy ground.

    We reached Diggins on April 26 while she was sitting in a Boston park enjoying some spring sunshine. In this interview, we run the gamut of topics from how she’s using her new post-Olympic gold platform to her thoughts on an outstanding World Cup season.

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    (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.)

  • Nordic Nation: Vordenberg’s Call to Action/Climate Challenge

    Nordic Nation: Vordenberg’s Call to Action/Climate Challenge

    Taking a day or two adjusting to the time warp of flying to South Korea, we decided to give former U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Pete Vordenberg a ring to get some vital details on a climate-activism project he’s devised for the cross-country ski community.

    Former U.S. Ski Team Head Coach and current dad, husband and photographer: Pete Vordenberg. (Courtesy photo)

    But first things first, if you don’t know Pete, go back and listen to an older episode of Nordic Nation — here’s the link to Part 1, and Part 2.

    Back to the more critical task at hand: getting the details regarding Pete’s letter-writing campaign to curb climate change. Here’s the cool thing, so don’t tune out just yet, this is a bipartisan project. Pete’s cross-country climate challenge in this instance jives with building consensus.

    So yes, Nordic Nation is delving into the political realm. As Vordenberg would say, we cannot be cross-country skiers without snow.

    Below is Pete’s appeal to the cross-country ski community. It’s also a ripe time for this challenge. You’ll note Pete mentions the U.S. Ski Team’s success is in large part due to a nationwide “community focused effort”. That effort just might result in an Olympic medal in the next two weeks. Putting that in perspective, we should have no problem with Pete’s challenge.

    Dear Cross Country Skier,

    The cross country community is a highly motivated, educated, and energetic group of people connected both literally and figuratively through our sport. Sixteen years ago we seldom reached the top 30 on the international result sheet. Today we have won World Cup and World Championship medals, and even won the overall World Cup. This progress is a result of our nationwide, community-focused effort. It is time for us to apply our cross country power to make our planet and our sport sustainable.

    Climate change is a global threat that is directly affecting our sport, our way of life, and life on earth. It is time for us to add our collective voice to a climate change solution that is already underway. Through the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a swelling of voices and non-partisan action is already leading to a solution to global climate change.

    Here is a two-minute video of the problem, the solution, and the overall plan.

    This is a video made by our own XC Olympians: Olympian Climate video

    Now you and your ski team can put muscle behind the solution.

    Join the XC Climate Challenge (#xcclimatechallenge). Here’s how:

    *First, you and your team members will write and sign the Constituent Comment Letter (link and attached).  Please make it positive and solution-oriented.  The goal of these letters is to lead our leaders by showing them that the people in their districts demand strong climate action. Letter comments can be general or, preferably, specific.  We are asking our representatives to join the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, which at this time has 68 members—half Republicans, half Democrats. And also to support CCL’S carbon-fee and dividend proposal.

    *Second, send your letters to me, Pete Vordenberg. The Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) and I will count them and the CCL will hand deliver them to your congressional representatives. These letters are the key element of this project. This strategy has been proven effective!

    *Third, nominate youth skiers from your team to take the lead in this effort. Representatives will be selected from all participating teams to represent the cross country community at a Citizen Climate Lobby National Conference in June. Prizes from ski-industry businesses will also be given to teams based on the number of letters they get signed, taking team size into consideration.

    That is the challenge.

    When: Now. This contest begins now and will end April 30th. Please do not delay! Start now and keep going.

    A good team strategy to get as many letters as possible:  

    1.  Create a Climate Activism Event or add Climate Activism to an existing event for your team and community.
    2.  Show the movie “Saving Snow” and have all the constituent comment letters ready to be personalized, signed, put in a large mailing envelope, and sent to me.

    How to sign up for a showing of “Saving our Snow”.  Click here.

    Does your team already have a climate or climate activism project?  Let us know what it is and we can share it with our community!

    Contact Pete Vordenberg with questions, ideas and to register your team.

    pvatuphillskier@gmail.com

    (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.)