Brita Climate Riders rolled down Constitution Avenue today completing a 5 day, 300 mile ride from Manhattan to DC. The cyclists left New York September 20th to raise awareness of global climate changes.
The riders took their message of change to the streets, educating communities along the way about the benefits of a cleaner, healthier climate.
Climate Riders raised funds for Clean Air-Cool Planet and Focus the Nation, two organizations working to engage Americans to share responsibility in reducing fossil fuel energy consumption.
The main sponsor, Brita, supplied riders with filtered water along the route, eliminating the use of disposable plastic bottles.
Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption use 1.5 million barrels of oil per year, according to a 2007 resolution passed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. That energy alone could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for one year.
38 billion water bottles end up in landfills per year. That's over $1 billion worth of plastic.
Some cities, including San Francisco, Albuquerque, Minneapolis and Seattle, have banned city purchase of single-serve bottled water because of waste impact from the bottles.
