Terry Gips Remarks at Hazon Cross-Country Bike Event
Minneapolis Jewish Community Center
July 23, 2000

Good morning everyone. 

Thanks for your very kind introduction Shep. 

I can say that I’m more than glad to be alive and be here because less than a month ago I was still in an LA hospital recovering from two major emergency operations addressing life threatening abdominal bleeding. 

 And I’m pleased to say that I was even able to bike over here today and will join you for part of the ride to St. Paul.

I want to say a special thanks to Shepard Harris, Sara Lynn Neuberger, other committee members, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the other sponsoring groups and all the host families who have given so generously of their time, energy and resources to make these events such a success.

I want to welcome all you aspiring Lance Armstrong bikers to the Land of Lakes, Mega-Mall, Post-it Notes and Prince. 

I think it’s fitting you’re here while Lance Armstrong is winning the Tour de France and Tiger Woods is walking away with the British Open.

Let’s give them a warm Lake Wobegon welcome. 

I also want to thank all of who got up early on a Sunday morning and are here to support the riders and join them on their ride to St. Paul, especially 6 and ¾ year old Shana Salomon and her 5 year old sister Rachel.

After first hearing about Hazon and the trip by email, I got to meet Nigel last March at the Coalition on the Environment in Jewish Life Environmental Institute in California. 

I was excited about the opportunity he and the ride offered for bringing about awareness of environmental issues for the Jewish community across the country, especially here in the Twin Cities, as well as the fundraising it was doing on behalf of so many great Jewish groups addressing environmental issues here in the US and in Israel.

I’ve been following their trip across the country thanks to Nigel’s fabulous emails. 

It has been an amazing adventure, with each of the bikers having to push their personal limits and overcome a whole host of challenges, from rain and mosquitoes to flat tires and accidents.

As the Aberdeen, South Dakota paper reported, "Call it 'Survivor' on bikes.  Take 11 people who barely know each other, from different areas of this and other countries and put them on bikes. Then have them ride across the country..."

But you’ve also gotten to experience our country’s spacious skies, not yet amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties, as well as extraordinary hospitality in unexpected places.

It’s so great that you are devoting your summer to really making a difference in our community and the world.  It is truly inspiring, especially when an ex-fund manager goes through the transformation Nigel has.  It gives me hope and renews my energy to work even harder.  

I was asked to share a little bit about some of the local environmental activities going on here locally.

Minnesota has a long and proud tradition of environmental leadership, although we continue to face a range of challenges.  There are so many to talk about so I’ll just mention a few.

Twin Cities Parks and Bike Trails:  Thanks to the visionary leadership of Theodore Wirth 80 years ago, we have developed one of the nation’s most magnificent set of parks and bike trails that make the Twin Cities so livable and encourage both widespread recreational and commuter use.  It’s a great way to help get people out of their cars, one of the big challenges we face.  We’ll have a chance to enjoy a spectacular ride on these trails as we head to St. Paul.

Environmental Trust Fund:  Thanks to the hard work of environmentalists, the State created a large state fund from a portion of lottery proceeds to address environmental challenges.  This has provided important support for a variety of groups. 

MN Environmental Partnership:  We are fortunate to have a cohesive network of 60 environmental groups throughout the state who meet regularly and work closely on legislation and various initiatives.  At present, we’re creating a powerful data base to alert all concerned Minnesotans about important issues and candidates, raising funds to support group efforts, and working together on a joint campaign to address water issues.

Sustainable Agriculture:  Minnesota has been a leader in promoting sustainable agriculture, including grants for farmers, a low-interest loan fund, groundwater protection, pesticide bans, and active programs at the MN Department of Ag and the University of Minnesota.  Unfortunately, we still face many challenges, from feedlot waste polluting the MN River, urban sprawl, pesticides causing a host of environmental impacts such as deformed frogs, and the MN Institute of Sustainable Agriculture being attacked by the U of M. 

Organic Food, CSAs, Farmers Markets and Food Co-ops:  We developed the nation’s toughest organic standards and have a large number of organic farmers.  We have more food co-ops than anywhere else in the US and they have been extremely supportive of local organic farmers.  We also have an extensive number of well-run farmers’ markets and farmer-consumer partnerships through Community Supported Agriculture.

Natural Step Framework for Sustainability:  If you’ve felt hopeless about what’s going on with the environment, questioned whether we could ever curb on consumption of the planet, or thought it’s impossible to change the behavior of companies or government, the Natural Step stands as a huge breakthrough.  It was created just 11 years ago in Sweden by a leading medical doctor and cancer researcher to help build a consensus for a sustainable future.  It has had huge success in a short time, including getting Swedish McDonalds to provide vegetarian burgers, only organic milk, make a commitment to go completely organic and use only green, renewable energy, including the use of solar panels and wind turbines on top of many of their stores.

The Natural Step is working with business, government agencies, religious institutions, nonprofits, schools and communities to save money and become environmentally and socially responsible.  We have monthly network meetings and conduct one day and two-evening seminars.  Please let me know if you’d like to be on our email list:  Terry Gips <tgips@mtn.org>.  For more information you can contact the Alliance for Sustainability at www.mtn.org/iasa or the Natural Step at www.naturalstep.org

Highway 55 Reroute:  Many Jews, Native Americans and others have joined together in protesting against the loss of sacred trees and other impacts from the rerouting of Highway 55.

Genetic Engineering:  Genetic engineering of our food and animals his has become a great concern amongst Jews and other faith groups for a variety of reasons, including:

·         Ethical challenges from interfering with God’s creation;

·         Violations of kashrut from placement of pig genes in kosher species;

·         Dangers from environmental releases and loss of biodiversity;

·         Consumer concerns about the lack of labeling.

These concerns have been highlighted by the Conference on animal genetics at the Hyatt Hotel. 

I wanted to let you know about a dinner and gathering tonight at 6 pm at Loring Park and then a candle light march at 9 pm.  It’s an opportunity to publicly express concern for what’s been going on.

In terms of Jewish involvement with environmental issues, the JCRC published an excellent booklet on energy conservation 20 years ago during the 1979 energy crisis. Unfortunately, interest in the Jewish community seemed to fall off and there has not been any major focused effort.