Issue Number 1016 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Advocate.com Mr. Smith Goes to Washington  | ENVIRONMENT | Advocate.com

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

But will anyone follow? How one man on two wheels who has a passion for all things green aims to spawn a bevy of eco queers.
From The Advocate  October 7, 2008
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

When 38-year-old event coordinator Blake Smith Googled the words gay and green, he says the only links that popped up were ads for green Speedos and a green T-shirt with a rainbow flag on it. “We’ve done a lot for so many causes -- HIV, gay marriage—but the green thing hasn’t entered the consciousness yet,” says Smith, who lives in Palm Springs, Calif. “And I feel like it needs to.”

That’s why Smith jumped at the chance to lead a group of cyclists in the Brita Climate Ride, the first multiday bicycle ride to raise money and awareness for climate change and renewable energy. The ride would take him, six other guides, and 120 riders from downtown Manhattan to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., in late September.

Climate Ride is the brainchild of Montana residents Caeli Quinn and Geraldine Carter, who previously oversaw bike tours for the Berkeley, Calif.–based adventure-travel company Backroads, where Smith also worked from 1999 to 2003.

“We really wanted to do something different,” says Quinn, who began refining the idea for an eco ride with Carter in January. Brita signed on as a sponsor soon afterward. The duo studied successful predecessors like the AIDS Ride to organize their event. All riders who signed on to Climate Ride -- most of whom work in the environmental field—had to meet a minimum fund-raising threshold of $2,250 to participate, with all proceeds to be donated to the project’s two beneficiaries: Clean Air–Cool Planet, which partners with businesses and city governments to reduce carbon emissions; and Focus the Nation, an organization working with educational and community institutions to raise global warming awareness.

Along the 320-mile journey -- spread evenly over the five days, with riders camping out at night --environmental speakers like Randy Swisher of the American Wind Energy Association addressed the participants.

Born and raised in Palo Alto, Calif., Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at Los Angeles’s Loyola Marymount University before hitting the road as a tour leader for Backroads. In 2003 he changed gears and became a cruise director for the gay tour operator Atlantis Events, and this year he helped launch a new gay and lesbian film festival in Palm Springs called Cinema Diverse.

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Photography by Pat Colognesi

Reader Comments

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  • Name: James
    Date posted: 2008-09-12 1:43 PM
    Hometown: San Francisco

    Comment:

    Although I wish him and others like him well, there is a long tradition of gays and lesbians in the green and Green movements. It is funny to watch the "'A'-gays" suddenly get "religion" over the urgent need to change civil society's attitudes toward environmental responsibility, as many of us have worked in the Green movement our entire adult lives. For the record, I have identified as a radical Green for nearly 25 years, and there are many like me. So, welcome to the greener world. The Earth and all of us can use all of the help it can get - and it needs all of us to reform society.


  • Name: Roger Smith
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 12:27 AM
    Hometown: Redwood City (Near Palo Alto)

    Comment:

    Of course, as Blake's Father, I have watched his wonderful progress from his first day on this great Earth to this impressive climate ride and you must believe me when I say that he has always been ahead of the curve and provided reat contributions. I am sure that his efforts here as with other projects will motivate us all to continue to push for environmentally friendly sources of energy. You may call me biased but it is very easy for me to be so very proud of him!


  • Name: Paul Farmer
    Date posted: 2008-09-10 4:50 PM
    Hometown: Salinas

    Comment:

    Blake Smith is an amazing person. I have had the pleasure of working with him, and count him as a good friend. He puts his heart and mind and considerable energies and talents into so many different projects...it's fantastic to see. I hope his efforts help inspire others, as they inspire me! :-)


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