Walk and Bike for a Better World, Talk March 23

Chestertown, MD, March 9, 2006 — The price of oil is skyrocketing! Your electric bill has doubled in the past month! And the cost of energy is burning a hole in your pocket. Have you ever thought that by just picking up your feet, by walking and biking, you might just solve the world's energy crisis, save a few bucks, and lose a few pounds in the process?

On Thursday, March 23, 2006, Washington College's Center for the Environment and Society and the Kent County Nutrition and Physical Activity Task Force welcome Robert Chauncey, Director of Policy Analysis at the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, to speak on "Building Active Communities" at 4:30 p.m. in the Hynson Lounge.

In Amsterdam and Copenhagen, about one-third of all trips are made by bike. In Davis, California, the figure is 17 percent. For the rest of North America, the number of trips made by bike or on foot is approximately one-percent. The implications of our car-dominated culture are staggering, from rising obesity rates to air pollution to deforestation caused by global warming. Chauncey will lead a discussion of these implications, cite examples of communities that are encouraging active transportation, and offer specific suggestions for Chestertown and Kent County.

Currently in his third career, Chauncey began his professional life as a sociologist, earning his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, becoming a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, San Diego, and teaching full- and part-time for several years. Career number two was in various human resources capacities with GE and Lockheed Martin.

After taking a year off to wander the country and clear his head, Chauncey began career number three—bike-ped advocate—five years ago. He co-authored Does It Work?, a primer on conducting bike and ped audits, and Taking Steps, a study of Metropolitan Planning Organizations. He now leads National Center for Bicycling and Walking's Walkable Communities Workshop program. When not having fun at work, Chauncey is an avid cyclist—no surprise!—an amateur thespian, and a very proud husband, father, and grandfather.