All Your Green Blog

A couple months ago, the coordinator of the Chico Velo Cycling Club and local environmental advocate, Ed McLaughlin, was involved in a cycling accident, and has been making a long recovery at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. His progress is updated here regularly.

I've known Ed for several years, who I met as part of an upper division honors class on "altruism" when I was a college student. The students each met regularly with local individuals who were seen by the community as somehow selfless and admirable, charged with the task of figuring out what makes them tick. Ed's efforts as an advocate for cyclists and pedestrians, constantly buzzing in the ears of the city's politics, have been instrumental in maintaining the community's collective perspective.

What were the conclusions I came to, years ago, in that class? Ed worked so hard for the enjoyment of others and the betterment of his community for a simple reason. Things were better if he did, and he was able to enjoy the fruits of his efforts directly. Despite the gratitude of many, he argued for our community's cyclists and environmentalists out of passion, without desire for rewards. For example, I recall him riling (despite the political futility) when the city was going to up the weight limits on our streets, demanding to know how ticketing over-sized SUVs wasn't a better solution than forcing the entire community to pay for the more frequent road repairs required to support hummers and escalades. At the time, he didn't even own a car, and was the most dedicated bicycle commuter I knew. His dry sense of humor, cynical rationality, and unique perspective on community service have been missed during his recovery.

On behalf of All Your Green, and the entire Chico community, we're pulling for Ed. The next time we get a chance to meet downtown and rant about the environmental impact of local politics, the coffee's on me.