A movie challenging the fundamental cause of global warming

I ran across a video called The Great Global Warming Swindle. It might just be a scam. However, I do kind of want to get the scientist's response to the claims in the video. While the video claims the variation in the sun's activity causes the warming, scientists have said that they cannot attribute the current warming trend to purely natural/non-anthropogenic causes.

Another Climate offset company

Cool Planet I got this from David Kroodsma's Ride for Climate webpage. I have been talking with him recently for tips on my central american segment, since he just finished biking it (a few months back--now he is in Chile, finishing up his California to Tierra del Fuego trip).

What appears to be the next segment

Central America

The deal

So I bought plane tickets from Panama City to Washington, DC to attend my sister's wedding, my brothers' graduations, and my highschool reunion. I think I will be doing some sponsor hustling during that near-month visit to DC--between May 10th and June 7th. This means, obviously, that I have to bike to Panama City by May 10th. So the next almost two months are, you guessed it, CENTRAL AMERICA! I am getting all revved up and ready for the trip. Trying to tie up loose ends--buying glasses, digital camera, etc. I am going to do this in the absence of the card. When there is a will, there is a way. I am also working out my itinerary--stops, directions, etc. I am using some of the lodging networks I list in the yellow section. I am also trying to shore up some sponsors here in Veracruz before I leave. I hope to leave in the next 4 to 7 days.

How did you get put up in a four-star hotel for free?

yeah, these guys--23 and 26--are the sons of the owner of the hotel. they are into extreme sports--scuba diving, mountain climbing, bicycle trekking. they saw my bike outside their hotel and they asked me about it. they said if there is anything I need, they will do their best to help. They are descendents of old Spanish money. Their dad was a famous lawyer in his day, and his sons study law now. they told me i could stay as long as i wanted. they helped me get interviews with the local newspapers, and I almost got a television piece out of those interviews.

Maya Pedal

Michael Karpman just emailed me this article (click here) about a point of interest in Guatemala where they build pedal-powered machines of all types. To see Maya Pedal's website, click here.
This was my response to Michael:
Thank you, Michael. I plan to stop at Maya Pedal. The article gave me a better understanding of the place. I am interested in building a bicimaquina that would generate electricity to charge a battery. I have been to energy fares at a power plant where they try to teach you to save energy. They had a station where you had to pedal to light up bulbs. They would turn on one, two, three and four bulbs so you could feel how it was harder to pedal with more bulbs. They also showed the difference between fluorescent bulbs (easier to power) and incandescent bulbs.

PJ

Pedal-powered washing and drying machine!

Pedal-powered clothes washer

Would like to leave Friday; Working out a flight from Panama

If possible, I would like to leave Veracruz on Friday, whether or not I have my VISA. I am also working out a round-trip flight home from Panama City for my brothers' graduations and my sister's wedding.

"Activist bikes to Brazil for ecology," reprinted from National Catholic Reporter, March 9, 2007

P.J. Park in Veracruz, Mexico

 

By PATRICK O’NEILL
Raleigh, N.C.
On Sept. 17, Paul Joseph “P.J.” Park loaded up his custom, Dutch-built touring bike with mounted waterproof gear bags and headed south from his home in Washington, D.C., for a 9,000-mile trip. His destination: Natal, Brazil.
An avid environmentalist, Park, 26, is on a mission to promote cycling as a means of transportation and to garner support for the Climate Stewardship Act, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate to cap greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from car and truck exhaust and from coal-fired power plants. At each stop, Park has asked people to sign a petition in support of the bill. The federal act would cap greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 at 2000 levels, and would require compliance by all U.S. businesses and industries, Park said.
The bill will subsidize technologies to “jump-start the market to help corporations to meet the caps,” Park told NCR during a stop in Raleigh, N.C., early in his trip.
Park said past efforts to curb emissions that cause acid rain were “a resounding success” in reducing acid rain damage. A reduction of greenhouse gases is also an achievable goal, he said.
“In my everyday life I try to live a lifestyle that relies as little as possible on burning fossil fuels,” Park said. In Washington, he rode his bike six miles each way to work, limited his use of electricity and persuaded his family to buy “green power,” an option where a utility company allows customers to supplement their energy needs with renewable energy sources.
Before he left home, Park’s family and friends held a party and fundraiser that collected about $1,400 for trip expenses.
Park, who lived in Brazil with a local family in 1999 while he did two months of volunteer work, speaks Portuguese, Brazil’s native language, and Spanish.
In December, he reached Mexico.
On his journey Park has met Canadian anarchists, peasants who have offered him food and lodging, and many kind people who have befriended him. His lone flat tire came when he ran over a nail in Raleigh.
Patrick O’Neill is a freelance writer living in Raleigh, N.C.
Related Web site
"Bike to Brazil" blog
www.biketobrazil.blogspot.com

God Bless US Postal Service

At Hotel Imperial and Flamingo's Restaurant.

So I went to the Veracruz Postal Station to see what may have happened to the envelope my dad sent me with my check card. They asked me if it was in a box or an envelope. I said envelope. They asked if it had a confirmation code or not. I said no, it was sent normal first class mail, and that it was sent four weeks ago. They looked to see if it was in the office. When they determined it was not there, they explained that mail from the US takes 2-4 days to reach Mexico, where it is delivered first to Mexico City, and that is where the bottle neck is, "el cuello de la botella," he said. From there, it can take four to six weeks to reach the town it is destined for. So, he told me, we are still in the normal time period for the arrival of your package. I can appreciate more now the efficiency of our nations postal service! He said to come back next Wednesday and check to see if it has arrived. I think I may take some journeys around the Veracruz region, perhaps to Xalapa, Monte Pio, La Antigua, etc. as I wait for the card, on Mexican time.

Looking for Sponsors

Me in the lobby of the Hotel Imperial, Zocalo, Veracruz. The photographer from El Dictamen, Javier Tello Z., newspaper took this.

Today I set about to get more sponsors, specifically one who could supply me with a new digital camera. I tried Steren, but turns out my friend no longer works at that location and the boss was not around. They suggested a larger electronics retailer in the area, Cotino. I went to one outlet and asked if the boss was around, since they are the only ones who can make such decisions...He told me no, that the boss was at a different location and he told me where it was. When I eventually found it five miles away, cruising across town on my bike through city traffic, it was the administration building. The receptionist heard me out, and I showed her the two newspapers with the articles featuring my story, and she called to someone in the depths of this crystal-shaped building. After some discussion, she asked if I could wait a moment. After five minutes, the person called her back and said that the person who could make the decision was out of town and would be back in early next week. So that is my lead! Emilio, one of the Hotel Imperial owner's sons, is in town and he said that I will let his preppy college mates know about my trip and see if any of them can help out, and we might also try Corona cerveza company. I said we might be able to try Pemex, the petrol company, and he said something about how the polluting company sponsoring my trip would be ironic, and I said that it might be attractive to them so they can balance their profile a bit, reference BP that builds solar panels. Card still hasn't arrived. Still somewhat juggling plan/route options.

Making a bike for Ana's Birthday

Today, I went to the bike shop across town, and set about to build or refurbish a bike for Hotel Imperial loose-ends coordinator Ana. It was her birthday a couple days ago, and I promised her a bike. Better late than never. The bike shop manager brought me in the back with one of the mechanics and showed me what there was to offer me to fix up. I asked about a 20 inch frame bike, and he consented. I began using a wire-brush to de-rust the bike. I then adjusted the seat and seat post, and pumped up the tires. The back tire held air but not the front. I flipped the bike over and began to de-rust the chain and gears. Then I lubed them up. The rear wheel rubbed against the brakes, so I set about to remove the wheel and true it. One of the mechanics helped me adjust the nuts on the rear axel to make the wheel spin smoother. After truing and that adjustment, I replaced the back wheel. The mechanic gave me a new inner tube for the front wheel, so I set about to replace it. As I was putting the new tube in the wheel, another mechanic showed up and basically took over. He quickly finished putting the inner tube in, and pumped up the tire. Then he replaced the front wheel, and began working on the brakes. He decided the back brake needed a new cable and housing. He went in the shop, and returned with new cable and housing. He deftly took off the old cable and housing and replaced it. The manager then brought out new brake levers, and cable, housing, and brakes for the front wheel. The mechanic installed the brake, cable and housing for the front and back, adjusted them, and declared the bike was ready. The manager cleaned the handlebars, and seat, and put a new seat cover on the seat. He began to spray paint the bike black, asked me if I liked that color, but I told him I had already selected purple, and the first mechanic had already brought it out. He wiped off the black, and sprayed some purple on and asked if I liked it. I told him I did. He told me it would be better to spray it in the sun, that I could come back tomorrow and finish it up. I told him I would come back tomorrow around 3pm, and we agreed upon 300 pesos or $30 for the whole deal. Putting in my time and helping refurbish a bike was the only way I could strike a deal this cheap in the whole town. Someone wanted 2000 pesos or $200 for some used mountain bike the other day when I was trying to find cheap used bikes. I might have to borrow money to pay him tomorrow since my card hasn't arrived yet, but I am happy with the success of the day. I have also added a bunch of new features to the blog to the right which I think enrich the blog and better explain my trip. Hope you enjoy them.

Why I came back to Veracruz; Today

Okay, all, talking with Mexicans here, it seems normal that three weeks to a month is normal to expect for a letter or a package delivered with normal postal service. So we are still in the normal time frame for the arrival of the card. I am not sure it is clear to people why I came back to Veracruz, so I am going to explain. I made it as far south as Catemaco. Then, I made a decision to go back to Tlacotalpan to experience the festival of the Candelaria, which is the anniversary of the baby Jesus reaching the age of 40 days old, and his baptism. The patron saint of Tlacotalpan is the Virgin of the Candelaria, a virgin who commemorates all of the candels that followed in the procession of Jesus' baptism, the ceremony of the Holy Spirit entering the Christ child. It is celebrated Feb. 2 all over Mexico, but Tlacotalpan celebrates for nine days because it is the festival of the town's patron saint. Their celebration includes bulls running free in the streets, as well as a three-day traditional music and rhyme (jaranero and decimista) gathering. The festival was well worth it. Then, I lost my glasses and my camera broke, plus I met somebody who works for a digital camera company (Steren) in Veracruz who said his company might be able to sponsor me and he invited me back to Veracruz, where we could talk, and I could go to the Carnaval, which is the biggest north of Rio. My friends from Hotel Imperial also invited me back. I figured I could see Carnaval, get new glasses and a new camera, and I would have a place to stay and have my card sent to me. Carnaval was great, but as you know I am still waiting for my card which I can use to get new glasses. Since the camera deal has not succeeded yet (the guy came to the hotel once but I was asleep, so he left, wrote that he would come back, but hasn't yet...), I may end up buying a new camera as well. Then I can move on. (I really miss my camera.)
Today, I got up, streched, then shaved, washed my face, but didn't shower in a lenten "giving-up" to save energy. Then I went down to have an employee meal of vegetable soup and rice--pretty good. Ran into my friend Paul from England who works as a diver on the oil platforms. He is going through a divorce, so it's kind of trying him. Then I visited the local cathedral--somewhat spectacular, not really, though. Then I went to see if I could find some chloroquine/malaria prophylaxis. My friend Lindsay told me one of the local pharmacies had it for $7. I checked out "Ahorro's" and "Simi's", but neither had it. Where did you see it, Lindsay? Then I got a tour of Hotel Colonial, which is a couple buildings down from my hotel, Hotel Imperial, on the Zocalo. Hotel Colonial has some great terraces above, and a heated indoor pool (big energy user, but obviously attractive), but it lacks the elegance of Hotel Imperial, which has a foyer that extends five floors to a stained glass sky light, beautiful arch architecture throughout, marble stairs, and the oldest elevator in Latin, if not all of, America. Okay, after touring the Hotel Colonial, I walked along the portales and noted the name of each restaurant/bar and hotel. I went into "Caliente" to see what they used their upper levels for. Caliente is a betting center with TV's showing all types of sporting events going on mostly in Mexico and the US--horse racing, basketbal, soccer, dog racing, etc. I sat down and started watching basketball, and eventually horse racing and soccer. The waiter asked if I wanted anything to drink and I asked him if it was required to order something and he said no, he was just offering, and I said I just wanted to know what the upper floors are used for--hotel, storage, residence, etc., and he said right now, the owners are not using it at all. I found it interesting that such prime real estate was being unused as such. I continued watching--I think UNC beat Duke, Phoenix beat the Lakers...In the first horse race I watched, the lead horse was overtaken by two horses just in the last stretch. In the second race, the lead horse led the whole time, and ran away with the victory in the end. Anything can happen. Then, my favorite team in Mexico (at this point), Pachuca, started playing one of the most popular teams in all of Mexico, America from Mexico City. Pachuca scored a nice goal off a corner kick and ended up winning 1-0. After the match, I went back to my hotel, and I overheard English. I introduced myself to what ended up being five Americans from the northeast (New York and Philly, primarily) who were into Tai Chi, and who were on a trip to attend a Tai Chi conference/class in Patzcuaro, west of Mexico City, but they are seeing a bit of the country before the conference starts. They invited me out to dinner and I accepted. We had a nice dinner, talked about some of the movies they saw on the bus which were dubbed but they couldn't hear the sound anyway, so they sort of made up their interpretations of what they saw to each other as they watched the movies. They said they could start up their own film-scripting schools using such exercises of interpretation as fodder for plotlines. After dinner, four of the five went to the malecon (dock platform area) for coffee, but one, Emily, and I went back to the hotel because it was too windy and a bit chilly (we were wearing less clothing than the others). After returning to the hotel, I went to check email, and write to you! I will now put up a section of links to sponsors and those who helped me on the way so far.

Still waiting for card; My day

Okay, still in Veracruz. My card still hasn´t come. So what did I do today? Up, stretched, did sit ups, showered, came downstairs, entered office. The hotel owner asked me if I was going to send him the email with the specifications of a new crankshaft for his bike. Really, I need him to give me the specifications so I can go out and find the correct crankshaft for his bike, and install it. He has two chainrings, but would like three to make climbing mountains easier. He is interested, too, in getting a Trek 520, which is basically designed for touring, but I´ve heard people have loved using it as a commuting bike as well. I referred him to www.kogausa.com as well so he could see the specs of my bike. His son is going to show me his (the dad´s) bike tomorrow or so, so I can see the crankshaft specifications. I did a bit of emailing and then Juan, the owner´s son, told me we would be leaving for the soccer match in twenty minutes. The Veracruz Red Sharks (Tiburones Rojos) were going to play the Guadalajara Atlas in town. A bunch of us--waiters, restaurant manager, bell-boy manager, loose-ends coordinator, owner´s son and daughter (who is in town from Mexico City)--all piled in a mini-van and headed across town to the stadium. We bought a shirt for the daughter, and the son--which he is going to give to me tomorrow as a present--everybody at the stadium should be wearing read in support of the home team, or you are liable to get bothered. The game was alright, but the opposing team, which is at or near the top of the rankings, scored on a penalty kick and beat us 1-0. We had four or five good opportunities to tie the game, but none went into the back of the net. When we got back, I think that is when I took a nap. After I woke up, I went down for something to eat, hung out with Juan and Bernardo, a lawyer originally from Papantla, but based in Districto Federal (DF/Mexico City), we had a couple beers and I had enfrijoladas (tortillas filled with cheese and covered with black bean sauce and avocado), plus spiced mixed nuts. Later, I made a phone call to a friend I met in Tlacotalpan, Pily, who studies administration in the local technical school. Then, I chatted with her online, and then checked email and now am updating my blog. It is raining outside. All is well, and it´s been a good day. I talked with Bernardo today about forging a plan with the Veracruz local government to turn off some of the lights at night on the palace (administration building) and perhaps some fraction of the lights other areas of town that may not really be benefitting anyone--this to reduce electricity consumption and hence burn less coal, reducing heat-trapping gas emissions.

Maps and errands

This is my second daily post, meaning that it is the second day in a row that I am posting after I have decided to make one post per day. So here goes: what happened to day is that I got up, showered, ate breakfast, talked to some hotel friends and staff, made a list of things to do for the day, and set off to do them. The first was to make a bike for Ana at the shop across town that told me I could work on one of their bikes and then pay for it after finishing. I got there and the guy told me that it was off since I did not show up at the time we talked about the last time I was there. But the time we agreed upon was the time the newspaper reporters were interviewing me, so I wasn't able to show up then. He told me he was only interested in money, he was business man, so how much money did I have? I told him that as I said before I was willing to give three hundred pesos ($30) for a bike that I put together. He told me to come back on Lunes (Monday) since the mechanics had gone home for the weekend. Okay. Then I set out to get some road maps of Central America to plan the next chunk of my trip. Everywhere I went did not have road maps of Central America. Finally someone suggested just use the web, and I eventually did, and found MapQuest to have the best road maps of the area I am looking for. After the map search in town (this is still Veracruz), I went to the post office to see if I could ask them what might have happened to the envelope with my check card in it, or what I should expect. It has been almost three weeks now since my dad sent it. But the post office was closed after four PM, so I decided to go back to the hotel. I started searching online for maps at that point, and that is when I happened upon MapQuest. Yahoo maps were alright, except that they show all the roads, large and small, with the same yellow line, so it is impossible to tell which one I might take (I will be sticking with the largest, most traveled and dependable roads from now on.) MapQuest pretty much just shows the largest roads, at least at a low resolution setting.
The office at the hotel was busy with employees coming in to get their paychecks. I considered working here at the hotel as a bell boy--which amounts to an elevator operator, and a luggage and key carrier. They told me the position pays about the equivalent of $7.50 for eight hours of work per day, plus tips. The staff is very nice. Most of the other bell-boys are studying some sort of engineering, and working on the side to pay for their education.
Anyway, I am also trying to catch up with folks I met along the route with emails, etc. And I am trying to put all my photos in chronological order. This is going to take a while! You can see the current set of albums at Picasa and Image Station.
Tonight I don't know what I am going to do yet, but guess what? I just heard about this huge concert happening on July 7, 07 including Red Hot Chili Pepper and over one hundred other big-name artists, with the theme of "Save Our Selves" from global warming, led by Al Gore, and Cameron Diaz: www.liveearth.org. Check it out--it is going to be huge!