I am in Austin, Texas. I got here by Amtrak from DC to New Orleans and Greyhound Bus from New Orleans to here. I brought one of my bikes with me and had the other one sent on Greyhound later. I made a bunch of changes on them, swapping parts and perfecting my final ride. I am selling the other one on ebay once sold I will bike South to Brownsville. I will stay there a while, making any final changes to the bike and finalizing my plans for moving South. One option is to take a bus from Brownsville to Veracruz. I intend to go to Veracruz to visit friends. From there, I am planning to bike to Cancun. The climate conference is to be held there this December.

From there I plan to bike South, probably through Belize, Guatemala, perhaps El Salvador, Honduras, then Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. From there, I plan to take a boat from Colon to Cartagena, Colombia. From there, I plan to bike to Manaus, Brazil, passing through Venezuela. From Manaus, I plan to take a boat down the Amazon to Belem. From there, I plan to bike to Natal, Brasil, where I have many friends from my community service trip in 1999 with Amigos de las Americas/Amigos das Americas. Plans subject to evolve. That is my update.

Big Dummy, Long Haul Trucker

I love my Surly Big Dummy and I have taken it on an 80-mile round trip to Sandy Point State Park and back to Mount Rainier. It seems to be a good tourer. I bought the Surly Long Haul Trucker frame and will build it up. I want to compare the two bikes and determine which I would like to take on a longer trip, i.e. to South America from here. The LHT will be lighter and faster, but it will not have the capacity to carry one or two or three extra passengers as the Big Dummy has. And that is a capacity I have enjoyed in the past--taking friends for rides on my bike! So, I probably will take the big dummy on my next tour--yeah.

Mount Rainier, Maryland

Hi All. It has been a long time since I have written. I am living in Mount Rainier, Maryland right now, and working at REI College Park. I continue to volunteer at the organization I helped start, the Mount Rainier Bicycle Co-op. Find out more at the website, mrbikecoop.com.

I would like to do more trips, perhaps go ahead and finish biketobrazil, or head to California, Europe or China. One day...

I now have a Surly Big Dummy and I am hoping to get a Surly Long Haul Trucker, and then decide which one I would rather take on my next trip.

I got quoted and photoed in Article

Yesterday, I attended the Open the Floodgates rally in Annapolis to support the Maryland Senate's passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act for Maryland, which would spur the economy by investing in clean, green energy and efficient buildings as we cut our climate-altering emissions at the same time. Article here: Green Energy (not sure why the link no longer works. Anyone know where the original article is?

POWER SHIFT 2007!

Power Shift 2007 from ada on Vimeo.

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE!

Tomorrow morning, Saturday, December 8, I am going to jump in the Chesapeake Bay at Annapolis--the annual Polar Bear Plunge to raise funds for the local Chesapeake Climate Action Network. CCAN works for climate protection policy in Maryland, DC and Virginia. They are based in Takoma Park, Maryland, about four miles from where I live in Mount Rainier, Maryland.

About two hundred other activists will plunge into the Bay with me, and another two hundred supporters will hold towels and hot chocolate bayside to hand to plungers when they come out. Elected officials and media will be present tomorrow.

If you would like to contribute to my plunge, visit the plunge page. My name is PJ Park and my email is pauljosephpark at gmail dot com. Thank you for your support of an excellent non-profit making a real difference in climate policy in our region and nation through grassroots organization.

Vision

Massive development of solar and wind power. Solar water heaters on everybody's roof. Massive development and deployment of geothermal heating and cooling systems, starting in large buildings. A trend toward super-well-insulated homes and buildings, using cost-effective, widely available material. A trend toward smaller living quarters to reduce the amount of space to be heated and cooled. A trend toward local living, local economies. Living close to where you work, community activities, neighbors are your friends and co-workers. The trendiness of walking, cycling and other human-powered activities. Development of cellulosic ethanol--made from switchgrass and agricultural waste. Prevalence of local, organic farming. A trend toward eating lower on the food chain. Biodiesel made from used vegetable oil. Cars that get 100 mpg. In essence, Energy Efficiency, Energy Conservation, and Renewable Energy.

Energy Efficiency: CFL's, Efficient Refridgerators, Efficient Vehicles, Efficient Washers and Driers, Geothermal Pumps, tankless water heaters, solar water heaters

Energy Conservation: Walking, cycling as transportation, turning off lights and appliances, turning down the thermostat, programmable thermostat, programmable lights, sensors for HVAC systems,

Renewable energy: Wind, Solar, Biodiesel made from waste oil or efficient crops/algae, Ethanol made from cellulose materials/switchgrass, geothermal, sustainable hydropower, Solar water heaters, solar air heaters, local organic crops as human power,

Human Powered Car!

PowerShift was Awesome!

PowerShift this past weekend was the beginning of the Clean Energy Revolution! 6,000 youth from across the country converged on College Park and Washington, DC to get inspired, share ideas, and lobby Senators and Representatives on launching our nation's move towards clean, renewable energy and green jobs. It was amazing and inspiring; the energy was very positive, the event was well-run, and our meetings with our Senators and Representatives went off very well. After our rally on the West Lawn of the Capitol, hundreds of youths danced to the music, celebrating the coming together of a hopeful movement, one that will bring prosperity to our economy, our society, and our security. The movement has truly kicked off, and we are committed to seeing our positive vision become reality.

Logical argument for action

The Green Finger

This is my video for the Step it Up's The Green Finger project. Check it out!

New Climate Bill: America's Climate Security Act (ACSA)

Environmental Defense supports this newly formulated bill, and is working to protect and strengthen it as it makes it to the Senate floor and moves through to passage. It has bi-partisan support; we are at the threshold of a great climate bill finally taking effect! Read more about it here.

Launching Climate Save!

In part to raise funds for continuing the trip, I have launched a new business of selling PowerCost Monitors that allow you to monitor your home's or business's electricity consumption in real time. For example, before you leave the house, you can see how much your house is still consuming even when you are not going to be there! and then you can go around turning off unnecessary appliances reducing your impact on the climate--saving it and some change:) To buy a powercost monitor from me, please email me (pauljosephpark at gmail dot com).

Mountain Bike (Trials Bike) Trickster - Danny Macaskill

This is unbelievable!

Operation: Climate Vote

This is the Congressional session when we are going to get a vote on serious action to deal with climate change. If you would like to give Congress the nudge it needs to get this ball rolling, you can participate in Environmental Defense's Operation: Climate Vote--sending a letter and perhaps making a phone call to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Send a letter.