Interview with Environmental Defense

The following is an article written by Environmental Defense, a profile of me as a "New Patriot." Enjoy.
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For most Americans, biking to and from work is a tall ask. But, for PJ Park, the 11.2-mile round trip daily bike ride was only the warm up to something much, much bigger.

After starting a bike co-op in his home town to share biking tips and repair tools, PJ soon found himself entertaining a radical (some might say crazy) idea – combining his passion for fighting global warming with his passion for biking and his lifelong desire to move to Brazil.

What followed was a personal odyssey on two wheels. PJ set out last September to pedal from his home in suburban Maryland along the spine of the Americas to Brazil, proselytizing the importance of global warming action along the way.

PJ stopped pedaling long enough to answer some of our questions

Okay, first question is the big one – what on earth inspired you to launch this amazing journey?

I have been thinking about moving to Brazil for years. I have friends there from my community service project through Amigos de las Americas in 1999 and I always thought about going back. One major concern I had in the back of my mind was the long distance travel involved in coming home to visit with family and friends.

My interest in cycling was more of an evolution. I was riding my bike to the metro, but soon decided to ride the bike all the way to work. It was a relatively modest 11.2 mile trek round trip. But it began something of a love affair with my bike and it became the part of my day I looked forward to the most.

I also started a bicycle cooperative in my home town of Mount Rainier, MD, to share biking tips and repair tools among fellow cyclists in the community. Cycling was becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life and my identity.

Another big interest of mine was the environment. I had been active online with Environmental Defense's global warming campaign and was involved in spreading the word to all my friends and family members.

All of these interests – Brazil, cycling, global warming – were starting to come together in my mind. All I needed was a spark.

One night at dinner with some of the board members of Trips for Kids Metro DC and the Mount Rainier Bike Coop, a friend of mine, Barbara Klieforth, told a childhood story about sneaking into a community pool to go skinny-dipping after hours. I thought to myself, "What an adventurous spirit," and over the next few days I began thinking about the importance of following your dreams, especially when you're still young.

That was the spark that brought this plan to life. The rest is history.

What were you hoping to achieve by biking to South America and back?

My goal was to raise awareness about global warming and show how much I was willing to do to decrease my carbon emissions - by traveling to Brazil by bicycle and contributing as little to global warming as possible while getting there. Collecting signatures to promote federal legislation on global warming, specifically a cap and trade bill such as Climate Stewardship Act, the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act and the Safe Climate Act was also a primary goal of my trip.

Additionally, I wanted to establish a route between Maryland and Brazil for myself and others to follow. Traveling through my country and many others on bicycle would provide a unique way of experiencing the various cultures I was going to encounter. I'd be able to improve my knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese, bicycle repair, camping and the outdoors.

By biking from Maryland to Brazil, I wanted to experience the cultural and ecological gradations between my home and my destination with a mode of travel bound to become more commonplace in our society.

How long did your trip take?

Seven and a half months.

I began in Mt. Rainier, Maryland on September 17th, 2006 and traveled through Washington, DC, and Virginia, south to Georgia, then west to Texas. I entered Mexico on December 22nd and made it to Catemaco, Veracruz in Mexico on January 29th, 2007.

February and March were spent in Tlacotalpan and Port of Veracruz. In April, I head south to Chiapas and made it as far south as San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico.

However, this was where this initial trek to Brazil would be interrupted. In May, I had to come home for my sister's wedding and my brothers' graduations, as well as other events back home. I was forced to travel home via bus and plane, but I offset my carbon emissions with DrivingGreen.com.

What's next?

I plan on beginning my second bicycle trip on this September, this time with three other riders (contact PJ if you are interested!--pauljosephpark@gmail.com). We will start in Mount Rainier, MD, and this time, we'll make it all the way to Natal, Brazil.

Along the way, we will speak on global warming and solutions, we will promote federal legislation, and we will raise funds for an energy conservation project in the communities near Mount Rainier, MD. My goal is to raise $50,000 - five dollars for every mile we bike - for a project that will install electric power consumption monitors in homes and buildings. The trip will take eleven months and I am just now planning to contact potential sponsors for this trip.

That's an amazing story. Thanks so much, PJ, for your passion and activism, not to mention your physical endurance. We hope you'll keep us posted on your next trip.

Absolutely. Thanks so much for giving me a forum to share my story.
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