Oltu, Turkey to Göreme/Cappadocia, Turkey– 836 km this section (Total Mileage: 10,852 km/40,075 km) My route cycling west across Turkey. I entered Turkey ten days after July’s failed coup attempt. Earlier this year, when I first announced plans to pass through Turkey, I received messages from relatives and followers concerned about the risk of terror attacks and kidnapping. At … Continue reading The Long Summer Ahead: 17 Photos from the Road
During an idle moment at a laboratory bench three years ago, Forrest first mentioned to me the idea of traveling to Asia and riding his bike home – to Oregon. The mindfulness of his subsequent work was exactly what I had come to expect of my friend and lab partner. A year into following his writing and photography, I was eager to turn the lens on Forrest. How does the narrator of 10,000 km of climate change stories describe what he is doing, and how is he holding up? Continue reading On Tour: 12 Questions for Forrest Watkins, 360 By Bike Founder
In May I passed through Almaty, the largest city in Kazkhastan and its historical capital. Recently arrived in Central Asia, I was looking for insight into the politics of climate change in a country both threatened by increasing water stress and economically dependent its Caspian Sea oil reserves. Professor Nygmet Ibadildin was kind enough to … Continue reading Humans of Climate Change: Professor Nygmet Ibadildin
Bishkek/Бишкéк, Kyrgyzstan to Shymkent/Шымкент, Kazakhstan–540 km this section (Total Mileage: 8156 km/40,075 km) Heatstroke to freezing rain in 48 hours. The last six days have driven into my skull, with force and repetition, the importance of water in a water-scarce region. Academics and politicians are fond of saying that water is Kyrgystan’s only natural resource. In reality, … Continue reading Summer in the Valleys of Kyrgyzstan: 13 Photos from the Road
I wrote an op-ed for Common Dreams discussing the challenges of Hope and Burnout in the context of climate change. It’s one of a few that I’ve written in the past few weeks as part of my application to the Sustain.us delegation to this year’s UN Climate Conference in Morocco. Take a look: http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/26/hope-and-burnout-anthropocene Header … Continue reading Hope and Burnout in the Anthropocene
Michelle Ignacio Macamay, 32, and her daughter Janrexelle, stand outside their house in the “No-Build Zone” in Tacloban, Eastern Visayas, Philippines. She told me her story at a neighbor’s dining table, with her husband and Janrexelle sitting nearby. This is the fourth of four “Humans of Climate Change” stories from Tacloban, the Philippines. Tacloban was one of … Continue reading Humans of Climate Change: Michelle Ignacio, Tacloban, the Philippines
John Andrew Lajara, 50, stands outside his home (left) on the Tacloban waterfront. In the far background, the arm of a backhoe can be seen as it works on the construction of a new tidal embankment. This is the third of four “Humans of Climate Change” stories from Tacloban, the Philippines. Tacloban was one of the … Continue reading Humans of Climate Change: John Andrew Lajara, Tacloban, the Philippines
Eva Postre, 56, and her husband Eusebio Postre, 60, sit on the steps of their temporary home in the bunkhouse community in Tacloban. Postre says that the shop that she runs out of the front of her house is proof that she and her family are working hard to be self-sufficient. This is the second of … Continue reading Humans of Climate Change: Eva Postre, Tacloban, the Philippines
This is a message to everyone who’s followed me so far. I’m currently about 2 months from the end of a year of teaching in Hunan Province in China—and two months away from the wide open road. This summer, I’ll bike more than 2,500 km across China in the first phase of the project that … Continue reading T-minus 2 Months: My Climate Story, A Sketch of My Message
Note: If you haven’t yet tried to understand the perspectives of Baltimoreans who are not white and upper-middle class, please do that. Then I’ll try to contribute to an understanding of America, Reaganomics, and Injustice, based on my reading of Gustave Speth’s America the Possible. It’s a lotta text today, but please stick with me ’cause I’ve got something … Continue reading WEEKLY POST: Reaganomics and Injustice in the Light of Baltimore
360 by bike 