January 15 Those bright cold days that used to find their winter roosts in our valley? They haven’t returned yet this year. They had always come by now, before. But today is the same as yesterday and the days before; the air is wet enough to carry traffic sounds up from Franklin and the light comes … Continue reading A blindfold
More than 3,000 people gathered in central Manila on the morning of February 7, 2016, to push the city to dedicate more of its road space to its “carless citizens.” The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, or MMDA, partially closed a 5.5 km stretch of Roxas boulevard in the Intramuros region of the city, giving space … Continue reading 3,000 Claim Their Lane at Road Sharing Event in Manila
爥 A wildfire carried by wind, Consuming life before realization, so alive that rain-soaked moss withers and lights, Whips across miles, Like dust in a gentle breeze For the orbital lens An ember rests deep in the ashes Ripples its old light out in darkness The bond tears, the grain cracks And there, it flies free … Continue reading 爥, a poem.
Pictured above: Hanyang “Johnny” Wei stands on a beach near Hong Kong, that may soon be the site of a major liquified natural gas (LNG) importation terminal. Wei is the cofounder of CECA, the Cross-border Environmental Concern Association, which has worked successfully to reduce the project’s impact on local marine ecosystems. This piece is the second of a three-part series … Continue reading Local Climate: China’s Natural Gas Imports and the Fight for a Megacity’s Ecosystem
It may not look like much, but this developing waste management system may help communities deal with food and human waste, power public transportation and generate energy, all while lowering disease transmission rates. Biogas has faced a bumpy road so far and more challenges await, but the team of a startup project based in Southwest China thinks that now … Continue reading Untapped waste: Old technology sees new development in Southwest China
Hey, Everyone! The posts have been sparse, but what do you expect? I’ve been reading and writing, but most of these past two weeks have been taken up by two of my favorite things: family and plans for ’round-the-world adventures. For those of you just joining us, my name is Forrest Watkins and I’m cycling … Continue reading Help Fill in the Map of the 360 By Bike Silk Road Tour
Pictured: Hanyang “Johnny” Wei and the author meet in Guangzhou A natural gas pipeline may soon run 232 miles across my home state of Oregon. The proposed project would cut across rivers and creeks and slice a 96 foot swathe out of the forest along its entire route, carrying a Canadian company’s fracked gas from the … Continue reading Preview: LNG Resistance in the Pearl River Delta
This is a copy of a post that I wrote for the blog of Climate Ride, the organization that supported this phase’s fundraising efforts. It is mostly intended for readers new to the project. Hi, I’m Forrest, founder of 360bybike.com, an around the world (40,000 km) bike tour aimed at using on-the-ground storytelling to increase public … Continue reading The China Tour: 18 Photos from the First 4,559 km of My World Tour for Climate Action
On November 29, 2015 people gathered together all around the world to show their support for real and lasting action on climate change. Their actions coincided with the beginning of the final week of this year’s COP21 negotiations in Paris. The following are photos from the Hong Kong branch of those protests, organized by local group … Continue reading Worldwide Climate March: Hong Kong
Two weeks ago, violence surged further into the Western world than it has in years. The fear of injury, death, loss and repression coursed through our media, terrible images from a place like our home of a people like our tribe, suffering. In a moment of guilt we realized we hadn’t thought about the victims … Continue reading El cielo y el infierno and El desafío: Translations for Peace
360 by bike 