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A Sail to Mazatlán and the Power of the Wind

Monday, January 9th, 2006

   In all, I spent 5 days in La Paz before successfully hitching a ride on a sailboat to Mazatlán. Sean and Adrian, a couple from the San Francisco Bay area, generously let my bike and me aboard their 38 foot sailboat, the Tiki Iti.

   We took 4 days to sail the roughly 250 miles to Mazatlán. The first two nights we anchored in protected coves along southern Baja, and the second two we sailed across the Gulf of California without stop, rotating shifts at night to keep watch. Highlights included swimming to an isolated island’s shore, catching fish for dinner, watching dolphins play in the bow wave of the boat (see movie below), and feeling deathly seasick.

   The trip gave me new appreciation for the power of the wind and ocean. The first day winds blew at 20 mph and water sprayed across the deck as the truck-sized boat bobbed like a cork in a bathtub.

   Indeed, wind power will be a major energy source if we are to fight climate change. Already, many wind turbines produce electricity more cheaply than fossil fuels. There is huge potential for wind energy in the world, especially in certain places such as the north central U.S. and parts of nothern Europe.

   The major problem with wind power is that the wind doesn’t always blow. On the last two days of our voyage, the wind nearly died, and we used the diesel engine on the boat for many miles. For wind turbines, this problem can be solved by connecting the power grid to wind turbines across a continent, as although the wind may not be blowing near Chicago, it may be blowing off Cape Cod. Electricity grids, however, are highly regulated by the government, and switching to wind power will require action by the government. In other words, you need to make your representative do something if you want wind power.

   A special thanks again to Sean and Adrian, who not only agreed to share a small space with a stranger for 4 days, but were great boatmates and also took great care of me during my seasickness. I am now in Mazatlán, a large Mexican city that is both a major port and tourist destination. From here I will head inland to Durango and the center of Mexico.

Posted in Climate, Mexico | 13 Comments »

The Future of Baja’s Water

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006

    It is dry here in Baja. You may have noticed that all plants in my photos are cacti. I have not worried once about rain, and Baja’s cities average below 10 inches of rain per year. Where does the water come from that flushes the toilets in these firehouses?

Daniel and Fernando show me pumps in La Paz
Underground water for...grapefruit

   In southern Baja, almost all the water comes from underground aquifers. Two locals, Daniel and Fernando, drove me around La Paz yesterday and showed me where pipes go many tens of meters beneath the ground to find freshwater. Pipes also lead out of the town, where they draw underground water from farther away. In Ciudad de Constitución, where I was a few days earlier, the corn fields and grapefruit orchards also get their water from underground. The goat that I watched get slaughtered ate alfalfa watered from this source. Loreto, where I spent Christmas night, also relies on underground water.

    All these water sources sit close to the ocean, and, somewhere beneath the ground, there is a boundary between ocean saltwater and freshwater. If water is pumped faster than rain recharges it, saltwater gradually creeps landward, and, eventually, the well draws saltwater and becomes unusable, a common phenomenon known as salt water intrusion. This has already happened to a number of wells in La Paz, as well as all the wells in Loreto. Loreto now pumps all of its water from a valley far away.

    With climate change, the ocean is going to rise due to the melting of glaciers as well as the fact that water expands when warmer. It is expected that with a 2 to 3 degree Celsius warming this century, the ocean’s surface will likely rise half a meter this century, and much more in the following centuries (the rising oceans will be another entry here). If the ocean level is higher, the underground boundary between salt and freshwater will move inland, increasing the risk of salt water intrusions. Also, in a warmer earth, the crops near Ciudad de Constituión will require more water because evaporation will increase, thus requiring more water to be drawn from beneath the surface.

    But, with a changing climate, you may say, there might be more rainfall. This is possible. The climate models are not good at predicting future rainfall, especially on a scale as small as Baja California. For the general region of Central America and Mexico, however, the models seem to show, in general, a decrease in precipitation toward the end of the century. More likely, we will see more extremes — both more droughts and more floods, making it more difficult to predict water resources from year to year.

I'll plant the cactus field right next to the corn field...

    Unfortunately, the water sources of Baja will probably be subject to overuse long before climate change has a large effect. It seems that the water is already being used unsustainably — one study shows that Loreto has only a few years left on its second aquifer before the water runs out. And the population is growing rapidly. Whether it is second homes in Loreto for foreigners or a huge influx of people from the Mexico mainland to La Paz, the population growth will result in need for more water. Cabos San Lucas, the town on the southern tip of the peninsula (which I am not visiting), already has an expensive desalination plant to provide water for visiting tourists. Factors other than climate change currently have a much bigger effect on Baja’s water, and these problems need to be addressed now. It is likely that people are simply wasting water and not paying the full price of water. Nonetheless, climate change will only worsen the problem.

Water is for everyone, care for it

    While it may be economic to run desalination plants for tourists, it is unclear how the people of La Paz, and especially its poorer citizens, will fair once they have to pay for water. It is also unlikely that agriculture will be economic with expensive water. I wonder what the future of Ciudad de Constitución, a city built on agriculture and not tourism, will be once the wells turn salty. I wonder if future cyclists will see goats at the roadside or enjoy fresh grapefruits. And, to read more about climate change and agriculture, you will have to wait until later in Mexico….

Posted in Climate, Mexico | 5 Comments »

Centro Patria Educativo and my message in Mexico

Monday, December 12th, 2005

   Today I visted my first school in Mexico, a private school near Ensenada where most students spoke English about as well (ok ok, better) than I speak Spanish. I gave one presentation in English and one (!) in Spanish. I encourage you to click on the movie on the left.

   Right now, I am embarrassed to be from the United States. This past week Montreal held international talks about what to do after the Kyoto treaty expires. The representative for the United States, at the critical end of the talks, stood up and walked away. This is disgraceful, as the United States uses one quarter of the world’s fossil fuels.
   Stopping global warming requires the countries of the world to work together – both rich and poor. Here is why: consider a situation where the United States continues using fossil fuels but Canada imposes limits on fossil fuels. Businesses, finding fossil fuels cheaper than alternatives, will move to the United States. This would both hurt Canada’s economy and cause the United States to emite more carbon dioxide, partially offsetting Canada’s efforts.
   Here in Mexico, my message is that we must all work together, as a world, to solve this problem. I also share that there are many people in the United States who are doing something about global warming even if our president is not. I am proud that my governer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is trying to pass legislation that would help California reduce its emissions. There are mayors across the United States that have made pledges. I also share stories of student initiatives such as urally.
    I am sensitive that I cannot tell people in Mexico what to do, and that there are many problems perhaps more pressing than climate change here in Mexico. Nonetheless, even if the United States has to act before Mexico, eventually, especially in the lifetimes of the students I am visiting, we will have to work together with Mexico to reduce emissions.
   This is my message. (Of course, the students are often a bit more interested in passing around my home-made camping stove or helping me out with my Spanish.)

Posted in Climate, Schools | 8 Comments »

** Monthly Update ** California

Saturday, December 10th, 2005

   Below is my first monthlty update. If you sign up for the email list, you will get an email like this once a month. Some of it is repeated material from the rest of the journals.

   Welcome to the first official mass email of A Ride for the Climate. These once-a-month updates are for your enjoyment. I provide all-caps headers below for a number of different topics. Feel free to read only the parts that interest you!

None

QUICK SUMMARY
   I have biked over 800 miles now, arriving in San Diego via the cities of Monterey, Fresno, Ventura, and Los Angeles. I took a week off for Thanksgiving to be with family, and I have taken another week off in San Diego replacing a stolen passport See a map of my route at www.rideforclimate.com/now.php.
   From the redwoods in the bay area to Monterey Bay to the dry hills between the ocean and the central valley to the friendly tractor drivers in the central valley (all of whom wave to cyclists) to the 6,000 ft mountains near Ventura to the Pacific coast from L.A. to San Diego, California continues to amaze me. For a slide show of this adventure-by-bike, click here . (You can increase the picture resolution with the button just above the pictures.)

YOU WENT TO FRESNO? THE CENTRAL VALLEY?
   I biked to Fresno to make a statement — climate change is going to be bad for California’s central valley.
   The central valley grows a majority of the United States’ fruits and nuts, and I enjoyed biking through seemingly endless fields of vineyards, orchards and other crops.
   The strangest part of biking the central valley was the language — should I talk to people in Spanish or English? Mexican immigrants make up (I think) a majority of the population, and conversations were a mixture of Spanish and English, especially with the many friendly farm works I talked to while biking across the valley.

WHAT DOES GLOBAL WARMING MEAN FOR CALIFORNIA?
   No, we are not all going to die (this is a common response from students). The biggest problems are going to be with our water system. The Sierra Nevada mountains store an incredible amount of water as snowpack during the winter, and then release the water as snow melt during the spring and summer. We are going to lose this snow pack, and water, which is so essential to the cities and agriculture of California, will be scarcer.
   It is also likely going to get much warmer in the summer — between 4 and 15 degrees F. The lower estimate assumes we are good about reducing carbon dioxide emissions this century. The higher estimate assumes that we keep doing what we are doing. It is not hard to see that 15 degrees warmer in the central valley during the summer will be bad — it is already hot, and agriculture will likely suffer. Heat waves will be a problem, as well as increases in heat-related diseases. To read more about these findings, go to www.climatechoices.org .

SO DAVE, WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?
   I have asked many people what they know about global warming. It is interesting that a large portion of the those I have talked to say ‘it is happening and it is bad.’ I think less then a quarter of the people I talked to said ‘I haven’t made up my mind yet,’ and a smaller percentage (notably a farmer I talked to in the Central Valley) told me it was all made up.
   While people are aware of the problem, they don’t always equate their actions with the problem. The bus driver who talked for 5 minutes about global warming screwing up the world then talked about buying a large RV and driving it around the country. We need to better equate the problems of climate change with our individual actions.

CARS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

   There are a lot of them. The short story: L.A. is the least bike friendly city I have ridden in. I have put together a photo essay of cars. To read about biking L.A. go here.
   It is sad to see so many large cars on the road — SUVs and trucks use far more gas than sedans, and the single easiest way to reduce your global warming impact is to drive a smaller car. If you are looking to get a new car, I encourage you to try to get a more efficient one.
   I understand why people want bigger cars — more space, higher off the ground, and, given the design of these cities, you will spend a lot of time in your car. These large cars, though, are not safer and also cost much more. If you want to drive a large car, I encourage you to consider buying carbon credits.

TAKE ACTION
   Please consider signing the following on-line petitions:
   www.undoit.org
   If you are a student, I encourage you to consider joining the urally pledge:
   www.urally.org
   I also encourage you to consider ways you can use energy more efficiently- whether it is turning off the lights or taking the smaller car to the grocery store instead of the bigger one. It will save you money as well as help the Earth’s climate.

SCHOOL VISITS

These are schools that I visted in the United States.

   I have visited 17 different schools now, talking to almost 1,000 students.. These visits have been immensely enjoyable, and I hope those of you students on this list learned something about the world from the visits. There are pictures of every school I visited here.

THANKS TO THE GENEROUS
   Thanks to Kirsten and Tom, Luke and Heather for helping me out with meals, showers, and morale. Thanks to Heather (other Heather) for riding to Monterey with me, the Telles family for housing and feeding me, Anne Morningstar for housing and feeding me, Julia Goodnough for storing my bike and letting me crash at her place, and Sheila Walsh and her housemates Lauren and Milenia for letting me stay at their place an entire week (!) while I got a new passport. This support is the greatest way to be sponsored, and a trip like this reaffirms your belief in people.

DON’T LEAVE YOUR WALLET UNATTENDED
   Well, not all people. I left my wallet on top of my bicycle for 5 minutes at a convenience store in Camp Pendleton Naval Base just north of San Diego. My wallet, with passport inside, was stolen, forcing me to spend this week in San Diego, waiting to get a new passport.

DO YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORT NOW?
   Yes! And now, I will now make a run for the border armed with a bicycle, four panniers, and my Spanish-English dictionary. Stay tuned!

   This trip has barely begun, and there are so many more stories down the road. You will likely get an update of travels another 1,500 miles down the road, as I pass Mexico City.

David

Posted in California, Climate, Travel Summaries | No Comments »

A week in San Diego

Thursday, December 8th, 2005

   I have spent the past week in San Deigo, waiting for my parents to mail me necessary documents (birth certificate, various identification forms), filling out forms, and then waiting for my new passport to arrive. The week was enjoyably spent with a friend from college, Sheila Walsh, and her two housemates, Milania and Loren. They had an extra room for me to stay in, which was great, except when I wanted to sleep after biking far and there was a party (no, that picture on the right is not staged).
   While in San Diego, I visited Scripps Institute of Oceanography, a world class research institute. This is the home of Dr. Keeling, who first measured how carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere, producing the now famous “Keeling curve“.
   At Scripps, I attended a student-led environmental seminar, where an international relations graduate student talked about the global politics of oil. Oil plays a huge role in global politics, usually for the worse. I will revisit this topic when I visit Venezuela, a poor country where oil is one third of the economy.

   I also talked with a few scientists about their research. John Holecek, a graduate student studying aerosols, showed me around his lab. Aerosols are small particles suspended in the air, and humans are increasing their abundance. Most aerosols have a slight cooling effect on the planet, although some do contribute to warming. The effect of aerosols on the climate, although significantly less than carbon dioxide, is fairly uncertain, and a lot of current research is directed to understanding aerosols.
   I also visited David Perice, a climate modeler and programmer. He shared with me a study he recently published in the journal Science showing that the Earth’s oceans have warmed significantly in the past few decades. He remarked, “People don’t think there is a problem because we can’t see carbon dioxide. If you could see carbon dioxide, you would see the atmosphere slowly getting darker as we burn more and more fossil fuels.”

   After these discussions, I decided to explore the ocean myself. My friend Sheila and I took two surfboards, and enjoyed the waves just a few hundred yards from her office, which overlooks the ocean.

Posted in California, Climate | 3 Comments »

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