This will be my last blog from Copenhagen before I catch the train back to London tonight. What can I say? It has been an experience. Not always enjoyable, but definitely instructive. 

President Anote Tong of Kiribati

One of my abiding memories will be of the dinner I had on Friday night with the President of Kiribati and his delegation. The mood was bittersweet, poignant in its defiant optimism in the face of enormous disappointment – if “disappointment” can be a word adequate to describe a country’s reaction to its own death sentence.

The woman who had danced at the Kiribati side-event made a speech in which she declared, “We still still be here, we will not go down.” The irony was almost too much to bear. The President was open about his feelings, “We are trying to maintain our composure, but I am very sad… We were naive and vulnerable… I wish I was so much more ruthless.”

He acknowledged that he would face criticism at home for not having achieved more, but really, what more could they have done? They came. They presented their case to the assembly. They gave a side event demonstrating the scientists’ projections for their future – or lack of it. But they were ignored. Their voices were not heard, drowned out by the booming baritone of Big Money.

In a veiled criticism of the process that had let them down by excluding them and most of the world’s smaller and still developing nations, the President commented, “There is no exclusion in our society.” And he issued me a personal invitation to spend time with him and his family on one of the outer islands, to witness firsthand the multiple layers of their culture, to its deepest spiritual core.

After the President’s speech, the assembled delegation spontaneously burst into song. It was a beautiful sound. The President translated for the non I-Kiribati speakers. The general gist of the words was that no matter how lovely any other islands may be, there is no place so special to them as the islands of Kiribati. Yet those islands seem unlikely to survive the century, if the scientists are right.

Linda Anderson, the filmmaker who with her husband created the short movie “Kiribati – A Call To The World” (available on YouTube) -summed it up. “They play dirty, don’t they?”

They do. We have all learned a lot about the REAL rules of the game during these formative days in Denmark. And next time we will arrive better prepared. The fight for justice does not end here.

Other Notes:

Another video about Kiribati, the President, and climate change on YouTube

Hard-hitting advice from someone who understand the rules of the game: No one is going to save you fools

NGOs combine forces going forward – We’re not done yet

And a final note - Tweet posted by me yesterday, adapted and updated: Post-COPulation syndrome: a feeling of anticlimax, disillusionment, cynicism. Leading to increased fire in the belly.

(To parody the name of an infamous satirical radio show of the 1960s, That Was The Week That Was)

Have you noticed how it’s often the most long-awaited and eagerly-anticipated of events that signally fail to deliver satisfaction (while the really good and memorable things happen serendipitously and unexpectedly)? And you wake up the morning after feeling rather jaded, disappointed, and wondering just what went wrong?

Welcome to my mindset after Copenhagen.

I’ve spent most of the last year planning for this event, trying to figure out how I can be of most service. I have been virtually obsessed by COP15 – my 3 Google Alerts are my name (isn’t yours?!), “copenhagen climate change” and “copenhagen conference 2009″. As Beka of TckTckTck.org put it, “We breathe , eat and sleep this issue. We’re not going to go away on Friday just because COP15 is over.”

This morning my mood as I walked through the cold winter sunshine of central Copenhagen to the Fresh Air Centre was decidedly morning-after-the-night-before. The city squares, which for the last 2 weeks have been full of exhibits, trailers, tents, and people, were almost deserted. Everything had been broken down and removed with almost indecent haste.

National leadership - too big a ship to turn?

So, I asked myself, what was it all for? All that effort, energy, and creativity, not to mention 40,500 tons of CO2 – was it all for nothing? No fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty. No commitment to take bold action on climate change. Not even an improvement in international relationships that might bode well for future negotiations – quite the opposite, in fact, with many developing countries leaving Copenhagen feeling disenfranchised and excluded. Money proved to be the strongest player, the process weak.

I don’t know what the pundits will say, or how COP15 will be viewed by the history books. But here are some positives that I will take away from the last two weeks.

- Devolution of power to elected officials of local communities: while national leaders (well, one in particular) struggle to get a clear mandate from their governments, mayors and governors are taking matters into their own hands. I have long wondered what the ideal unit of government might be – a country of 250 million (US) or even 60 million (UK) seems too big a ship to turn – and now it seems that the answer to my question is emerging, as increasing numbers of local politicians decide to provide recycling services, mandate composting, etc, at local level.

One of the faces of the future: Dominic Frongillo

- Emergence of young leaders: as Bill McKibben said yesterday in a panel discussion at the Klimaforum, it seems patronizing to separate youth from adults. Mike Eckhart went further, and suggested that anyone over 40 should be excluded from climate discussions because they’re probably banking on being dead before the full effects are felt (although they may well be mistaken). In the last two days, two of the people who have impressed me the most have been 26-year-old Dominic Frongillo, an elected official in Caroline, New York, and a 17-year-old schoolboy from London who was helping support the Kiribati delegation. Both were eloquent, intelligent, and committed. If only the same could be said of all of their elders.

- My own evolution as an environmental campaigner: I arrived in Copenhagen naive and idealistic. While I hope I haven’t lost, and never will lose, my idealism, I now see the world more as it is, and less as I would like it to be. This is a much stronger position from which to create change in the future. Having the harsh truth come and clobber you between the eyes is not a pleasant experience, but trying to ignore it, or wishing it were otherwise, is a waste of time.

And now, on a lighter note, here are a selection of things I loved about Copenhagen:

1. Being able to sit right at the front of the Metro train – there is no driver’s cab – as it whizzes along tunnels. Feels a bit like a fairground ride.

Secret Kitchen

2. Secretkitchen.dk – my favourite place for caramel lattes and cakes, just around the corner from the downtown Fresh Air Centre. Also great juices, smoothies, soups and salads.

3. Glugg – Danish mulled wine. Marvellously onomatopoeic. As is “hygge” (pronounced hooger) which means cosy, but also sounds like a big hug.

4. Pyt! – Danish word more or less equivalent to the French “tant pis”. Nearest English equivalent is “it happens”, but this lacks the idea of letting go. Pyt! (pronounced almost with no vowel sound – PT!) is a verbal flick of the hand, surrendering the stress and putting it behind you. As eventually one needs to do about the theft of a backpack full of all cherished worldly goods.

5. Friendly natives – helpful and polite, and mostly very good at English, even when facing a major invasion of COP15 foreigners. I would particularly like to mention the wonderful Gaard family, my hosts arranged by New Life Copenhagen. They invite a total stranger (and a strange ocean-rowing stranger at that!) into their home, give her a key, allow her free run of the house. Then when her bag is stolen, lend her a credit card and laptop. Incredible kindness and generosity, but delivered in a low-key and natural way. By way of thanks I arranged with UncaDoug to have some American goodies shipped over to Denmark. They had enjoyed certain all-American foodstuffs during their year in Chicago while Soren was doing his PhD at Northwestern University. The macaroni cheese mix and Aunt Jemima’s (!!!) pancake mix went down extremely well with the two young Gaards especially.

I leave Copenhagen tomorrow, with my luggage considerably lighter, my heart a little heavier, my head a little wiser. I’ll be pondering on what has happened here, and starting to evolve my environmental mission for 2010. As 2009 draws to a close, I’m looking forward to a period of reflection and rejuvenation, and preparation for challenges of the year ahead.

Bill McKibben made me cry today.

Yesterday there were frequent snow flurries, and this morning I woke up to a white Copenhagen. On my way to the Fresh Air Centre (FAC), the downtown media hangout for COP15, I passed a department store with large cheery penguins singing along to Boney M. All very Christmassy. But I wasn’t feeling festive. I had woken up feeling angry. Last night I had attended an excellent but disturbing event at the FAC, where George Monbiot and Naomi Klein were among the panellists. To a thronged room, the panel gave their view on recent events. Here is my best effort to summarize their comments:

1. The enforced resignation of Connie Hedegaard as President of COP15 was seen as a bad thing. She had urged the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to keep up the pressure on the decision-makers. When she was asked to stand down in favour of the Prime Minister of Denmark, the official reason was that with an unprecedented number of heads of state arriving in Copenhagen, it was more appropriate that the president of the conference should also be a head of state. But some saw a more sinister agenda: the Danish Prime Minister had last week advanced a draft treaty that was close to the weak US position. This was very unpopular with the developing nations, and his succession to the COP Presidency was seen as a negative move.

Kumi Naidoo

2. Despite this bad news, some of the panellists were still urging a last-ditch attempt to seal the deal. Barry Coates, Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand, demanded that the policy-makers “bring their sleeping bags” and not leave the Bella Center until they reach agreement. Kumi Naidoo, the dynamic Chair of TckTckTck, delivered a rousing speech saying that, “It ain’t over till the thin man in Washington signs a fair, ambitious, and legally binding treaty… it’s still a Hopenhagen, not a Flopenhagen or a Nopenhagen…”. Click here to see Kumi’s open letter to Barack Obama, and to sign the petition.

Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives

3. Naomi Klein, in a voice cracking and fading after a week of too much talking, stressed the significance of the moral high ground now held by the developing nations. “Let’s get out of our nationalistic boxes and see which countries have the most moral authority, and stand with them.” She commended the work that 350.org have done in bringing the plight of the Maldives to the fore. “We need a human face to this issue.” Using hard-hitting terminology, she likened the ecological recklessness of the developed nations to genocide – if by omission to act they permit the systematic killing of a racial or cultural group by famine, drought, or warfare over diminishing resources.

But the words that hit me hardest came from George Monbiot, a British writer, environmental and political activist. He sees climate change as a symptom of the deeper problem of “sheer bloody selfishness”. The developed countries have prioritized financial growth over our shared humanity, not caring “if I swing my fist and your nose gets in my way.” He concluded a rabble-rousing speech by saying, “Those who urge that human decency is paramount must win, and those who believe we can trash other people’s right must lose.”

As I walked home last night, I reflected on the eloquence and intelligence not just of the speakers, but also of the members of the audience who asked follow-up questions. I noted with interest that the climate change believers tend to be smart people.

Their powerful speeches percolated through my mind as I slept, and I woke up feeling angry – for all the right reasons – rather than the logistical post-theft weariness that has been my first emotion on the last few mornings. I was angry at having my illusions shattered. Angry that Big Money is running the show here. Angry at the global leaders who have been so cheaply bought. Angry that the process seems to be failing, corrupted by the love of money, the root of all evil.

Candlelight vigil - all very lovely, but what have they really achieved?

I felt angry, but also stupid. How could I have been so naive? How could I have believed that we could really make a difference? It seemed to me that the Dobermanns of Big Money was going to win the day, and we were just a bunch of fleas jumping up and down and futilely squeaking our protests.

In this frame of mind it didn’t take much to reduce me to tears.

I was among the first handful of people to arrive at TckTckTck’s Fresh Air Center, and headed for the row of communal computers. Bill McKibben arrived a few minutes later, and sat at the computer next to me. As he greeted me I apologized. I had read his 350.org newsletter yesterday and knew that he was fasting today in a show of solidarity with the poor of the world. And I was sitting with a caramel latte and croissant at my side. Even worse, my latte was in a disposable cup, my lovely Sigg mug having been stolen along with everything else.

“Hey, at this stage, a coffee cup isn’t going to make much difference,” he said. He was in self-confessed bitter mood. As the talks in the Bella Center reach their most intense – and tense – stage yet, he was pessimistic. He opined that the collapse of the talks might be the best outcome we can hope for.

“And do you think there will be another COP in July?” I asked.

“We could have COPs until the end of time, and we still wouldn’t agree anything,” he said.

Bill McKibben at the march on Sunday

I looked at him, stunned and speechless. My eyes misted. I didn’t want to believe that I had just heard him say what he had just said. I have known throughout that my optimism was based on a stubborn refusal to contemplate the consequences of failure in Copenhagen, rather than on any evidence that we might get a positive outcome, but tit was nonetheless a slap in the face to hear it stated so starkly, by a man whose opinion I respect.

Bill went on to tell me his view that COP15 has been a display of naked power. He told me that small countries have been threatened by the IMF that it will withdraw its funding if they don’t toe the line. He gave an example of a small country that had been promised two new hospitals by the Chinese if it would back their position here. Money talks, and here it has been talking the message of business as usual, and continued financial growth at the expense of our poor aching Earth.

I confessed to Bill that I had been naive when I arrived here. I really thought I could make a difference. I thought that the global leaders could surely not remain unmoved by such passionate demonstrations in support of a fair, ambitious, and legally binding deal on climate change.

But it seems I was wrong. I will leave Copenhagen more jaded than I arrived, but more realistic too, and hence hopefully more effective. The theft of my backpack has not made me believe that every person is a criminal. Likewise, I’m not going to believe that every international negotiation is hopeless. The truth lies somewhere in between my former idealism and my present cynicism. To see the world as it is, rather than as I wish it was, is no bad thing.

Other Stuff:

On a sunnier note… I had a chat with Kim Nguyen, the impressive young man who cycled here from Australia for COP15. We were comparing notes on our respective plans and adventures. He pointed out that even those who represent Big Money are human beings. And human beings can change. Awareness is growing. If we can change the hearts and minds, we can change the system.

And as I’ve been writing this blog, the word is out on Twitter that Hillary Clinton has pledged USD 100 billion (although reading this article it seems less exciting than I first thought), up from the original commitment to USD 10 billion. Definitely a move in the right direction.

So the news isn’t all bad, but personally, I’m feeling despondent and exhausted. I’ve been running nonstop since I arrived back on dry land 3 months ago, and it’s catching up with me. The theft of all my most valued possessions has been quite stressful. My eyes are tired and strained from hours of squinting at a computer screen without my glasses. I haven’t been eating properly, trying to eke out scarce cash resources borrowed from friends, by eating cheaply rather than healthily. A persistent tic in my right eyelid is a clear signal that I’m nearing my limits. Physically, psychologically, and financially, I feel pretty destroyed.

But all this pales into insignificance compared with what we will lose if there is no miracle within the next 36 hours. The loss of my laptop is nothing compared with the loss of the world as we know it.

The other day during my videotaped interview with visual artist Frans Jacobi I was asked a rather awkward question: “So what access do you have to the decision-makers here in Copenhagen?”

I had to confess that my access, truth be told, is more on a spiritual level than on a direct level. Of course I would welcome an opportunity to have a chat with my mate Obama about our need for him to show strong leadership on a global move towards sustainability – but in the real world, it isn’t going to happen.

Much hilarity in the Fresh Air Center yesterday when this reporter, livestreaming from the Bella Center, was upstaged by a 350-toting polar bear

No doubt the decision-makers are aware that there is a multitude of NGOs, campaigners, scientists, bloggers, economists, activists, artists and random eco-adventurers assembled in Copenhagen, and all making a great deal of noise – demonstrations, exhibitions, side events, art installations and so on. But how much of this noise filters through the heavy doors and tight security of the Bella Center to the delegates within? Not so much, I suspect.

So what are we all doing here? Is there any point to all this frenzied activity (and all the tons of CO2 generated to get here) or is this just lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing? How open are the delegates to persuasion at this stage? Have their minds already been made up – possibly after extensive consultation with ministers, advisors, lobbyists, and captains of industry?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. I’ve been asking them for over a year now, trying to figure out what I can do to make a few waves, spread a few ripples, without being completely engulfed by the tsunami of activity around COP15. And after all this thinking I still don’t have an answer.

The Copenhagen Metro plugs Hopenhagen

All I know is that I felt an irresistible compulsion to be here. I couldn’t stand on the sidelines. I had to be here, to do what I can to make a difference. And so I write and I present and I talk to cameras and journalists and bloggers.

But most of all I am contributing my energy and intention to the cause. I might be just one of many thousands, but I have to believe that the accumulated effect of our desire for a greener future will have some influence on the politicians. To use the metaphor of the million oarstrokes it takes me to get across an ocean, one stroke doesn’t get me very far, but a million strokes carries me 3,000 miles. Likewise, my voice here may be small, but when you take the combined forces of the thousands of people in Copenhagen, and millions around the world, who are all focused on this one city and this one history-making event, and maybe, just maybe, we can make a difference.

Or to take my more recent theme that “he who controls the wind, controls all the ships” - I might just be one person standing on the shore, cheeks puffed out and blowing for all I’m worth, but if there are enough of us doing the same thing, standing on the shore and huffing and puffing, maybe we can get those ships of nations pointing the same way, moving in the same direction towards the same goal, instead of meandering around slowly on collision courses with each other.

If we all pull together, we CAN save the world!

Here's something you don't see every day. The Angry Mermaid travels home by Metro last night.

Other Stuff:

I realize here that I am veering into climate change territory – no doubt to the delight of Christopher Schmidt and the derision of the deniers. So to reassure myself, and others, that I’m standing on firm factual ground, here are 10 Facts on Climate Science – issued by the UK Government’s Act on Copenhagen team.

This afternoon I am joining in with the march from central Copenhagen to the Bella Center, followed by a candlelit vigil. I have never been on a march before – the closest I have come was the bike rally on Capitol Hill at the end of the Climate Ride in September. There have been some predictions that this afternoon could turn violent (ooh, and look -there’s a mention of my ships!) but I sincerely hope that these fears are unfounded. I am sure that most of the activists want a peaceful demonstration, and will not be happy if the event is hijacked by a small handful of troublemakers. Violence has never solved anything.

I’ll be walking with the gang from 350.org. Details of candlelight vigils around the world are on their website. It will be wonderful to imagine a global community showing solidarity with the campaigners here in Copenhagen.

[Blog written on iphone while waiting in line to pick up badge at the Bella Center this morning.]

The multitudes today at the Bella Center - and it's only going to get busier...

All the talk of cap-and-trade, cap-and-share, carbon taxes etc – if you are looking for enlightenment on what all this means, look elsewhere. I have to confess that it does my head in. While I was a management consultant working on financial settlements systems for investment banks I was sent on various accounting courses. Despite having been good at maths when I was at school, double entry bookkeeping always sent me to sleep, and the intricacies of environmental accountancy have much the same effect.

No doubt this is evidence of some character flaw on my part – laziness, or lack of diligence. But we can’t all be experts at everything, and there are plenty of people who seem to relish the economics of environmentalism, so I shall gladly leave it to them.

I suspect I am not alone in my wilful ignorance. Like most busy people, I just want to know: what’s the least I need to know, and what am I supposed to do about it?

Here is what I know: If we carry on as we are, we as a species don’t have much time left. Business as usual will leave us up the creek without any oil. The plastics and other toxins we are pumping into the land, sea and air will poison us. Destruction of the rainforests will lead to desertification and soil erosion. Billions of people will go hungry and thirsty. These scenarios do not even assume the reality of climate change. They are based simply on the incontrovertible truths of environmental pollution and habitat destruction. Simply put, we are in deep s**t. That’s a technical term.

What are we supposed to do about it? Well, that is up to each of us to decide. Personally, I would rather avoid this version of the future, or at least minimise the damage as much as possible at this belated stage. So I look at it as I would look at planning an adventure. Same principles – this is just an adventure into the future rather than across an ocean. These are the steps:

The Bella Computer Center - about 30 ranks of desks like this one

a) What is the end goal? A clean, healthy sustainable earth, ideally with people still on it, although in reduced numbers, as our current population level is probably unsustainable (see Thom Hartmann’s excellent book,The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It’s Too Late).

b) When do we want to reach our goal? The sooner the better, but let’s be realistic. We have seen in times of war and crisis just how amazingly innovative and productive humans can be when the chips are down. So let’s shoot for 2050, by which time we will probably be out of oil anyway. It would be less stressful to kick our addiction to fossil fuel by proactive choice rather than having it thrust upon us.

c) Now start at the end and work backwards. What do we need to do so we can arrive at our goal by our desired end date? What technologies do we need? What will it cost? How will we find the money? What are the top priorities and what can be relegated to the nice-to-have list?

This is not rocket science. As with most expeditions, it is unlikely that we will be 100% ready by our end date. But if we aim high, 90% of a high target is hugely preferable to 90% of a low one. As the saying goes, the best way to achieve something is to aim to achieve twice as much.

A man with the world on his mind

I do realize that this framework is very simple, maybe even simplistic. I don’t claim to be an economist, or a scientist, or even more than averagely intelligent. The only credentials I can claim are that I spend more time thinking about these things than many people, and my isolation on the ocean does give me a certain sense of perspective.

And it is that perspective that I am urging. We need to see the big picture. We keep getting sidetracked into time-wasting debates such as Climategate, petty politicking, and international disputes, fiddling while Rome burns. Imagine how an alien would see us – squabbling amongst ourselves while imminent extinction looms.

So come on, people, let’s get our collective act together, before it’s too late!

A final image from BB2B - Roz with rose from Frank

One chapter ends, another begins…. Hobbled out of BB2B and plunged straight into COP15.

Today, my first full day in Copenhagen, got off to a slightly late start. The Climate Express arrived in the Danish capital around 11pm last night, and we were directed straight up the green carpet to a welcoming party at a bar/restaurant within the station.  So what can you do when faced with free champagne and delicious-looking canapés but say “thank you very much” and partake freely? It would have been rude not to….

So it was a slightly tipsy Roz that first met Rikke Gaard, the lovely woman who has volunteered her family’s spare bedroom to a complete stranger through New Life Copenhagen. Generous householders like Rikke are accommodating thousands of visitors to COP15 – for which we are extremely grateful. It was about 1am by the time we got back to her home in the suburbs, near the airport, and I gratefully tottered off to my bedroom on the lower ground floor.

This morning I was able to get online for the first time in 36 hours, to face the resulting avalanche of emails. Buried in the morass was a message letting me know that the camera crew from the Will Steger Foundation would be ready to interview me at 10.30 this morning. I read their message at 10.25. Eeek! After firing off a quick email to let them know I would be horrendously late I got some quick directions from my hosts and headed off to the Metro stop.

Will Steger and friends

Arriving in central Copenhagen, I realized I really didn’t know where I was going. No iPhone Google Maps (due to extortionate data roaming charges) and no paper map in hand. After utterly failing to find a map shop, and getting contradictory directions from various people, I finally stumbled across a crowd of people and spotted my good friend Will Steger in their midst. Aha! And only one and a half hours late….

As it turned out, my timing was perfect. Any earlier would have been too early for them. So this is now my philosophy on COP15. There is SO much going on here, between the high level conference and the multitude of side events, that it would be impossible to come up with the perfect master plan – and I could drive myself insane even trying.

So I will go with the flow, and trust to gut feel, fate and serendipity to steer me in the “right” direction. In the midst of so much frenzied jockeying for position, these guides are as good as any.

Alison Gannett - never off duty when it comes to Saving Our Snow from the effects of climate change

And so far, the strategy is working well. After my video interview I joined UNEP for the opening of the Climate Maze and Hard Rain photo exhibition in Kongens Nytorv Square. The Mayor of Copenhagen and Achim Steiner gave rousing speeches, emphasizing the incredible importance of this historic summit. The photos, played to the accompaniment of Bob Dylan’s Hard Rain, moved me almost to tears. And I accidentally got into conversation with Achim Steiner – possibly one of the most influential, and certainly one of the most personable, people at the climate change conference.

Moving on from the freezing square into the relative warmth of the Radisson, I joined fellow BB2Been Alison Gannet for a final filmed interview with our BB2B filmmaker, Nora McDevitt, and caught up on a few emails by freeloading off the Radisson Hotel WiFii. And went for an early supper with Earth rights lawyer Polly Higgins – definitely one to watch at this conference.

But as I boarded the Metro to head home I realized I had only the haziest idea where “home” was. I had been in such a hurry in the morning that I hadn’t even noticed the name of the Metro stop where Rikke had dropped me. Eeek! This was one set of directions that gut feel wasn’t going to help me with. How embarrassing! Most people expect ocean rowers to be able to navigate their way out of anything, but there is a world of difference between navigating across an ocean and navigating an unfamiliar metro system. Eventually I had to admit defeat and with much wincing turned on the data roaming on my iPhone for the 3 minutes it took me to enter Rikke’s address and figure out the nearest metro stop. At £3 per MB I hope not to make a habit of this!

So it was with a sense of relief that I arrived at Rikke’s house tonight to be greeted by a very welcome mug of glogg (pronounced gluck, more or less) – the Danish version of mulled wine. It was a much-appreciated nightcap after a long day navigating the tricky terrains of a new city and a global summit.

Ideally I would stay up for another couple of hours to edit together a video of our BB2B walk for our sponsors Keen Footwear, but there is another busy day tomorrow and it’s already 11pm, so it may just have to wait. Sigh. It’s not easy saving the world!

Notes from today:

I have now downloaded two new apps for my iPhone that work offline, so don’t incur data charges: Metro Copenhagen and Copenhagen Offline Street Map. And also obtained a paper map of each. Phew! Now I feel more secure and less prone to navigational embarrassment!

Nice supper tonight, and probably not a bad price as Copenhagen goes – apparently recently deemed 3rd most expensive city in the world. I can recommend La Vecchia Gastronomia, Falkoner Alle 17, 2000 Frederiksberg. The mussels were especially good!

To buy Hard Rain on Amazon, here’s the link:

It’s early in a dark winter’s morning here in Grimbergen, and in a couple of hours we will set out to walk the final 10 miles into Brussels. Here are a few final details of how you can follow us online.

Roz in Belgium - entering the last few miles

Our friendly local techie, Baldwin Hopmans, has created a blog especially for the final day of BB2B. His email says: “From the moment I will join tomorrow I can make pictures and movies with a mobile phone. Then post them “live” on the picture blog (delay of 30 sec).” He aims to leave work at noon local time to come and join us, so look out for the pics and vids from about 1pm Central European Time (noon GMT, 7am EST or 4am PST).

Last night I uploaded a whole load of BB2B photos to Flickr. I haven’t had time to finish labelling them yet – that will have to wait until Copenhagen – but wanted to at least let you know they are there for your delectation.

I also created a slideshow of my favourite pictures, available now on YouTube. It’s a little rough and ready, but please make allowances for a hectic schedule on the road.

Must run – time to pack up and hit the road for the last time. This time tomorrow I will be boarding the UN’s Climate Express train from Brussels Midi station – but still a few more miles of human powered transport to go between now and then. See you in Brussels!

Laura, Jane and Roz - and lots of mud

We have just arrived in Grimbergen, which is much nicer than it sounds. And most importantly from our perspective is that it lies a mere 10 miles from Brussels. Tomorrow will be a relatively short stroll to our final destination. Funny how your perspective changes after getting used to 15-18 miles a day!

We are now sitting at our hotel hatching plans for our arrival. We have put the word out to anyone we know in Brussels, and our new best friend Frank has also notified the local media. He is here now – having handed out photocopied maps to show us exactly where we need to be and when, he and Alison are now engaged in a major debate on a whole spectrum of environmental issues, while Nora and Todd capture their animated discussion on camera.

While I am writing this blog to put out the word about tomorrow. We’d like to get as much coverage as we can. We’ve walked 250 miles to make a point about our desire for a sustainable future, and to urge global leaders to help enable this dream to come true. The more exposure we can get the better.

Tomorrow we will be walking (or hobbling, or limping!) into the small park at Schuman, proudly wearing our orange jackets and caps, and bearing our signed Earth Balls. We are hoping for a welcoming committee of journalists, TV crews, and people coming out to show their support for our cause.

If you happen to be in Belgium, or know anybody who lives here, please let them know about this happening and urge them to come along. The weather forecast is for dry conditions (phew!) and there will be 5 radiantly sunny (and relieved!) smiles to brighten up even the dullest afternoon.

So we hope to see a good bunch of people there. If we all pull together, we CAN save the world – one step/oarstroke at a time!

Other Stuff:

Please also check out Alison Gannett’s blog. She has loads of photos of our walk – plus an account of BB2B from her own unique perspective. To be honest, I haven’t had time to read it – would be interesting to find out how the view of an extreme skier differs from that of an ocean rower. I know she got a lot more excited about hills than I did!

Alison will be coming on to Copenhagen. We will be doing a joint presentation on the Climate Express on Saturday at 6pm, and have further plans to collaborate once we are at COP15.

Please also consider supporting her Kickstarter project. She is 94% of the way there, with 8 days to go!

Laura - and a lot of not very much

When I am on the ocean I dream a lot. On dry land, less so, but last night was an exception. Maybe the monotony of the landscape we have been traversing since we reached Holland has triggered the same dream response that the ocean does.

My dreams are usually not much more than a re-hash of the day’s sensory input, jumbled up into some surreal juxtapositions – but while there is less sensory input, either on the ocean or in flat, grey Dutch landscapes, it takes less time for my sleeping brain to sort and assimilate it, leaving more time and headspace for dreams of a more interesting nature.

Last night’s dream started out in amusing enough fashion. Loosely based on Pirates of the Caribbean (but unfortunately not featuring Johnny Depp – boo!) I was the captain of a ship, breaking some news to the crew. The bad news was that all our booty had been plundered by another crew of pirates. The good news was that our boat had been chartered to make the next film in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga so we were going to have enough money to keep going.

But then a particular phrase popped out, which has been reverberating around my head all day – particularly this morning as we trudged through exceptionally flat and featureless surroundings, heads down into the rain.

The phrase was: He Who Controls The Wind Controls All The Ships.

Now, this might mean nothing, but given my current near-obsession with Copenhagen, and the fact that the phrase did not evaporate with the morning light as most of my dreams do, I had to give it due consideration. It does seem particularly relevant to Copenhagen. My goal in going to the conference is a little nebulous. What do I have to offer that is not already being offered by 350.org, the Climate Project, the Climate Group, WWF, or the multitude of other NGOs and individuals descending on the Danish capital?

Sign spotted by Alison in Essex - You've made the difference!

Yet despite the smallness of my individual voice in all this hubbub, I have a powerful feeling that I do have a message that, provided I get the opportunity to deliver it, might just be the one straw on the back of the one camel that could make a difference. My message may possibly strike a chord with someone, or some people, and end up changing the chemistry of the debate. This might sound big-headed, but you just never know – and for my own satisfaction I needed to know, when I look back on 2009 and this crucial moment in human history, that I did all I could to make a difference for the good.

This phrase from my dream seems to sum up what I hope to achieve. The wind is invisible, yet incredibly powerful (and don’t we know it after walking into or across it for the last few days!). If the wind represents the invisible energy of the Copenhagen conference, and the ships represent the countries which currently are heading every which way – with some on collision course – then if the wind of change can become strong enough to get all the ships moving in the same direction, there may be hope for a satisfactory outcome.

But my next question is, what IS the wind? What is this invisible force that could make all the difference? Is it the attitude of the US? Is it the governments of China and India? Is it the NGOs? Is it public opinion? Or is it something more spiritual – the intangible energy created wherever large numbers of humans congregate, especially when united by a common focus?

I don’t know the answer, but I’d welcome comments and opinions. Given the lead-up to the conference, it might seem impossible that we will see any decisive action. But who knows – if we can generate a sufficiently powerful wind of change, we may yet achieve the miracle we need in order to create a sustainable future for humanity.

Team BB2B with new friends Philip and Melanie in Holland

As we have passed through the countryside of England and Holland it has been interesting to gauge the level of awareness amongst Joe Public. Would a mention of Copenhagen produce blank looks, or an immediate recognition?

Generally it seems that, as marketing professionals would say, the Copenhagen climate change conference enjoys good brand awareness. Most people know what we are talking about. A few examples:

The postman in Dedham not only knew all about Copenhagen, but was planning to do his bit by going to London for the climate change march on December 5th.

A couple of men working in woodland in Essex, thinning out the trees, referred to their wood as a “carbon sink”. It was interesting to find that carbon sinks are now almost as much a part of the English vocabulary as kitchen sinks.

A Dutch chiropractor who got talking with us outside the Spar supermarket in Nieuwe Tonge not only knew about Copenhagen but had his own ideas about what countries should be there and what they should say. He had some interesting things to say about American representation… before realizing that we had two Americans in our party who were listening to his every word.

By definition, the people who have stopped to engage with us have been more than averagely engaged and interested – their curiosity about us probably extends to their attitude to the world at large, so they probably read the serious newspapers and pay attention to what is going on in the world. But even so, it has been heartening to find the level of awareness of the issues, the vocabulary, and what needs to be done to address the problem.

But are people taking action? That is harder to gauge. This is a problem that I have pondered at length. My perception is that awareness and action are both on the rise, but I am also keenly aware that the people I encounter are a self-selecting sample of the more actively engaged. And I have not been in a position (yet) to gauge awareness and action in countries such as India, China and Brazil.

I am sure that much work still remains to be done. There is no time for complacency.

Other Stuff:

Thanks, all, for your lovely comments! I’ve had very intermittent email access (most blogs have been posted by my mother after very hasty turning on of data roaming for just long enough to send her an email via my iPhone – ridiculously expensive otherwise), but whenever I manage to pick up my emails I pass your messages on to the team – and we all appreciate them very much!

(This message originally posted as a comment, but now replicated here to make sure everybody sees it.)

Loads of photos now posted online at our Flickr account – PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR GALLERY!!!

Today was challenging – flat, featureless and windy. But thankfully the rain that poured down throughout the night gave us a break, and we walked in mostly dry conditions. Heads down, chins up, striding out! Now in Oude Tonge, staying at the Hotel Lely.

Treading lightly on the earth/mud

It’s not easy to tread lightly upon the earth when you have 10lb of mud on each boot, but we try….

If yesterday was the hump day, maybe today was the clump day. The forecast was for sunshine and rain – but we got very little of either. It was a day of grey skies and grey fields. Thank heavens for our bright orange jackets and baseball caps to brighten up the day. I had the feeling that orange – as well as being symbolic of change – would be just the ray of sunshine we needed to boost our spirits on a drab winter’s day. And as I increasingly find as I tune into my intuition, it has turned out to be a great success.

The only dodgy orange moment was when we entered a field past a sign saying “Beware of the bull”. Laura asked the key question: “So what are we supposed to do about it?” To which I replied, “Not wave any red hankies in its direction?” “And what about bright orange jackets?” came the rather too pertinent response.

Shorthorn bull

Luckily the bulls, although large and funny-faced, were mostly benign. After a few faintly hostile glares they ambled off out of our way.

Today the challenges were less bovine, more medical. Jane has some new boots – alas, not Keens, our sponsor’s footwear not being available in Colchester at short notice – and by swapping between her new boots and Laura’s old boots was able to adjust the pressure points on her feet at regular intervals. Alison’s knee is like a melon, but she soldiers on stoically. We are considering how to make it through the rest of our journey without anyone suffering permanent injury, and have lined up a few environmentally friendly contingency plans.

Ouch! Jane's heel

It is fascinating to think that 200 years ago – even 100 years ago – walking was THE way to travel. Our 20th/21st century bodies are just not used to walking long mileages day after day. What softies we’ve become! Yet, no matter the aches and pains, it still feels pleasantly natural and, well, HUMAN to move at walking pace. When we cross over a motorway or major road, the traffic seems to whizz by at an indecently fast pace, the smell of exhaust fumes unpleasant, and the roar of internal combustion engines displeasing to our ears. By contrast walking, for all its limitations, seems to connect us to our human heritage. We have time to notice trees and wonder at their species, we surprise rabbits by approaching unheard, we send pheasants flapping hectically out of hedgerows as we pass. We see people working in their gardens and have time to say “Good morning” and comment on the weather.

It feels good.

Tomorrow night we take the ferry. Not as environmentally low impact as we’d hoped to be, but we didn’t manage to find a sailboat to take us across – and given the weather conditions the ferry is

probably a more reliable bet than sail. Out of interest, here are the CO2 comparisons:

Options for the outwards journey:

Flying from London to Brussels produces approximately 400 kg of CO2 per person.
Train (Eurostar) produces about 20 kg of CO2.
Our choice: Walking (with ferry across the North Sea to Holland) produces only 12 kg.

And for the return journey:

Flying from Copenhagen to London produces over 360 kg of CO2.
Our choice: A train ride from Copenhagen to London produces approximately 55 kg of CO2 per passenger.

To put this in perspective:

‣ The UK’s total carbon footprint is over 500 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of over 420 million flights from New York to Los Angeles. Individuals account for 45% of this.
‣ The average carbon footprint per person in the UK is 10 tonnes. The average Indian is less than 2 tonnes and the average American or Saudi is closer to 20 tonnes.

And Alison is sitting here in the Sun Inn, Dedham (home town of the painter Constable) reminding me that if we want to save our snow – and the planet – we ALL need to get down to 2 tonnes. Wow.

Other Stuff:

Lovely mention by Act on Copenhagen, a subdivision of the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change – click here to see it.

Please support my friend David Kroodsma, veteran of the Climate Ride (bicycle ride from New York to DC), tech guy for 350.org, long distance cyclist (San Francisco to Tierra del Fuego) and all-round good guy. He is hoping to be selectedby the Huffington Post as their Hopenhagen Ambassador to report back from Copenhagen. I personally would love to see him there, and believe he would make a great correspondent. Please watch his video and vote for him here!

[All photos today: credit to Alison Gannett and her trusty iPhone!]

The World's Most Confusing Signpost

We had wondered in advance which would be our “hump day”, as the Americans call it. This might possibly have rather different connotations in the UK, but in the context of an all-female hiking group it means the toughest day, when the aches and pains have kicked in but the new fitness levels haven’t.

I’m rather hoping that today was the hump day, because if we get much more decrepit than this we might be in trouble. We were not helped today by some very muddy sections, that in mere minutes added pounds of clodded earth to our boots and further slowed our weary legs.
Jane’s feet were causing her some problems, even though her boots are very well worn in, so she decided to start a new trend – hiking loafers. Her evening shoes provided a welcome break for her feet. They did the trick surprisingly well, at least until we were able to stop at a garden centre for our lunch break and she bought some very fetching pink wellies. Of course, what she REALLY needs is some Keen boots, but we tried phoning around nearby outdoor shops, to no avail, alas.
Dodgy knees are an occupational hazard of the extreme skier, and Alison’s have undergone 8 surgeries in their lifetime. She calls them her Frankenstein knees. Today she was finding it more comfortable to jog gently rather than walk, as jogging brought into play her well-developed skier’s thighs and took the pressure off her calves.

I’m feeling a little bit of general tiredness in my ankles and hips, but otherwise not too bad. And Laura is still fit as a fiddle.

We’re all generally holding it together, and spirits are good as ever, but we are lining up a few contingency plans just in case – possibly renting a couple of bicycles for a few days when we get to Holland. We just hope that our navigator, Jane, stays the course. She might get a lot of abuse during the final “Jane miles” of the day, but we’d be lost – literally! – without her.

Tonight we are staying in Marks Tey, at the home of Laura’s brother. Luckily he wasn’t here to see 4 bedraggled, mud-coated women traipse up his driveway just before dusk.

As I sit here typing this, Jane has gone into Colchester to seek better footwear. Alison is hobbling around getting organized. Laura, as the most able-bodied member of the team and at least a near relative of the homeowner, is on cooking duties. And Mary is on her way back to her studies at the University of Essex. We are hoping her absence is only temporarily, as we’re trying to press-gang her into coming over to Holland to help us out with logistics. She has proved herself so indispensable that we will drug and abduct her if need be.

It is quite amazing how the team has already gelled. For a very random assortment of distant acquaintances, we are getting along famously. Even our various decrepitudes have not caused tempers to fray. What a team – BB2B, or not 2B…. boom, boom!

Team BB2B: Laura, Jane and Roz

Today we finally got into the groove. Days 1 and 2 were a bit stoppy-starty, but today we had no time for delay. 18 miles planned, so after stoking ourselves up with a magnificent full English breakfast at Ivy Cottage (Greensted Green) we departed promptly at 8.15am.

Last night I had woken several times to the sound of torrential rain, so had been suitably apprehensive about what kind of day would greet us, but we set out under clear blue rainwashed skies, and the first few hours of walking were a sheer joy.

The film crew also got into their groove today – largely thanks to Mary, an American student at the University of Essex and an unofficial addition to our core team. She had had to drop out of walking after Day 1 due to an old sporting injury. But for the rest of us this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Last night she carefully plotted out our route, and figured out places where our film crew car could intercept our walk. Repeatedly today we would round a corner to be greeted by the sight of a bright orange Marmot jacket on the far side of a field, camera pointed in our direction. We were able to forge on without frequent phone calls between the two halves of our team trying to arrange rendezvous points.

[Note: the carbon emissions of the camera car are being offset by Carbon Foresight, as are our ferry journeys across the North Sea to the Hook of Holland.]

Roz clambering over a stile - in style. Note the Keen boots - stood up well to the ultimate wet test today!

But the mellow late autumn weather of the morning did not last. Gradually the clouds gathered and by lunchtime we had our heads down and hoods up, battling through torrential rain and hail, our boots growing heavy with accumulated mud. I started counting paces, just as I count strokes on the ocean when the going gets tough. The difference this time was having the rest of a team around me. When the going gets tough, it’s great to have partners in grime!

Luckily we had a welcome refuge to look forward to. Some good friends live in a house rejoicing in the name of Fridays, which lay directly on our route if we took a shortcut by diverging from the Essex Way. At 1pm, just as the rain stopped, we reached the home of the Cherrys. We were able to dry ourselves out in front of their Aga stove, and gorge ourselves on hot coffee and chocolate cake. After a blissful 30 minutes in their kitchen we hit the road again feeling restored, dry, and happy, leaving little evidence of our visit but a pile of cake crumbs and a few dollops of mud.

More good news – Jane our navigator discovered that 1 mile of the route repeated itself on the other side of the map, so what had looked like 5 miles turned out to be closer to 4. Happy days! So after a shorter than expected time we entered Chatham Green and saw a sign saying “Windmill Inn 100 yds”.

Checking the map: is that a statute mile, a nautical mile, a country mile, or a Jane mile?!

So we all had to eat our words. The last couple of days we had been getting tired and looking forward to reaching our destination, and had been reassured by our esteemed navigator that we had just one more mile to go. 20 minutes later, it would appear that we STILL had one more mile to go. And et cetera. So we had started to joke that there are statute miles, nautical miles, country miles, and Jane miles.

But today we were set up to expect 18 miles, and the final tally after the Fridays shortcut and the overlap mile between one side of the map and the other was a mere (!) 16 miles, or 31,648 steps.

Just goes to show, when you aim really high, to achieve even a little less is a major achievement.

Other Stuff:

We passed through another verb-ish sounding town today: Chipping Ongar. We thought of several possible meanings for Chipping:

a)    to feel chipper, cheerful
b)    to chip away at a long journey, one step or one mile at a time
c)    to eat lots of chips to restore carbohydrates after a long day’s walking
d)    to walk briskly in an attempt to keep up with the turbo-charged Jane.

Chipping along the Essex Way - Go Team BB2B!

So we have now Wapped, Epped and Chipped our way through East London and Essex. Oh, and walked a bit too. About 45 miles down, 205ish to go. But when you’re having as much fun as we are, who’s counting?!

Nora, our American filmmaker, left us this evening after dinner. She has to go back to the US for a few days to work on another project, but plans to return by Dec 1 at the latest. She recorded our dinnertime conversation tonight as we discussed sustainability, energy security, environmental messaging, politics, business, and financial strategies for a greener – and more prosperous – future. And the great thing was that the conversation was not at all contrived. These are just the things we care about and talk about in a genuine exchange of ideas and a search for solutions.

Team BB2B is putting the world to rights, one idea and one mile at a time!

Caption: Laura with Earth Ball (NOT the one that escaped) in front of Tower Bridge

Not apocalypse now, as it might sound, but one of our Earth Balls coming a cropper early today. After a start considerably delayed by a pleasing amount of media interest in our departure from Big Ben, we set out to start our walk to Brussels, packs on backs and inflated Earth Balls on packs. We were walking along the Thames Path towards Tower Bridge when my phone rang. It was the Associated Press news agency wanting to verify a few facts.

I was just talking with them when I heard a pop and turned around to see an Earth Ball (not mine, but I’m not going to name names) float over the railings and down into the Thames. I burst out laughing, at the same time gasping in horror that we had not only lost an Earth, but also inadvertently dropped a piece of plastic in the river. I then had to explain to the AP journalist what was going on.

“We just lost Planet Earth,” I said. “Luckily, we have another nine.” Then a useful soundbite popped into my head. “Unluckily the same can’t be said of the real Earth. That’s what we’re going to Copenhagen to say. We’ve got just the one Earth, and we have to look after it. In real life, we don’t have any spares.”

And that’s really what it’s all about. We need to clean up our act, and soon, if we’re going to have a nice clean, healthy planet to live on, rather than one polluted with toxins, trash, and, errr, errant Earth Balls.

Fortunately the rest of the day passed without incident. We walked along the Thames Path for a while, then turned north along Regent’s Canal, then followed the River Lea out towards Walthamstow. After an early downpour – which unfortunately coincided exactly with our photo shoot for the press on Westminster Bridge – the skies cleared and the winter sun shone weakly on us as we walked along footpaths and towpaths through the of East London. After our late start it was nearly a couple of hours after dark by the time Jane successfully navigated us to the County Hotel in Woodford.

We have already gathered quite a healthy number of signatures on our Earth Balls – everyone from the patrons of the tiny Caffe Nero where we assembled for our pre-walk breakfast to a group of schoolchildren we met on the canal towpath.

A few thank yous are in order:

Thanks to Marmot for our lovely matching orange waterproof jackets. They looked absolutely splendid for our photo shoot this morning, brightened up an otherwise dreary day, and also made it easy for us to spot each other if the group started to stretch out too much.

Thanks to Keen for my lovely walking boots. After a mere hour of breaking in yesterday, they performed magnificently today, with nary a blister in sight.

Thanks to Sue Losson of Green People for turning up to see us off this morning, despite the inhospitable weather. And to Alan Murray of Murray PR on a great job of getting the press along to witness our departure.

And – of course – to all our backers on Kickstarter, and all the other people who emailed or texted today to wish us good luck on our walk. 15 miles down, 235 to go!

And last but not least, the wonderful women of Team BB2B – Jane, Laura, Alison, Nora, and Mary. It makes a welcome change to have company  -  and such great company too.

Time to clean up our act (Photo by Natalie Behring for Bloomberg)

Let’s forget about climate change.

WHAT??! I hear you gasp. But that’s all she’s been able to talk about ever since she got back from Kiribati. Is she having a crisis of faith?

No, I’m not. Nor am I caving in under pressure from negative comments on this blog. If 100+ days on the ocean couldn’t break my spirit, then a few naysayers don’t bother me.

All I’m saying is that from now on, my stance is going to be officially pro-sustainability rather than anti-climate change. You might think this is just playing on words, but there are two important points to be made here.

1. Focus on the positive

Regular readers might remember the mini-epiphany I had during the last stage of my row – that we need to focus on the solution rather than the problem. Click here to refresh your memory.

To quote Mother Teresa: “I was once asked why I don’t participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.” I am going to take a leaf out of that wise woman’s book, and suggest that we focus on what we DO want rather than what we DON’T want.

2. Pulling Together

For certain people, “climate change” has become an emotionally charged phrase. Reading certain comments posted on this site, and possibly the comments of Lord Monckton, it seems they perceive a global conspiracy to overthrow capitalism and democracy. They think that climate campaigners are scamming the public to line their own pockets (I can’t speak for every campaigner, but I can assure you that my pockets are most decidedly empty – and you can ask my unimpeachable mother if you doubt me). They see environmental campaigning being used as a vehicle for self-promotion and aggrandisement.

There is little to be gained by engaging in a tit-for-tat exchange of defense and counter-attack. The personal comments are just a distraction from striving towards a solution. So we’ll move swiftly on.

Both believers and deniers point at the statistics to back up their arguments. Well, we all know there are lies, damned lies, and statistics, and it is generally possible to find evidence to support any preconceived point of view. We are bombarded with so much information that it can be bewildering to try and make sense of it all, so our natural tendency is to apply filters and see only what we want to see.

Even some of my best friends are climate change deniers – and yes, I do still speak to them. They have done their research, considered the facts, and arrived at a different conclusion. I respect that. They are at least engaged, informed, and conscious. Provided that they respect me and my beliefs, then I will extend them the same courtesy.

Too much time and energy has been expended, by both sides, on attacking each other’s facts and each other’s champions. Instead of uniting mankind against a common enemy, “climate change” has instead become a divisive issue just at the time when we are most in need of unity.

So let’s forget it. Hopefully I can show that ultimately it doesn’t matter whether we believe in climate change or not – that we still actually want the same things.

Let’s instead focus on these questions:

1.    Do we agree that we live on a finite earth, and are unlikely to colonise any other planets in the near future?
2.    The first oil was drilled in 1859, just 150 years ago. We have now used around half of it. In 1996 the oil industry estimated we had only 45 years left – at 1996 rates of consumption. But consumption is escalating. Even if you think these figures are pessimistic, do we agree that oil reserves must at some point run out, given that they are a non-renewable resource?
3.    Does anybody enjoy inhaling exhaust fumes? Have you read about the appalling air quality in some Chinese cities – largely due to coal-fired power plants? Would you want to live there? If you live in LA, are you happy about the fact that 25% of your air pollution comes from China?
4.    Would you prefer that your country (whatever country that may be) is engaged in sustainable industries based on renewable energy sources? Or would you prefer that investment continues to flow into industries that depend on energy and fuel sources that must one day run out?
5.    Would you prefer that your country (again, whatever country that may be) is at the leading edge of innovation, a global leader? Or would you prefer to see your economy overtaken by other nations that preferred to invest in industries that will be sustainable, not just in the long term, but in the forever term (or at least as long as the sun continues to shine)?

So let’s raise the tone of the debate. Too often at the moment we look like schoolchildren squabbling over a toy – our most precious toy, the Earth. And the danger is that as we pull in opposite directions in our global tug of war, the Earth will end up broken – or at least unable to sustain human life. That is the worst case scenario – or maybe, from the Earth’s point of view, the best.

A new version of our logo - but one final refinement still to come...

This evening Jane emailed through an outline plan for Belgium, so for anyone who would like to join us for the whole walk, or for the European side of the journey, here we go – the combined UK and Belgium routes. Both countries well known for their beer! Well, we have to replenish our carbs somehow…

Day 1 Friday 20th November 2009
About 14 miles (5 from Big Ben to Limehouse Basin, 2.5 to the Foot Tunnel, 5 to Eltham, 2 to Sunridge Park)
10.00 am Big Ben London – meet with the media
10.30 start walk – head East along the Thames Path on the Northern side of the river
12.30 Limehouse Basin
1.15 Northern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
1.30 Southern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel then walk south through Greenwich Park, Blackheath, cross the A2 and turn to the east along Shooters Hill until turning south into Kidbrooke Grove.  Take first east into Westbrook Road and continue until the T junction with Rochester Way.  Turn south down Rochester Way and continue along, over the A2 until Bridbook Road.  Turn down Bridbrook Road (south/south/west) and continue under the A2 and into Eltham Green Road (south).  Continue southward until the A210, Eltham Road, cross the road, and cross Westhorne Avenue, turn eastward to the major roundabout and pick up Middle Park Avenue.  Continue down Middle Park Avenue until the junction with Eltham Palace Road, turn east, continue until Eltham Palace and the grounds are in front of you and pick up St John’s Walk.
3.00 Pick up St John’s Walk at Eltham Palace and follow to Mottingham, picking up the Green Chain Walk.
At Elmstead Wood leave the Green Chain Walk and walk through to Sunridge Park and the Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 1 Accommodation: Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 2 Saturday 21st November
Approximately 16 miles (10 to Eynsford and then 6 to South Street)
8.30 start from Sunridge Park Hotel – walk north/east to pick up the Green Chain Walk at the edge of Elmstead Wood.  Walk through Chislehurst west to Chislehurst Common.
9.15 Chisltehurst Common then through the edge of Park Wood and into St Paul’s Cray.  Cross the River Cray at Brooks Way, and pick up the footpath that joins to Chapmans Lane between Cray Valley Golf Club and Pauls Cray Hill Park which links to Hockenden.
From Hockenden take the eastern bridlepath and then footpath across the fields along the side of Bourne Wood crossing the railway by the footbridge and continuing until picking up the back road into Crockenhill
11.30 Centre of Crockenhill, follow the Church Road southwards and then turn east down Harvest Way and pick up the footpath at the end of the road and continue until the M25, turn south east and follow the footpath along until the subway under the motorway, continue along the path the other side, connecting up to a track that takes you through Hulberry Farm and then pick up the Darent Valley Path, traverse the railway line and into Eynesford.
12.30 Eynsford Pub: The Malt Shovel Inn
1.00 From Eynsford to in a northerly direction along the A225 until a small turning to the right signposted Prior Lane, take that and pick up the bridleway across the fields, pick up Donkey Lane, cross the A20 and continue on the footpath to Gabrielspring Wood.  Turn left towards the M20 and follow the path to the footbridge across the motorway.  Once over the motorway take the path straight ahead to the wood, entering the wood and then turning right after a short distance.  This track follows down to Speedgate Farm and the road.  Turn right at the road, continue straight across at the cross roads with Oak Racing Kennels to your left, picking up a path at the edge of the kennels to the left.  Follow that to the embankment of the M20 and in front there should be a junction with one road going under the motorway and another going away in front of you, Brands Hatch Road.  Follow the road along, taking the left hand branch and crossing straight over at the cross roads towards Ash.  At the T juncion to New Ash Green take the footpath straight ahead, joining a road again as you go past Ash Place Farm to pick up a bridleway to White Ash Wood.  Half way through the wood take the right hand path going east, cross the road picking up the path on the opposite side which takes you south eastward past another wood, picking up a track and into Ridley.  In Ridley turn left on the road and then right at the junction along Bunkers Hill towards South Street.  Continue along this road for about half a mile going straight across at the cross roads until you come into South Street.

Day 2 Accommodation: Beechfield B&B, South Street

Day 3 Sunday 22nd November
Approximately 14.5 miles (About 5.5 to Medway Bridge, then 9 miles to Thurnham)
9.00am start from South Street.  Follow Heron Hill eastward until just after the end of the village where there is a confusion of footpaths and bridlepaths.  Where the land bends to the left take the footpath to the south, then after a very short distance there should be a branch that goes south easterly over a field towards Harvel.  Take this and go into Harvel Village, turn left at the road then right at the cross roads and continue out of the village, past a road to the left and shortly after this there should be a track/footpath to the left which goes to Little Delmar Farm.  Take this track and at Little Delmar Farm you pick up the Wealdway.  Cross the road and continue southward on the Wealdway, through Lie Wood, Luson Wood and to Lockyers Hill where you pick up the road.  At the triangle road junction take the footpath to the east, and continue eastward through a wood, at this junction you should meet up with the North Downs Way which is coming up from the south.
About 2.00pm passing through Kits Coty and briefly resting at Kits Coty Brassier on the Old Chatham Road.

Day 3 Accommodation: Black Horse Inn, Pilgrims Way, Thurnham

Day 4 Monday 23rd November
About 18 miles
8.30am start from the Black Horse, going North to pick up the North Downs Way again.
North Downs Way via Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Charing (possibly stopping here for a brief rest), Dunn Street, Boughton Lees to Wye.

Day 4 Accommodation: Wye (Wife Of Bath Inn or Kings Head)

Day 5 Tuesday 24th November
Longest day: just over 20 miles
8.30am start, prompt!!  Wye to Etchinghill, past the Channel Tunnel Terminal, Folkestone, Capel-le Ferne and into Dover.

Day 5 Accommodation: Dover with ferry crossing to Calais on the morning of Day 6 (Wednesday 25th November)

BELGIUM

Day 6 (Wednesday 25th) (@10 miles)
Ferry from Dover to Calais.  Foot passengers book in 45 minutes ahead of crossing, P&O crossing takes 90 minutes.  9.15am sailing arrives 11.45 (cost on 5th Nov: £14.00 per adult)
12.00 start walking: Calais to Marck
Accommodation: Le manoir du meldick
2528, Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 62730 Marck, Pas-de-Calais, France  03 21 85 74 34‎

Day 7 (Thursday 26th) (@20 miles)
Marck to Dunkerque

Day 8 (Friday 27th) (@20 miles)
Dunkerque to Neuiwpoort

Day 9 (Saturday 28th) (@ 18 miles)
Neuiwpoort to Diksmuide

Day 10 (Sunday 29th) (about 18 miles)
Diksmuide to Ruddervoorde
Accommodation: Domein Leegendael   domeinleegendael.be
Kortrijksestraat 498
8020 Ruddervoorde, Oostkamp, Belgium  050 67 96

Day 11 (Monday 30th) (about 18 miles)
Ruddervoorde to Lotenhulle
Accommodation: Lomolen B&B   lomolenlogies.be
Lomolenstraat 112
9880 Lotenhulle, Aalter, Belgium  09 371 95 15

Day 12 (Tuesday 1st December) (about 20 miles)
Lotenhulle to Ghent

Day 13 (Wednesday 2nd) (about 18 miles)
Ghent to Appels
Accommodation: ets Jerry Pierre‎
Hoofdstraat 53
9200 Dendermonde, Belgium  052 21 14 07

Day 14 (Thursday 3rd) (about 18 miles)
Appels to Mollem
Accommodation: B&B Kezenestje    kezenestje.be
Kezeweide 33
1730 Mollem, Asse, Belgium  02 452 76 59

Peeters / B.
Voorstehoeve 42
1730 Mollem, Belgium  02 452 63 61

Day 15 (Friday 4th) (about 12 miles)
Mollem to Brussels

Our draft logo for BB2B, although likely to end up with two feet on the Earth. Two feet definitely better than one!

Hot off the press – this is our planned route for the first few days from Big Ben to Brussels. We would love it if you want to come and join us for part of our walk. Details of the second leg from Dunkerque to Brussels coming soon, when our wonderfully efficient route-planner Jane manages to get hold of some better maps for Belgium.

Note from Jane: “I have assessed the times over the first two days on a walking speed of about 3 to 3.5 miles per hour  ALL TIMES ARE APPROXIMATE (that also applies to mileages!)”

Note from me: VERY IMPORTANT! We are exploring a number of options for crossing the Channel. At the moment we are planning to take the ferry, but if a zero-carbon option becomes available we will leap at the chance. So ALL PLANS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT SHORT NOTICE! Please do check the website for updates before you set out to join us. Any changes will be posted here as soon as we know about them.

We can’t offer to arrange accommodation and food for everybody, alas – it would be logistically impossible to organize this for an unknown number of people – so you’ll need to be self-sufficient. But you WILL have the opportunity to be interviewed for our documentary, and be a part of a historic adventure!

Day 1 Friday 20th November 2009
About 14 miles (5 from Big Ben to Limehouse Basin, 2.5 to the Foot Tunnel, 5 to Eltham, 2 to Sunridge Park)
10.00 am Big Ben London – meet with the media
10.30 start walk – head East along the Thames Path on the Northern side of the river
12.30 Limehouse Basin
1.15 Northern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
1.30 Southern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel then walk south through Greenwich Park, Blackheath, cross the A2 and turn to the east along Shooters Hill until turning south into Kidbrooke Grove.  Take first east into Westbrook Road and continue until the T junction with Rochester Way.  Turn south down Rochester Way and continue along, over the A2 until Bridbook Road.  Turn down Bridbrook Road (south/south/west) and continue under the A2 and into Eltham Green Road (south).  Continue southward until the A210, Eltham Road, cross the road, and cross Westhorne Avenue, turn eastward to the major roundabout and pick up Middle Park Avenue.  Continue down Middle Park Avenue until the junction with Eltham Palace Road, turn east, continue until Eltham Palace and the grounds are in front of you and pick up St John’s Walk.
3.00 Pick up St John’s Walk at Eltham Palace and follow to Mottingham, picking up the Green Chain Walk.
At Elmstead Wood leave the Green Chain Walk and walk through to Sunridge Park and the Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 1 Accommodation: Sunridge Park Hotel

Day 2 Saturday 21st November
Approximately 16 miles (10 to Eynsford and then 6 to South Street)
8.30 start from Sunridge Park Hotel – walk north/east to pick up the Green Chain Walk at the edge of Elmstead Wood.  Walk through Chislehurst west to Chislehurst Common.
9.15 Chislehurst Common then through the edge of Park Wood and into St Paul’s Cray.  Cross the River Cray at Brooks Way, and pick up the footpath that joins to Chapmans Lane between Cray Valley Golf Club and Pauls Cray Hill Park which links to Hockenden.
From Hockenden take the eastern bridlepath and then footpath across the fields along the side of Bourne Wood crossing the railway by the footbridge and continuing until picking up the back road into Crockenhill
11.30 Centre of Crockenhill, follow the Church Road southwards and then turn east down Harvest Way and pick up the footpath at the end of the road and continue until the M25, turn south east and follow the footpath along until the subway under the motorway, continue along the path the other side, connecting up to a track that takes you through Hulberry Farm and then pick up the Darent Valley Path, traverse the railway line and into Eynesford.
12.30 Eynsford Pub: The Malt Shovel Inn
1.00 From Eynsford to in a northerly direction along the A225 until a small turning to the right signposted Prior Lane, take that and pick up the bridleway across the fields, pick up Donkey Lane, cross the A20 and continue on the footpath to Gabrielspring Wood.  Turn left towards the M20 and follow the path to the footbridge across the motorway.  Once over the motorway take the path straight ahead to the wood, entering the wood and then turning right after a short distance.  This track follows down to Speedgate Farm and the road.  Turn right at the road, continue straight across at the cross roads with Oak Racing Kennels to your left, picking up a path at the edge of the kennels to the left.  Follow that to the embankment of the M20 and in front there should be a junction with one road going under the motorway and another going away in front of you, Brands Hatch Road.  Follow the road along, taking the left hand branch and crossing straight over at the cross roads towards Ash.  At the T juncion to New Ash Green take the footpath straight ahead, joining a road again as you go past Ash Place Farm to pick up a bridleway to White Ash Wood.  Half way through the wood take the right hand path going east, cross the road picking up the path on the opposite side which takes you south eastward past another wood, picking up a track and into Ridley.  In Ridley turn left on the road and then right at the junction along Bunkers Hill towards South Street.  Continue along this road for about half a mile going straight across at the cross roads until you come into South Street.

Day 2 Accommodation: Beechfield B&B, South Street

Day 3 Sunday 22nd November
Approximately 14.5 miles (About 5.5 to Medway Bridge, then 9 miles to Thurnham)
9.00am start from South Street.  Follow Heron Hill eastward until just after the end of the village where there is a confusion of footpaths and bridlepaths.  Where the land bends to the left take the footpath to the south, then after a very short distance there should be a branch that goes south easterly over a field towards Harvel.  Take this and go into Harvel Village, turn left at the road then right at the cross roads and continue out of the village, past a road to the left and shortly after this there should be a track/footpath to the left which goes to Little Delmar Farm.  Take this track and at Little Delmar Farm you pick up the Wealdway.  Cross the road and continue southward on the Wealdway, through Lie Wood, Luson Wood and to Lockyers Hill where you pick up the road.  At the triangle road junction take the footpath to the east, and continue eastward through a wood, at this junction you should meet up with the North Downs Way which is coming up from the south.
About 2.00pm passing through Kits Coty and briefly resting at Kits Coty Brassier on the Old Chatham Road.

Day 3 Accommodation: Black Horse Inn, Pilgrims Way, Thurnham

Day 4 Monday 23rd November
About 18 miles
8.30am start from the Black Horse, going North to pick up the North Downs Way again.
North Downs Way via Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Charing (possibly stopping here for a brief rest), Dunn Street, Boughton Lees to Wye.

Day 4 Accommodation: Wye (Wife Of Bath Inn or Kings Head)

Day 5 Tuesday 24th November
Longest day: just over 20 miles
8.30am start, prompt!!  Wye to Etchinghill, past the Channel Tunnel Terminal, Folkestone, Capel-le Ferne and into Dover.

Day 5 Accommodation: Dover with ferry crossing on the morning of Day 6 (Wednesday)

Carrying the world on our shoulders (image courtesy of 350.org)

Ever had a great idea for a project, but lacked the finance to get it off the ground? You might want to check out Kickstarter, a website founded earlier this year to help small-scale projects get funding. I’m trying it out for the first time – to cover the basic costs of our walk from Big Ben to Brussels. Details of our mission follow, but first I wanted to give you my first impressions of Kickstarter.

Points to note, including some insider info from a friend who advised the creators of Kickstarter:

1. It’s all or nothing. If you don’t get to 100% of your target, you get nothing. Nada. Not a bean. And all the pledges are cancelled. So it’s better to set a slightly conservative target rather than aim too high and end up with zilch.

2. If a project gets to 40% of its target, chances are good (about 90%) that it will go on to achieve 100%. So I wrote to a few people who had previously been generous to ask them individually if they would help me achieve this critical threshold – which we have now done. It remains to be seen if we get all the way to 100%.

3. It’s not designed for charitable giving. Donors expect the rewards on offer to be commensurate with the amount pledged. So obviously, if this is going to make sense financially, it takes a bit of creative thinking to figure out rewards that will be exciting for the recipient, while not costing so much that they cancel out the value of the pledge. I found some great examples on a project to create a cartoon book called “Poorcraft”:
$1 Access to exclusive blog about the creation of the book
$5 Complete PDF of the book
$10 Signed copy of the book
$30 3 more copies of the book
$50 Thank you in the acknowledgements
$100 Page of original art
$250 Cameo in book
$500 Cameo on cover of the book
Most of these cost little or nothing to the creators of the book, but are thoughtful and special ways to acknowledge their supporters.

Overall, it seems like a great concept. I’m excited (and rather nail-bitingly nervous!) to see if it works out well for our project. Speaking of which, here it is:

The Mission:
To send a message to the COP15 conference expressing public desire for action on climate change

Background:
This summer British ocean rower Roz Savage rowed solo 2,600 miles across the Pacific from Hawaii to Kiribati, where she saw the human face of climate change. Kiribati, a scattering of small coral atolls, will be uninhabitable within the next 50 years as climate change causes rises in sea level and increasingly frequent major weather events. Click here to watch a video about Kiribati and climate change.

Big Ben to Brussels:
Roz Savage is now taking a message to the climate change conference in Copenhagen, in her role as United Nations “Climate Hero”. With a small group of friends she will set out on Nov 20 to walk 200 miles from Big Ben to Brussels, where she will join the United Nations Climate Express train for the remainder of the journey to Copenhagen.

Earth Balls:
During the walk they will gather signatures on inflatable “Earth” balls, to be delivered to the conference as a petition calling on the delegates to take decisive action on climate change so that more countries and regions do not suffer the same fate as Kiribati.

Documentary Film – The Long Walk to Copenhagen:
The walk will also be the subject of a documentary film, “The Long Walk to Copenhagen”, focusing on the walkers and the people they meet en route to show how humankind is reacting to the biggest challenge of all time.

Global Initiative – Pull Together:
The global online community will be encouraged to show solidarity with the walkers by joining Roz’s environmental mission, called Pull Together. This initiative aims to inspire people to take action on CO2 levels by walking more and driving less. Calling upon her supporters around the world to Pull Together, Roz will challenge them to match the 10,000 oar strokes she does each day on the ocean by walking 10,000 steps a day.

Online Participation:
Using photos, videos, blogs and several social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, her mission is to connect and engage people of all ages around the world, and demonstrate that every action, no matter how small it may seem, does indeed matter. http://www.rozsavage.com.

Motto:
If we all pull together, we CAN save the world!

If you want to find out more, including a little video of me talking about the project and details of the rewards on offer, then check it out here. I’d also be grateful if you would pass on this link to your network of friends and family.

Only 15 days left, and over $2,000 still to raise. Please help us reach our target!

I’d also be interested if you have any suggestions of things that you might like to see as rewards for future projects. Exclusive access to a special blog? Exclusive video updates? E-books? Let me know!

Elizabeth II - Queen for 21,900 days

Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee – 60 years  – in 2012. I can still remember the Silver Jubilee in 1977, when I was at the grand old age of 9. Mine was one of probably millions of gaudily illustrated children’s cards winging their way to her Majesty to congratulate her on her 25 years on the throne.

I remember doing an exercise at school to say what I would do if I were queen for a day. I seem to recall imposing some horrendously over-the-top punishment for dropping litter, so maybe even then I had a certain awareness of the need to take care of the Earth.

Now my decrees might be a bit different – but still mostly Earth-oriented:

- no plastic or styrofoam packaging – including takeout containers, coffee cups, and packaging on technology. ALL would have to be biodegradable – as would all doggy poop bags.

- free broadband wireless internet in every town center

- government subsidies on public transport, with schedules for trains, buses and tubes all coordinated so that it is quicker, cheaper and easier to use public transport than private cars

- massive investment in extending the network of paths for cyclists and pedestrians, so it is safe and pleasurable to use human-powered transport

- an end to global hunger, war and injustice – so we could stop fighting each other and start fighting our shared problem instead

Hmm, I think that will do for my first week in power, anyway…

From our western democratic perspective, it’s almost impossible to contemplate 60 years in power. Although 60 years of a bad ruler would obviously be undesirable, it would be interesting to see if the longer term in office encouraged a shift towards longer term thinking – in itself a kind of wisdom. We would have to think carefully how we would exercise our power if we had to live with the consequences for the next 60 years.

Our prevailing system of short term government has many advantages, but (at least) one serious flaw – it discourages leaders from addressing long-term problems. We have been aware of the possible existence of anthropogenic climate change for the last 20 years, but it was a political hot potato, being tossed rapidly from hand to hand down the years. Nobody wanted to deal with it. There was a perception that to tackle the problem would be costly, difficult, and unpopular with the electorate. So leave it to the next government.

So we are now 20 years deeper in trouble, with CO2 reaching critical levels, and still there is reluctance to hang onto the hot potato – and it’s getting hotter all the time. In Copenhagen, will our leaders finally have the moral courage to do what needs to be done for the long term future of our species – and the many other species who are suffering the side-effects of our addiction to fossil fuel? I hope so.

Public perception is changing, and decisive action on climate change would now be popular with a significant proportion of the electorate. Most people are concerned about it, and are looking for strong leadership. Although in an ideal world we would all take responsibility for going green, in the real world most people are too overburdened already. If national policy made it easier to do the right thing – to recycle, use public transport, and so on – this would be a huge step in the right direction.

Do you ever think about what you would change if you were running the world? For the purposes of this exercise in fantasy, you don’t have to get anything passed by Congress. You don’t even have to worry about whether you will be re-elected. You can choose whatever you like – a ban on facial hair, mandatory training in good manners, a three-day working week, free caramel lattes for all.

What would you do, and why?

Speaking today at London's 350 event. Photo by Mary Kadzielski.

Two phrases you don’t hear every day:

“Can I film your breasts?”

“Are you, like, a coccyx?”

The first was from a guy holding a large video camera, and was prompted by the fact I was wearing a t-shirt with the numbers “350” emblazoned across the front in bold type. “I’m not a pervert or anything,” he went on to say, somewhat less than convincingly, as he aimed his lens at my chest.

The second was from a young woman with a big smile and black dreadlocks. After I’d stood on a chair and bellowed into a megaphone to address the crowd at the London Eye, she came over to say she’d loved my speech. “You had me rolling with laughter.” I think she was referring to my comment that, “If I can row 3,000 miles across an ocean for climate change, then you can remember to turn off the lights when you leave a room.” I’m not quite sure hilarity was the desired effect, but maybe the sustainability movement needs a little humor once in a while.

In turn she made me smile when she doubtfully regarded my petite frame and said, “So are you, like, a coccyx that yells at the other people in the boat to row harder?”

Well, coccyx or coxswain, I suppose I am indeed concerned with getting people to try harder…

350 underwater in the Maldives

And that was the feeling that I took away from today’s 350 event. I am not talking about the organizers trying harder – Abi Edgar and the heroes of the Campaign Against Climate Change could not humanly have given it any more than they did today. And today has on many levels been an amazing success. According to the 350 website, people in 181 countries have staged over 5200 events to express their concern over climate change. I am sure that by the end of these amazing 24 hours, many more people will be aware of the number 350 and what it means.

But as I sat on the train on the way home, I thought about the day and whether it had succeeded. There were a lot of people there – fantastic. But there were also a lot of people NOT there, people whose Saturdays were business as usual – shopping, drinking coffee, hanging out with friends. There are 8 million people in London – why weren’t they ALL here?!

Maybe I’m just in a cup-half-empty mood – the hectic days and short nights of the book tour have finally caught up with me and I spent most of today in bed apart from the couple of hours at the London Eye – but instead of celebrating the numbers that turned up at the rally, my mind was on the absentees. My perception is that there is still too much apathy, fear and denial amongst the general public.

Will today turn out to be just another masturbatory exhibition by those who are already environmentally aware, while most people continue in ignorance of our climate crisis? Climate change affects everybody – how can we get everybody to care?

350 in Sunderbans, India

We need a shared POSITIVE vision of our green future. We need to get away from the language of sacrifice and inconvenience, and towards the language of excitement, opportunity, and potential. I am currently reading “The Great Transition”, a report by the new economics foundation, which presents a powerfully attractive picture of a sustainable world. We need more of the same. At the moment we are still focusing on the problem (climate change) rather than the solution (sustainability). And the majority of people don’t need another problem – they have enough of their own already. The sooner we make this paradigm shift towards the positive, the better.

Other Stuff:

The other speaker today was Bianca Jagger. She arrived late and discombobulated, her driver having been confused by the closure of various nearby roads and bridges, while I smugly arrived by public transport, early and relaxed… The perils of being rich and famous, hey?

My speech (or at least, what I wish I’d said):

I row across oceans to inspire people to take action on climate change. Something the ocean has taught me is that any challenge, no matter how huge, can be tackled if you break it down into little steps. When I rowed across the Atlantic it took me about a million oarstrokes. One stroke doesn’t get me very far, but you take a million tiny actions and you string them all together and you get across 3000 miles of ocean. You can achieve almost anything, if you just take it one stroke at a time.

And it’s the same with climate change. On a day like today, when we feel part of a huge global community, it’s easy to believe we can change the world. But there will be other days when maybe we feel alone, and that anything we do as individuals won’t really make a difference – that it’s just a drop in the ocean.

But every action counts. We all have it in our power to make a difference. In fact, we’re already making a difference – it’s just up to us to decide if it’s a good one or a bad one. Every time we switch the lights off, or choose to walk instead of drive, or say no to a plastic bag, it matters.

So we’re leading the way. Thank you all for making a difference for the better. Keep up the good work, have a fantastic 350 day, and together we’ll keep changing the world, heading towards a greener future, one stroke at a time.

Me with the UK's Secretary of State for the Environment and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, in London last night.

Watch the video – 350.org – In Every Corner Of The Globe

Saturday, Oct 24 is a global day of action on climate change organized by 350.org. The event is turning into a phenomenon – their website is already showing an amazing outpouring of positive action all around the world since the day of action started in the mid-Pacific several hours ago.

I am a 350.org Athlete, so this is a big day for me – so what will I be doing? I shall be in London for the Bigger Picture – Festival of Interdependence, and in Jubilee Gardens underneath the London Eye for the main 350 event, speaking alongside Bianca Jagger. After she and I have delivered our words I will join the assembled hordes to form a giant figure “5” to go with the “3” and the “0” in other major cities around the world.

The weather forecast isn’t great (I mean for London for tomorrow, as well as for the world for the foreseeable future…), but hopefully our intrepid eco-warriors will not be deterred by a little drizzle – after all, if I can row across oceans for climate change, there are no excuses! If you’re in town, come and join us!

And if you’re not in town, then sign the online petition here.

I’m also quite proud that I was instrumental in the last-minute addition of Kiribati to the list of 175 nations taking part. Thank you to John and Linda Anderson of Kiribati Video for making it happen.

Here’s what 350.org founder Bill McKibben has to say about tomorrow…

“Saturday’s the day — October 24, the International Day of Climate Action. So join the nearest 350 action knowing you’ll be part of something big. 

Very big, in fact. This campaign has gone viral–there will be over four thousand events taking place simultaneously in over 175 nations. As far as we can tell, you’ll be part of the single most widespread day of political action about any issue that our planet has ever seen.

There are too many incredible events to list in one place, but here are some of the highlights:

In Cambodia, citizens from across the country will gather at the famous Angkor Wat to take a giant 350 action photo.

In Hungary, hundreds of bathers will jump into the public baths in Budapest and do a 350 synchronized swimming performance.

In Nepal, over a thousand young people and monks will march to the Swayambhunath world heritage site temple where they will form a large 350 with traditional lanterns.

In the United States, 350 people will dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller in Seattle — because if we don’t stop global warming, we might as well be undead.

In Panama, indigenous youth will lead a moonlight vigil in Kuna Yala, their vulnerable low-lying islands off the coast of Panama, forming a 350 at sunrise.

When you’re out there marching or rallying, biking or kite-flying, singing or taking part in whatever is going on in your community, take a minute and try to imagine all the other people doing the same kind of things all around the world–every one taking the same basic scientific fact and driving it into the public consciousness.

350 is the most important number in the world–scientists have told us that it’s the most carbon dioxide we can have in the atmosphere, and now we’re making sure everyone knows.  We’ll be taking photos from all the events, projecting them on the big screens in New York’s Times Square, and delivering them to major media outlets and  hundreds of world leaders in the coming weeks.  The combined noise from these events will ensure that world leaders who gather next month at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen to create the world’s new plan on climate change will hear our call.  They will know that when negotiating the fate of our planet, there is a passionate movement out there which will hold them accountable.

After your event on Saturday, check out www.350.org, where we will show a glorious slideshow of photos from events in every corner of the earth. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished.

And if you have any doubts about where the fun in your neighborhood is on Saturday, check out this link to find an event near you.

Onwards,

Bill McKibben for the 350.org crew”

Arriving in Tarawa on Sept 6. In 40 years these islands will be uninhabitable thanks to climate change.

Thursday is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is climate change. So given that I am a passionate blogger and passionate about sustainability, how could I possibly resist the urge to contribute?!

Some people love the ocean. Some people fear it. Me? I love it, hate it, fear it, respect it, resent it, cherish it, loathe it, and frequently curse it. It brings out the best in me – and sometimes the worst. Its sheer vastness and deepness never cease to amaze me, and yet my focus is often reduced to the wave ahead.

If you go into Google Earth and rotate the globe until it centers on the Pacific, you’ll see that the ocean occupies fully half our world. There is just a sliver of California visible in the top right corner, a glimpse of Australia in the bottom left, and a smattering of islands and atolls strewn across its waters as if cast by a careless giant. From 2008 to 2010, this huge expanse of blue is my home, as I attempt to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific, using my adventure to wage a campaign of awareness and action on climate change.

So what does rowing across oceans have to do with the biggest challenge that has ever faced mankind, and which our generation is uniquely cursed and privileged to confront? This year I rowed into Kiribati – one of the small island nations that is in the front line of climate change. Their president told me how their fresh water supply will soon be contaminated by saltwater, as increasingly frequent extreme weather events send waves crashing over their fringing reef. Within 50 years his country will no longer exist, its inhabitants gone, their homes lost. This video makes me cry – the human face of climate change. Since my visit to this innocent victim of climate change, I have done a lot of thinking about the challenge we face, and what needs to be done.

I have learned a lot about myself and about life through my transition from office worker to ocean rower, and during my three long solitary ocean crossings. I have learned about course-setting, about courage, and about commitment. Less than ten years ago I was working in a London office cubicle, dissatisfied and unhappy in my life, but not knowing why I was different when all my friends seemed to find their similar lives quite acceptable. So one day I sat down and I wrote two versions of my own obituary – the one I wanted and the one I was heading for. They were dramatically different, and I knew then that a major course correction was needed. I could see that unless I made some changes, I wasn’t going to end up where I wanted to be at the end of my life.

We as a species already know that our current course is not taking us where we want to go. If we carry on as we are, we are not going to be where we want to be in five years, or ten years, or fifty years. We collectively need to change course. Just as I considered those two alternative visions of my future, and chose a different path, we need to look clearly and courageously at our options. At this fork in the road, what version of our future do we want?

There is nothing in human history that compares with climate change. Never before have we faced the very real threat of human extinction. Because the issue isn’t about saving the planet, it’s about saving humankind. At the moment we’re killing ourselves slowly, by a thousand million cuts. Since the Industrial Revolution we have adopted this crazy consumerist ethos, where we suck the goodness out of the earth, turn it into stuff, and then throw the stuff into landfill. Whether you believe in climate change or not, whichever way you look at our models of manufacture, production and disposal, they just don’t stack up. All it needs is a bit of common sense to see that we are on an unsustainable path.

But human beings are not good at change. We resist it. Our self-preserving ego says to us, you’ve stayed alive this long by keeping things exactly as they are. If you change to something new, it might be dangerous. It might kill you. Let’s stick with the status quo.

And so we continue to fiddle around the issue, pointing fingers of blame at other countries while we all go to hell in a handcart. It comes down to fear – of what will happen if we don’t do something – rising oceans, water shortages, population displacement, desertification, starvation – and there is fear of what will happen if we DO do something – impact on the economy, loss of competitive advantage, effects on standard of living, loss of popularity with the electorate. We need to find the courage to see clearly what is happening, and to take the first steps towards a solution.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage comes from having such a powerful reason WHY that it overcomes the fear. Courage is having the moral gumption to recognize that the path is going to be hard, but going down that path anyway because you know that in the long run it is the right thing, for the planet, for humankind, for you.

And the good news is that we really only need the courage to take the first step. Once that step has been taken and the commitment made, it only gets easier after that.

So how do we find that courage?

First, we need to face the fact that we have a problem. We need to get our heads out of the sand and open our eyes.

Second, we need to believe that we are worth saving. Yes, we’ve made a right royal mess of things in the very short time we’ve been on this planet, but it’s not too late. There is still everything to play for.

And third, we need to create a SHARED VISION of the future we want – and work steadily towards it. If we are going to be carbon neutral by 2050, what steps do we need to take to get there? The future is the sum of the way we live our todays. There WILL be tough times ahead, when we wonder if it is worth the struggle, but when those times come we will remind ourselves of our shared vision, and it will give us the motivation to keep on going. We CAN do it, if we all pull together to create a better, greener future – one stroke at a time.

Other Stuff:

For the benefit of my regular readers, a quick update. I’m still in the whirlwind of the book tour for Rowing The Atlantic. Having humungous fun, and being spoiled rotten. The book is selling well, with some wonderful reviews on Amazon. Keep up with my whistle-stop progress via Twitter as I enter the final few days of the tour. You still have the chance to catch me in Seattle (if you move VERY quickly!), Boston or at National Geographic in Washington, DC.

Today has been amazing. the final 68 miles passed like a dream. We brought it on home – all the way to the Capitol. 150 riders all cycling into Washington DC to deliver a message on climate change.

Much more to come, but right now it’s gone midnight and I’ve been up since 6am and it’s been a big day. In short summary, 5 incredible days, many new friends, many miles crossed, many hills climbed. Although I don’t have the energy left for a full post (had 2 meetings this evening as soon as the Climate Ride finished) then check out the official website for today’s news. Tons of photos, blogs, and all-round entertainment. I wish I could keep my eyes open long enough to check it out, but from my quick skim it looks like a fun and rich overview of our incredible final day.

A West Coast Climate Ride is happening next May. I will be on the ocean, but if you can make it, please do! I just wish I could be there. San Francisco to Sacramento – important cause, and your chance to make a difference. Just seeing the calibre and the reactions of the politicians and diplomats who embraced our cause today made me realize just what we had achieved. I can’t tell you what a buzz it was to be a part of this. Do it if you can!

And incidentally, it’s great for your body too – I have eaten for England these last 5 days and have still lost weight. And my thighs have totally changed shape – for the better. This Climate Ride just scores on all counts – good for your body, and good for the planet!

Friis Arne Petersen, Danish Ambassador to USA, Talks at Climate Ride 2009

Today the energy flagged. I thought it was just me, and my lack of biking fitness taking its toll, but almost everyone I’ve spoken to has felt the accumulated weariness of 4 days and 234 miles. Even the pretty Maryland countryside failed to revive flagging spirits, and the rolling hills – some of which rolled just a bit too steeply – taxed our tired legs.

But this evening the energy stepped up again, with presentations by the Danish Ambassador, and Mike Tidwell of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, both of whom had some very interesting and stimulating thoughts on what needs to be done about climate change and what might happen in Copenhagen. Both the speakers participated in the ride today – very impressive.

Some of us are already planning a Climate Ride reunion in Copenhagen. Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out how I can be of most use in the run-up to the conference. My presentation last night seems to have been extremely well received. I’ve been very touched and flattered by the number of people who have come up to me with all kinds of comments and compliments – on the video, the presentation, my speaking style, the substance of my speech, and my perception of what we need to do collectively to take action on climate change.

But seriously – who could have wished for a warmer or more supportive audience?! The true challenge will be how to elicit a similar response from a more conservative audience. With all due humility, I want to do my utmost to help ensure a positive outcome in Copenhagen, and at the moment am thinking of little else.

Tonight we are staying in the beautiful Pearlstone Conference Center. When I walked into my shared room and saw the two huge double beds and the private bathroom, it felt like I’d arrived in heaven. At last I can dry out some of the stuff that has been wet since Day 1 of the ride. I am writing this blog sitting in front of the gas fire in the lobby, enjoying its toasty warmth despite feeling slightly guilty about the fossil fuel it is burning. My green guilt gauge is obviously on high alert after 5 days of hanging around with such keen greens!

Writing this in haste. Early start tomorrow. Bike rally in DC starts at 3.30pm – and we have to cover 68 miles before then!

Other Stuff:

My minor injuries from yesterday were no trouble today. The nurse embarrassed me by applying an enormous dressing over my knee to protect it – way out of all proportion to the actual injury!

Today’s drama was a flat tire. Thanks to Michael Proulx for helping out a fellow Climate Rider in distress! I’ve been seriously impressed by just how NICE all these people are! Are greens the new good Samaritans?!

Watch out for us tomorrow – hopefully there will be coverage of our DC bike rally in the media. I’ve never taken part in a political(ish) rally before – I’m excited!

Roz at the start of the Climate Ride - outside CBS in New York (photo by Dave Koodsma)

Seems to me that the Climate Ride is going to have a lot in common with ocean rowing. It makes me yearn for a massage, and leaves my butt sore. The big difference is that the scenery is a lot more varied, and the company is a lot more stimulating than during my solitary mid-ocean existence.

This morning the 100-plus riders set out early from the zoo in Central Park – but only a couple of hundred yards to CBS Plaza. After waving and cheering and being suitably “peppy” as instructed at the cameras for the Early Show we pedaled down Fifth Avenue at a leisurely pace, made even more leisurely by frequent stops at traffic lights, and then across town to take the Seastreak ferry to New Jersey. Then it was time to get down to some legwork for some serious pedaling en route to Princeton. A few early hills had me worried, but the pace was relaxed, and chatting with people along the way took my mind off the tiredness in my legs.

For a while we passed through endless suburbs, past some huge McMansions on enormous plots, before the landscape became more rural. I was humbled when I found out that my two immediate companions had both (separately) cycled the length of the Americas, clocking up 14,000 and 16,000 miles respectively. Today’s target of 55 miles suddenly paled into insignificance. But the weather was perfect and my borrowed bicycle,  donated by Backroads, cruised along easily.

But even the most comfortable bicycle doesn’t always have the most comfortable saddle, and my saddle soreness was exacerbated by the fact that on the ocean my gluteus maximus had become gluteus minimus after 104 days of not walking. So for the last hour or so of the day I was getting quite keen to get out of the saddle and it was a relief when the road started to meander through the picturesque and historic Princeton campus and I knew the end of the road, for today at least, was drawing nigh.

It was about 4pm when I got to the Princeton YMCA where we are camping tonight. After settling into my tent and having a hot shower the aches and pains of the day were already fading. I am writing this as I sit in my tent, between dinner and the evening’s presentations.

Pedal power - Roz en route from NYC to Princeton (photo by Thom Wallace)

It has been a good day. I’ve been really impressed by the level of organization. The organizers have excelled themselves in setting me up with everything I needed for the ride. Without their help I couldn’t have done it, but they provided me with a bicycle, cycling shorts, jerseys, tent, sleeping bag and camping mat. Each day we are given our DAAG (Day At A Glance) that gives the schedule for departures, mealtimes, presentations etc. Our routes are marked by signs at every junction. If we still manage to get lost, comprehensive handouts giving maps, mileages and directions help us get back on track. Meals and snacks are delicious and plentiful. And everything is utterly green – no disposable cups, plates or silverware. Tonight we were given some cool handouts – thermal mugs with fold-down carabiner handles. A lot of swag is not particularly useful, but this is definitely a keeper. Our Climate Ride cycling jerseys are really cool too.

But the best thing about the day has been the people that I’ve met. Many are involved in environmental work of some sort – environmental advisors and impact assessors, campaigners and advocates, volunteers and nonprofit workers. Amidst many topics of conversation, much has been about climate change and Copenhagen. The overall mood seems to be optimistic – but of course this is a self-selecting sample of people who already care about the environment and in the course of their work will generally come across kindred spirits.

I’d love to know what the bigger picture looks like. ARE people becoming more aware? In the UK? In the US? Elsewhere? What do you think? What is your perception? Do you come across examples of the extremes of attitudes, and/or indifference and apathy? I’d love to know! Post your comments and give me your thoughts.

And meanwhile, check out the ClimateRideLive.org website and take a look at the other blogs, photos and Tweets from the day. See you here next year?! Sign up now.

Today’s stats: 55 miles, 4 hours, 896 calories, countless friends!

Because I haven’t had enough exercise for one year (?!) I am going to be taking part in the Brita Climate Ride, a “climate conference on wheels”, riding 300 miles from New York City to Washington DC to deliver a message to the Capitol on climate change. I’ll be giving a presentation to the other riders on the 28th. I will, of course, be blogging and tweeting from the road. Follow me here to find out if I manage to rediscover my biking muscles sufficiently to keep up with the crowd!

If you’re in the DC area, you can join in with the final rally, and make your voice heard at the Capitol. Here’s what you need to know…

Join Climate Riders as they arrive at the US Capitol on Wednesday, September 30th!

Pedal with 100+ Climate Riders, several ambassadors from around the world, and supporters from the DC area to bicycle the final three miles of their 300 mile journey from New York City. We’ll pedal up Constitution Ave to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for the Climate Ride finale and rally, where we will be calling for action in the Senate and at COP15.

Here is the Climate Ride bike rally information:

WHAT: Climate Ride, a 300-mile benefit bike ride to raise awareness of climate change and clean energy opportunities and COP15, beginning in NYC and ending with a rally at the U.S. Capitol.

WHEN: September 30th, 3:15pm.  Riders will gather at Thompson Boat Center (corner of Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Ave NW) at 3:15pm for a 3:30 en masse departure to the US Capitol. see map below.
You can also meet us at 3:45 PM on the West Lawn of the Capitol for the rally.

WHERE: Riders will pedal up Constitution Ave. to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for a rally.

WHO: Audience: 100+ Climate Riders,  Ambassadors riding bicycles from Denmark, Switzerland,  Liechtenstein, Romania, Azerbaijan, New Zealand, Slovenia, Luxembourg, (and more), non-profit partners and supporters from the DC area.

Speakers include:  Senator Ben Cardin (MD), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR), head of the Congressional Bike Caucus, Congressman Dennis Kucinich; Betsy Taylor of 1Sky; Alisa Gravitz, Executive Director Green America; Keith Laughlin, President Rails to Trails Conservancy and more members of Congress (TBA).

WHY: To call for action in the Senate and at COP15 on climate policy.

Media will be there–this is a great awareness-raising event, so don’t miss it! We will have a photo opportunity at the Capitol with an Associated Press (AP) photographer and other professional photographers.

If you believe that the time is now to take bold action on climate change and renewable energy, join us and make your voice heard!
CONTACT: Caeli Quinn, Climate Ride Co-Founder, at [email protected]

Day 32

Today was a good day for fishy-spotting. The ocean was rough, and as a
big wave passed under my boat and out the other side I noticed several
fish silhouetted in the peak of the wave. I got out my waterproof video
camera and dangled my arm over the side, trying to get shots of the
ghostly forms as they filed past under my boat, heading from east to
west.

Unfortunately my faithful followers got jealous of these
Johnny-come-latelies stealing the limelight and kept getting in the way,
hamming it up in front of the camera lens. These are the dark stripey
chappies who regularly hang out in the shade under my boat, using it as
a kind of mobile marine parasol. My friend Sarah Outen (currently rowing
the Indian Ocean – see sarahouten.co.uk) tells me these are pilot fish.
More like prima donna fish if you ask me.

But they're quite cute – and in fact, because they were so keen to get
up close and personal with the camera I got much better shots of them
than I did of their more aloof cousins cruising lower down.

Later on this afternoon my eye was caught by a blue fish doing a
backflip. Twice. Not quite sure what it was up to, but it leaped clear
of the water in a vertical motion – maybe to escape a predator, or maybe
just for the sheer joy of it. But it didn't do it again, and so remained
unphotographed.

So, attention-seeking little critters that they are, the pilot fish are
the ones that make it into tonight's photo slot. If nothing excitingly
photogenic happens tomorrow (like a row of porpoises dancing the cancan,
or a shark eating my rudder for breakfast) then I'll post a pic of the
other guys on my next blog.

[photo: pilot fish against the underside of my boat. The black loop is
the grabline that I use to get back on board. Hmmm, looks like it's time
to go scrub barnacles again!]

Other Stuff:

IMPORTANT ECO UPDATE FOR AMERICANS

Here's the scoop: there is a seriously important climate change bill
going before Congress this Friday for a vote. When I was in Nashville
for the Climate Project conference just before I embarked on this
voyage, this bill was the topic on everybody's lips. They were very
excited about its potential to put America at the forefront of action on
climate change.

It's called the Waxman Markey Bill – also known as the American Clean
Energy Security Act. This historic piece of legislation is long overdue
and would be a major step in the right direction. This bill will achieve
REAL carbon reductions by 2020 and passing it would send a message to
the world that the U.S. is serious about solving the climate crisis NOW.
Not only that, but it would help create a new green economy, creating
about 1.7 million new jobs.

Now, I'm not American so you could say this is none of my business, but
climate change is everybody's business, no matter what country we're
from. This issue does not recognize national boundaries. As Al Gore said
yesterday, "The rest of the world will follow OUR lead. The next
generation is counting on us. Our economy and our planet cannot afford
to wait."

So please call or write to your Representative, asking them to vote in
favor of this bill. A very easy way to do this is to go to
www.repoweramerica.org and add your name to the petition. Nicole tells me
that she called her Representatives in Arizona and left a voicemail this
afternoon urging their action on this as a registered voter and taxpayer.
You can do the same.

And if you're not an American, you don't need to feel left out. This
December in Copenhagen representatives from all over the world will be
gathering to decide what to do about climate change. Let them know you
care. Let them know what kind of a future YOU want. Write to your
government and your representatives and make your views known. It all
counts!

Other, Other Stuff:

Nicole is going to be on the Andy Bumatai show tomorrow to give everyone
an update on my progress. You can watch it at www.TheAndyBumataiShow.com
at 1 pm Hawaii time. She will probably be up at the top of the show. The
video will be posted to YouTube shortly thereafter.

Nicole predicts that I will cross the 1,000 mile mark at about 1am Hawaii
time tonight. So raise me a glass and wish me luck for the next 1,000!

I seem to be in the wars. Following on from yesterday's strained
pectoral, today I took a tumble and found myself sitting down rather
abruptly – and not on a seat, unfortunately. I landed on the end of one
of my seat runners, where lives a removable pin with a ring on the top –
the imprint of which is now firmly embossed on my right buttock. It bled
a little so I duly daubed it in disinfectant but am having extreme
difficulty in applying a band-aid to a wound I can't see. Most
inconvenient.

Conditions continue rough and windy, with all the weather coming from
the East. But I continue to plod stoically south as much as I can. It
would be much easier to go with the wind and the waves. But then I'd
probably end up in the Philippines – which isn't the game plan.

Crescent moon: was sighted at sunset, around 1930 HST or 2030 local
time. But I suspect this is too late to be of interest to the crescent
moon spotters. Sorry!

Weather report:

Position at 2100 HST: 12 28.815N, 168 11.212W
Wind:15-22kts, E
Seas: 7-9ft, E
Weather: sunny, about 5-10% cloud, cumulus and cirrus mostly

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

As of Monday, 22 Jun 2009. The easterly trade winds bump up a notch
above 20kts and seas increase to the 10ft range until tomorrow. Then
abate to below 20kts, increase again on the 25th. Seas 7-10ft.

Sky conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy with variable cloud cover next
five days. Very isolated rainshowers. The Inter-Tropical Convergence
Zone (ITCZ) has quieted down since last report. This is an area of
converging winds from the northern and southern hemisphere which can
cause convective activity which increase the chance of heavy
rainshowers, thunderstorms, and lightning. Presently, the ITCZ lies
between 8-10N.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
22/1800-23/1200 ENE-E 17-23 7-10
23/1200-25/1800 ENE-E 13-18 6-9
25/1800-27/1800 ENE-E 17-22 8-10

Today is World Environment Day — and as I mentioned in my blog
yesterday, I'm very proud to be working with the United Nations
Environment Programme to help inspire others to take action now on
climate change. My mission this year is called Pull Together, and I'm
asking you all to walk more and drive less, matching my 10,000 oar
strokes a day with 10,000 steps.

Pull Together will continue even beyond my completion of Stage 2 of
the Pacific Row. On October 24th, I'll begin a walk from London to
Copenhagen to help drive home the message that global action is needed
RIGHT NOW on climate change. I'll arrive in Copenhagen just as the
world's governments come together to discuss a new climate change
agreement. It's called COP15 – you'll be hearing about it much more in
the news in the months ahead. The new agreement must be ambitious,
fair and effective in reducing emissions while assisting countries as
they adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change.

Time is absolutely precious. The latest science shows our climate is
changing more rapidly than previously estimated. The effects of
climate change impact us all and will radically alter our way of life.
Leadership at the highest level is needed to protect the planet, save
lives, and build a more sustainable global economy for all.

This year my row and the walk from London to Copenhagen are my way of
getting world leaders to "Seal the Deal" in Copenhagen. What can you
do to help? Well, for starters, you can join me in my Pull Together
effort! You can also check out UNEP's Seal the Deal campaign by
visiting www.sealthedeal2009.org to sign the online petition or to
learn more about UNEP activities taking place in your home town.

I'd love to hear YOUR ideas about ways that you and your family will
help be a part of the solution to this, the most important global
crisis we currently face. I am absolutely certain that if we all PULL
TOGETHER, we CAN and WILL save the world.

[photo: taken tonight at sunset]

Other Stuff:

I now feel like I'm out in the open ocean. The waves have been much
larger today than previously – possibly because I am now beyond the lee
of the Big Island of Hawaii. Anyway, the bigger seas, and being south of
the Big Island, combine to make me feel that I have now left Hawaii
behind. And it is with mixed feelings that I realize I am now beyond the
reach of the US Coast Guard (see 2007…).

This morning I woke to find 4 birds hanging out on my fore cabin, and
overnight they had deposited a huge quantity of poo. I shooed them away
and tried to scrub away the evidence, but it has got quite ingrained in
the texture of the solar panels, and is tenacious sticky stuff that is
very difficult to shift. Grrr.

I've been taking it easy on the rowing front today. I've been struggling
with various skin issues that, errr, to put it delicately, were making
it quite painful to sit and row for prolonged periods. So after a few
hours rowing this morning, I've spent most of the rest of the day lying
on my front and anointing my backside with tea tree oil.

From trying to save the world to scrubbing bird poop to oiling my bum.
All part of the rich and varied life of an ocean rower….

Weather:

Position at 1930 HST: 18 17.484N, 160 40.674W
Wind: 20kts E
Sea: Waves and swell from E, waves steep at times, 8ft approx, getting
less rough towards evening

Weather forecast courtesy of weatherguy.com:

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
05/1800-06/0300 E-ENE 15-20 4-5
06/0300-07/1200 E-ENE 18-23 5-6
07/1200-10/0000 E-ENE 16-21 4-6

Partly cloudy with a slight chance of rainshowers.

Today I was listening to the audiobook of Cold Mountain, overall not the
most cheery of books, with a pretty dark view of human nature and an
almost ridiculously tragic ending. But I really enjoyed the passages
where the urban Ada is learning from Ruby how to manage their
smallholding, working with the rhythms of nature to ensure the success
of their crops and livestock. Ruby has acquired her knowledge from her
elders and her own observations what works and what doesn't. She simply
knows How To Live, how to work the land in a sustainable way.

One day, maybe, I'd like to have my own smallholding – it must be
wonderful to feel self-sufficient and self-reliant, knowing in a very
direct way where your food and your water come from. I'd need a Ruby (or
a Ruben), though, to show me how to do it – at the moment my
self-sufficiency skills extend only as far as growing beansprouts and
running a solar-powered watermaker.

I might lack the practical skills, but conceptually I think I get it.
Being out on the ocean puts me very much back in touch with the bigger
scheme of the natural world. I'm much more aware of the phases of the
moon (currently about three quarters full, waxing) and the time of
moonrise and moonset, sunrise and sunset.

I notice these things more out here because they matter. Will I be able
to see if I carry on rowing into the night? Or is it a new moon? Or is
there a moon, but it has squandered its light during the day and will
have set by the time I need it?

By contrast life on dry land seems so very far removed from the
elements. It feels good to reconnect.

[photo: After yesterday's badly behaved animal companions, here are some
much better behaved shipmates: from L to R - Quackers the duck,
Squishie the Dolphin, Quackers II (from Yorkshire), and Robin (from New
York).]

Other stuff:

I'm honored to be working with the United Nations Environment Program this
year — and as a UNEP Climate Hero, I want to remind you all that this
Friday, June 5th is World Environment Day. If you're on Twitter, be sure
to add UNEPandYou to your follow list right away. For every follower they
get by Friday, they'll plant one tree.

Trees and forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since
they absorb carbon dioxide. Tree planting is one of the most cost-
effective things we can do RIGHT NOW to address climate change. So
please, join me and join UNEP in this important campaign! Be sure to
check out UNEP.org for more information.

Today has been hot, hot, hot. The sun rose like a red ball, and apart
from occasionally retreating behind a cloud has been slowly baking me to
a crisp all day. With the wind from the East, while I aim my bows south,
it has been another long, slow day of rowing across the waves.

The other day I was asked what my perfect ice cream would be, and this
important question has necessitated lengthy consideration. My two best
ever ice cream memories are:
a) Emack and Bolio ice cream from the store on 7th Avenue in New
York – maple pecan flavor
b) A rum and raisin ice cream I once had at Henley Royal Regatta in
England, from the New Forest, I think.
With these in mind, my dream ice cream, with a suitably tropical/Pacific
theme, would be (of course) made with organic cream, and would be
studded with rum-soaked raisins and butter toffee pecans, with a swirl
of caramel for good measure.

I've been trying to think of a good name.
Paddler's Pleasure?
Pacadamia Perfection?
Too bad I don't like raspberry ice cream (put off by fake pink
flavoring) or we could create a Rozberry Ripple.
So how about Rozilicious Nut and Raisin?!

Crave of the Day: the ice cream above!

Rave of the Day: Chia and Pumpkin rawfood crackers dunked in raw
chocolate syrup made by Wilderness Family Naturals. Absolutely
delicious! Could only be improved by being served a la mode…

Weather:

Wind: 5-12kts from the East
Swell: 4-6ft from the East

Weather forecast, courtesy of weatherguy.com:

Wind speeds have increased by 2kts indicating they are on
the uptrend. Easterly trades still slowly increase but should reach the
20kt range by Friday morning. As trades increase, they may be shifty
with variable wind speeds until settling down around 15-17kts.

Forecast below is for a SWerly course.
Date/Time HST Wind kts Seas (ft)
03/1800-04/0000 E-ENE 7-13 4-5
04/0000-09/0000 E-ENE 15-22 4-6

Mostly clear and sunny with a few clouds and little chance of
rainshowers.

For those of you who regularly read my blogs and Twitter posts, you know that this year, my mission is all about Climate Change. Very soon, I’ll be officially unveiling my initiative for Stage 2 of the Pacific crossing – which I am so excited to share with you when the time is right – but not yet. Today, I have some very exciting news to tell you: I am pleased and honoured to announce an exciting partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). They have created a campaign called Climate Heroes, and yours truly has been named one of them.

The concept is born out of the UN-wide call for the world to UNite to Combat Climate Change in the lead up to the critical negotiations taking place this December in Copenhagen.

According to the UNEP team, “the Climate Heroes platform supports a select group who are undertaking exceptional personal feats, high-profile expeditions and other innovative acts of environmental activism to demonstrate their commitment and to raise awareness for one simple idea: Your planet needs You! These projects highlight environmental “hot topics” like CO2 output, plastic usage and tree planting.

“The ultimate goal of the collaboration between UNEP and the Climate Heroes is to build interest, inspiration and momentum to motivate action. Participating under the global banner, UNite to Combat Climate Change, their acts, and the attention they generate, will give voice to the movement of individuals and organizations across the globe who care about the state of our planet and want to see real change and real commitment. This commitment should be demonstrated by governments with a ratification of the proposals set forth in Copenhagen. The call to action for this outcome is called Seal the Deal.”

Ultimately, this is a call for each of us to do what we can: from adopting the simplest habits, like taking a reusable grocery bag to the store or a reusable mug to the coffee shop. Part of why I’m so thrilled to be partnering with UNEP is because I’m a firm believer in the accumulation of individual choices and actions. Through our united efforts, we can all be Climate Heroes and together, we can make a world of difference!

UNEP World Environment Day…the 30 day countdown begins now!
Commemorated yearly on 5 June, World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

On World Environment Day, UNEP endeavors to:
• Give a human face to environmental issues
• Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development
• Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues
• Advocate partnerships which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future

So this year, in honor of World Environment Day, UNEP is joining the Twitter revolution! They are pledging to plant a tree for every follower that they reach until 5 June, with a goal of at least 100,000 people. Tree planting is an important way to help recapture CO2 emissions – Prince Charles is a big fan of this method, and so am I!

You know how much I love to Twitter… So, let’s all pull together in this effort. It’s easy: just visit www.twitter.com/UNEPandYou and add them to your Twitter feed. Spread the word to your friends and family and help us blow that goal of 100,000 followers out of the water!

To reward you for your efforts, for the next 30 days Team Roz will be Tweeting “Do Something Tips” – ideas and suggestions for ways you can take simple actions right now to green your daily routine, reduce the amount of waste you generate and the amount of carbon you emit.

So, come on…join us! And spread the word…

Other Stuff:

Tonight I went to an event run by Jack Johnson’s Kokua Hawaii Foundation at a local school here on Hawaii’s North Shore. It included a screening of the film “Message in the Waves”, featuring various local Hawaiian heroes – and some shocking footage of plastic pollution killing animals and polluting the oceans.

But it ended on an upbeat note, with Jack Johnson singing “Reduce Reuse Recycle” – leading the way and telling us all what we can do to stop the problem at source. It’s not rocket science – so here’s something we can all do starting now. On my one-hour walk this morning I was able to pick up about 10 pieces of rubbish and put them where they do the least damage – in the bin. It all helps…

For those of you who regularly read my blogs and Twitter posts, you know that this year, my mission is all about Climate Change. Very soon, I’ll be officially unveiling my initiative for Stage 2 of the Pacific crossing – which I am so excited to share with you when the time is right – but not yet. Today, I have some very exciting news to tell you: I am pleased and honoured to announce an exciting partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). They have created a campaign called Climate Heroes, and yours truly has been named one of them.

The concept is born out of the UN-wide call for the world to UNite to Combat Climate Change in the lead up to the critical negotiations taking place this December in Copenhagen.

According to the UNEP team, “the Climate Heroes platform supports a select group who are undertaking exceptional personal feats, high-profile expeditions and other innovative acts of environmental activism to demonstrate their commitment and to raise awareness for one simple idea: Your planet needs You! These projects highlight environmental “hot topics” like CO2 output, plastic usage and tree planting.

“The ultimate goal of the collaboration between UNEP and the Climate Heroes is to build interest, inspiration and momentum to motivate action. Participating under the global banner, UNite to Combat Climate Change, their acts, and the attention they generate, will give voice to the movement of individuals and organizations across the globe who care about the state of our planet and want to see real change and real commitment. This commitment should be demonstrated by governments with a ratification of the proposals set forth in Copenhagen. The call to action for this outcome is called Seal the Deal.”

Ultimately, this is a call for each of us to do what we can: from adopting the simplest habits, like taking a reusable grocery bag to the store or a reusable mug to the coffee shop. Part of why I’m so thrilled to be partnering with UNEP is because I’m a firm believer in the accumulation of individual choices and actions. Through our united efforts, we can all be Climate Heroes and together, we can make a world of difference!

UNEP World Environment Day…the 30 day countdown begins now!
Commemorated yearly on 5 June, World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

On World Environment Day, UNEP endeavors to:
• Give a human face to environmental issues
• Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development
• Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues
• Advocate partnerships which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future

So this year, in honor of World Environment Day, UNEP is joining the Twitter revolution! They are pledging to plant a tree for every follower that they reach until 5 June, with a goal of at least 100,000 people. Tree planting is an important way to help recapture CO2 emissions – Prince Charles is a big fan of this method, and so am I!

You know how much I love to Twitter… So, let’s all pull together in this effort. It’s easy: just visit www.twitter.com/UNEPandYou and add them to your Twitter feed. Spread the word to your friends and family and help us blow that goal of 100,000 followers out of the water!

To reward you for your efforts, for the next 30 days Team Roz will be Tweeting “Do Something Tips” – ideas and suggestions for ways you can take simple actions right now to green your daily routine, reduce the amount of waste you generate and the amount of carbon you emit.

So, come on…join us! And spread the word…

Other Stuff:

Tonight I went to an event run by Jack Johnson’s Kokua Hawaii Foundation at a local school here on Hawaii’s North Shore. It included a screening of the film “Message in the Waves”, featuring various local Hawaiian heroes – and some shocking footage of plastic pollution killing animals and polluting the oceans.

But it ended on an upbeat note, with Jack Johnson singing “Reduce Reuse Recycle” – leading the way and telling us all what we can do to stop the problem at source. It’s not rocket science – so here’s something we can all do starting now. On my one-hour walk this morning I was able to pick up about 10 pieces of rubbish and put them where they do the least damage – in the bin. It all helps…

After I spoke recently at Google in Mountain View, CA, a Googler from the audience sent me an email with this thought-provoking opener: “As you can tell from my questions, I’m interested in the process of reducing stress by reaching that level of “zen acceptance,” as you called it. I’m not necessarily looking for an easy way to get there — I’m not sure there is an easy way. But it would be fascinating to find out the thought process you went through as you worked your way to zen acceptance (kind of like the 5 stages of grief?) Reading about what you went through may give people ideas of how they can create experiences for themselves (probably short of rowing across an ocean!) to work through a similar process toward the goal of zen acceptance. I really think this is an area that people can “train” themselves in, and there are so many mental and physical benefits that it’s worth spending some energy on.”

So I have duly spent some thought and energy on it, and although I think my answer still has some evolving to do, I’d like to post my thoughts here to stimulate some debate. Maybe you have a story to share so we can benefit from your experience? If so, please post it as a comment to this blog, so we can work on this together.

So here goes…

For me it was a combination of factors – and here I am talking about the Atlantic row in 2005-6. By the time of my 2008 row from San Francisco to Hawaii I had moved much closer to a state of zen acceptance – largely by doing things the wrong way on the Atlantic. I talk a lot more about this in the book that will come out on October 6 this year – Rowing The Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean. But for now, here is a summary of what I went through on my zig-zagging journey towards some lowly level of enlightenment:

1. Several months of creating endless frustration and internal conflict caused by fighting reality (“the weather shouldn’t be doing this,” “my shoulders shouldn’t be hurting” etc) until I realized that I could fight reality all I like, but reality wins!

2. Ditto when fighting the ocean. In the early stages I thought the ocean was being deliberately malicious towards me. I took it personally. Then I realized the ocean was just doing what oceans do. It wasn’t trying to teach me a lesson – it was just obeying the laws of physics. The ocean was doing its thing, and I had to do mine, i.e. just carry on rowing!

3. Demise of satellite phone – when my access to weather forecasts was cut off for the last 24 days of the Atlantic row, it ended the seesaw between two extremes:
a) good forecast –> expectations of good progress –> disappointment and more frustration;
b) bad forecast –> fear and anxiety –> forecast usually wrong anyway so fear and anxiety a needless waste of emotional energy.
It forced me to live in the present moment, and accept things exactly as they were.

4. Recognition of the perfection in everything. This created an attitude of positive thinking that became self-fulfilling – the clouds had a silver lining, because I had decided that they would! So I sought the positive in everything. e.g. when my satphone broke, I realized that this was my perfect opportunity to truly test my self-sufficiency.

5. The “Retrospective Perspective” – putting the present experience in the larger context of my life, and knowing that it would all be worthwhile in the end. It really helped when I learned to project myself into the future, and know that even the worst adversity would one day make a great story to tell my friends in the pub. (Hmm, not sure pubs are very zen. Enlightenment/sobriety evidently still a long way off!)

So if I was going to try and break this down into something analogous to the “5 stages of grief” that you mention, they might be:

1. Indignation that “it shouldn’t be this way!”
2. Frustration and anger as fight against reality escalates
3. Crisis and catharsis (yell therapy is good for this – and in the middle of the ocean, nobody can hear you scream…)
4. Grudging acceptance
5. Recognition that there is something positive to be found in every situation, and that the greater the suffering, the greater the learning. To grow you have to get outside your comfort zone, and getting outside your comfort zone is (duh!) UNCOMFORTABLE!

And that invaluable sixth stage…. telling the story over a pint of beer afterwards – which we can call celebrating one’s achievements, and saying, “Well, hey, haven’t I come a long way.”

Ocean rowing was my crash course in personal development. But how to replicate this in a non-rowing environment? To be honest, I don’t know. This is where I need you to help. What have you experienced that has pushed you to what you thought was your limit – only for you to continue beyond your limit and experience some kind of enlightened acceptance?

Over to you!

[Photo: on the ocean, no one can hear you scream....]

Other stuff:

As those of you who have been following my Twitter feed will know, I am now in London for a couple of weeks of meetings and PR. At last Nicole and I have some breathing space to regroup and consolidate. The clock is ticking, and much remains to be done, especially around the launch of this year’s green initiative.

Meanwhile, packages have been arriving in Hawaii – tea tree oil, wet wipes, a newly-serviced Winslow life raft, Aquapacs. Work continues on my boat, in readiness for my launch on May 24.

Ocean Rowing Update

For ocean rowing afficionados, there are two rows currently in progress you may like to follow. I am especially proud to link to Sarah Outen, who I have been informally mentoring for the last couple of years, and who launched her attempt on the Indian Ocean a few days ago. She is a fantastic writer/blogger as well as a mature and impressive young woman, so please check out her blog and join me in wishing her well.

And Oliver Hicks continues to battle his way through the Southern Ocean. Good luck Olly!

Are you Stupid or Not Stupid?

I’d like to make special mention of an important film I went to see last night at its premier in London. The Age of Stupid has been tagged the natural successor to Al Gore‘s An Inconvenient Truth and Leonardo DiCaprio‘s The 11th Hour – moving the emphasis from information to action. Powerful, informative, potentially life-changing. Recommended. More than recommended. Positively encouraged, urged, compelled. Please go! (Have I made my point?!)

Aloha!
I am honored to be asked by Roz and her support team to provide a blog entry so that Roz can concentrate on rowing to Hawai’i. We can’t wait to greet her in Waikiki!

I have not had the pleasure yet of meeting Roz but from what I have read and heard, she is simply amazing! To even begin to imagine myself embarking on a 3-month solo adventure like this requires more courage than I could ever muster. But I share several insights with her from my limited but life-changing experiences on the sea on a traditional Hawaiian long distance voyaging canoe called Hokule’a (star of gladness), and as a person who cares deeply for the protection of our environment. (Last November Roz was given a tour of Hokule’a.)

Hokule’a is a 62 foot double-hulled sailing canoe designed after the canoes that brought the first people to Hawai’i. It has no engine and no modern navigational instruments. Navigators use the stars, wind, ocean swells, and marine life, including birds, to guide their way. When I read Roz’ blog about birds visiting her more frequently as she approaches Hawai’i, I thought of how traditional Polynesian navigators used birds to help find their way home.

To talk about the who, what, why, and how of Hokule`a would take more space than I should for this blog, so if you are interested in learning more, please go to the website of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. It is a fascinating story and the canoe is a symbol of peace and caring.

The Hawaiian word to convey “caring for” is “malama.” It’s a powerful
word. There are many ways to malama – the environment, each other,
ourselves. And it is important to do that each and every day. I am a member of Malama Hawai’i, a coalition of more than 70 groups and hundreds of
individuals who take care of Hawaii’s land, sea, and people.

Due to our isolation, Hawai’i is home to land and sea life found nowhere else on earth. While there are reefs in other parts of the world that are more abundant, Hawaii’s reefs have a high percentage of unique species. They provide food for people and marine life and allow us to have the surf we ride and the beaches we enjoy. They also protect our coastlines from powerful waves.

But our reefs are in trouble. Land- and ocean-based pollution, invasive species, overfishing, and recreational overuse are major threats. Scientists estimate that our fish populations are 75% less than what they were 100 years ago. Now with climate change and ocean acidification gaining speed, we wonder how much more abuse our reefs can take.

It’s not a time to give up, though. It’s time to act, to make changes in our everyday lifestyles so that we are part of the solution, not the problem. Roz is doing that in her own unique way. She is sending a powerful message across the globe, and more people must listen and take part.

In that spirit, I invite those of you who are in Hawai’i to come to Waikiki Beach on August 31 to enjoy “Sunset on the Beach” celebrating the International Year of the Reef. There will be wonderful Hawaiian music by Leokane Pryor and Friends, visits by paddling great and ocean educator Donna Kahiwaokawailani Kahakui and the crew of JUNK, educational booths, and a feature family film. Festivities start at 5:30 pm, and best of all, it’s FREE! Of course, we are all wishing for favorable winds and waves so that Roz will arrive on the 31st and join us.

For those of you who can’t make it, please go to our website: www.givethereefabreak.org to learn more about caring for coral reefs and how to get involved.

Mahalo and aloha,
Pauline Sato
Coordinator, Malama Hawai’i
[email protected]

Other Stuff:
Position at 2030 27th August HST, 0830 28th August UTC: 21 38.137′N, 155 56.101′W.

Fair progress today, despite a few passing squalls. There was an amazing cloudscape this afternoon – squalls all around, but also blue sky and fluffy cumulus. This is one of my favourite things about the ocean – the big skies.

ETA still uncertain. Touch and go whether it will be Monday or Tuesday next week. If I can finish before 2100 HST on Monday it would mean an
overall time of under 100 days, which would be nice. But I’m not going to bust a gut to do it. I shall remain zen and calm, and will get there when I get there!”

Click here to View Day 96 of the Atlantic Crossing 7 March 2006: A Place in Waiting – where Roz will tie up her boat on arrival.

My sincere apologies to anyone sending a message from the Contact form on this website. While I was preparing to travel to the USA and on to Hawaii, the messages were piling up in the SPAM box. Having just found them, I do not have the time now to answer each one personally. Questions have been sent to Leo, and messages will be sent to Roz. Rita Savage.

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My friend Eric has a theory about human emotional development. He reckons we all reach a particular age, and development stops there, so even though our chronological age increases year by year, a part of us remains forever fourteen years old (or whatever).

Generally I’m rather sceptical about the theory, but it struck me during a thoughtful moment recently that collectively we humans seem to be stuck somewhere in early adolescence when it comes to the environment.

Part of the process of adolescence is to push the envelope, find out what you’re capable of – and what you can get away with. And often the only way to find out how far you can go – is to go too far.

And maybe, as humans, we have pushed it too far, without really thinking through the consequences. We seem to have got rather carried away with our ability to conquer nature through science and technology – genetic modification, pesticides, the automobile, and so on. And now that the side-effects of our “progress” are starting to become apparent, we are reacting in a less than mature way.

What does your typical teenager do when they realize they have done something wrong? And is it any different from our response as a species? Continuing with the example of climate change.

Denial: It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it. (“We can find no link between human activity and global warming.”)

Or belittling the significance of the damage: It was a stupid vase anyway. (“Great! Warmer summers! What’s the problem?”)

Or blaming somebody else: They started it. (“We’re not going to sign this treaty if you won’t.”)

Whereas in fact the more mature response would be to accept responsibility for our actions and their consequences, and figure out how to limit the damage before it gets any worse.

Idealistic? Maybe. But I for one find it embarrassing that we are not responding in a more mature way to the biggest crisis we have ever faced. It is time we stopped behaving like spoiled adolescents and faced up to our responsibilities towards the planet. Or history will not be impressed.

That’s my environmental rant for the day!

Other stuff:

Conditions still calm and reasonably pleasant for rowing. A good day at the oars. I was listening to the audiobook of “Seabiscuit” about the racing horse, which led to some faster-than-usual paddling during the nail-biting race scenes!

Hello and thanks to all who are sharing my adventures via the blog or podcast. Especially big welcomes to the newbies..

To Aly Roland in Alabama, a 3rd-grader who is being homeschooled. Aly, you go faster in your kayak than I do in my rowboat – well done! I dream of doing 3 miles per hour. but I suspect my boat is a lot heavier than yours. Mine weighs about 2000 lb. I don’t usually wear a lifejacket (although I think maybe you should) but I do wear a harness if it gets rough, and clip myself onto the boat. And I haven’t seen any sharks yet – and if I do, I just hope that if I leave them alone, they will leave me alone too!

BLUE PLEDGES – 10 DAYS LEFT TO ACT!

I hear from my friends at the Blue Project that lots of people are signing up with Blue Pledges, including a growing number of Americans. Thank you!!

If you haven’t yet done so, please go to www.theblueproject.org and click on the Make a BLUE Pledge button.

BE COOL, BE BLUE!

Position Thursday evening: 28 47 76N, 126 37 41W
Nautical miles done yesterday: 21.34

Click here to see Day 40 of the Atlantic crossing January 2006.

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