After a sad goodbye at 03.00 am in room 1508, Inlet Hotel Anchoradge, my dear fellow ambassadors returned home while Pieter and me stayed for more 4 days in the US.

Our aim, fully achieved, was to visit a BIODIESEL collection, production and distribution project done at a local level in Newport, Rhode Island.

We were with Myles Standish and Nat Harris of the Newport Biodiesel (link under), whom went with us over all the main steps in this very sucessful idea. It all started in a garage and now they are producing more than 1000 gallons a day of Biodiesel.

The used vegetable oil is collected in local restaurants, then treated, washed, added some methanol..etc, and in the end you get a clean and cheaper fuel. Its good for the environment and good for the local economy (house heating and transportation).

After a busy saturday afternoon in the production plant, we followed Ed in is monday morning rotine to collect the used vegetable oil - tuff job.

Monday afternoon we had a meeting with Jim Malloy, a convicted environmentalist that was able to convince is father and brother to change their 70 year old business from fossil fuels to BIODIESEL...gues what??ITS A SUCESS!!People can choose betwen B20, B50 or for the experienced ones B99.9...

"The world is changing and we have to adapt..", absolutly Jim!!

A special thanks for Myles, Nat, Ed, and Jim.

www.newportbiodiesel.com

www.thmalloyandsonsfuel.com

On my final day in Alaska, in the taxi to the Airport together with Pieter, when talking about Alaska the driver turned to us and said: "its a special place, for example, nobody honks in Alaska".

It made me though about this very special land. First of all, it is a land full of paradoxes: incredible nature and landscapes versus huge mining and oil business; closed communities but very internacional ones;and, very tuff weather conditions for living and travelling but still one of the most attractive for lonely travellers searching for something. Besides that, it was the best deal ever made by the US government.

Alaska is without any doubts a very peculiar land with very special people and just 10 days there made me want to go back and explore and the things i didn't see.

Summer 2009!!!

One of the things that is having a great impact on my understanding about climate change science on this trip is the amount of knowledge that we don't posses. Its unbelievable that we still make decisons based on information that is far from complete and that doesn't reflect the entire mechanism or even all the variables that affect our models. There is much more going on then we ever expected and soon we have to realize that one of our main investment targets should be in scientific climate change research.

The time for discussing whose faults it is has passed and we now aknowledge worldwide that the climate is warming and we will have to adapt to a new different changing world. Its time to take direct action in terms of reducing our overall impact on the (disturbed) equilibrium of planet earth or it won't sustain 8 billion with the living patterns that we are facing in the developed countries.

• Conclusion #1: In order to face the future with higher security and safety (also with hope) we not only need to change our impact in nature's balance but we also need to increase the knowledge we posses over certain phenomenous and feedback mechanisms. A great example is the permafrost: it represents about 21% of nothern hemisphere land and not only its the biggest CO2 container (which is leaking by the way) in the world but its also a huge methane releaser. This feedback mechanisms and their emission haven't been seriously included in the IPCC reports and the models in which its based.

For those how are still skeptic about such phenomenous as climate warming i would strongly recommend a visit to Prince william Sound, a sound of the Golf of Alaska 1 hour drive from Anchorage.

In this magical place, once all covered in ice, one can easily find evident proofs of climate warming and its effects in the entire ecosystem. We were stroke by the rate at which the glaciers are retreating and how its affecting the wild life and the human communities that inhabit the area.

A special thanks to Andy, Jen, Laura and Serena for all that was done in order to give us the unique possibility to camp in the wilderness and see the glaciers from a unique perspective (sea kayaking rules!!).

One of the things that stroke me the most related to the work that is being done in Barrow by the science community was the statement that directly or indirectly most of the funding for their research was coming from the oil companies!!! This money coming from the oil companies is part of their contract to dig up the land in ALASKA and it can go through the universities, the National Science Foundation or other institutions but ultimatly it goes to the scientists..whose work nowadays is mainly connected with climate warming and its effects!!

Funny paradox!

In our days in Barrow we had the opportunity to go several times into the sea ice and away from the city or from any kind of civilization. In those moments, the cold and the thickness of the sea ice were not our only concerns.....watch out for polar bears!!! They are white - so easy to consfuse with snow dunes -, they hide their nose and due to global warming they have been spoted more often close to human communities. That's why we had always with us 3 bear guards armed with shotguns..they patroled the area surrounding and assured us a safe job in the sea ice.

Thanks to nok and michael!

Imagine 30 years of birdwatching in one of the most remote places of the world, all by yourself..well, that's the job, the passion and nowadays the entry card for one man: George Divoky.

His work, done over a big period of time in one of the most critical places on earth, is helping us to realize the impact of climate changes and global warming in the soft equilibrium of the natural biodiversity of the Artic region and the consequences of the changes observed in the ecosystem of this area. The results are stricking and out of any predictions or worst estimations done in the last years, what is leading to an entire 'ecosystem collapse' that will get us - humans - sooner or later as part of that ecosystem.

Find out more about is studies and conclusions.

www.cooperisland.org

Special thanks to George!

After having our first meal in a mexican restaurant in downtown Barrow, being received by a few americans from places like Hawai, Massachussets or Ohio and even visit a heritage of the Inupiat we started to wonder about the diversity of the community in Barrow.

Amanzingly enought, this community with just 5000 people is home for several nationalities from Eastern Europe - Makedonia; Ukraine - to South America, passing along Southeast Asian countries as  the Philippines.

Attracted by good jobs supply in the oil companies or mining a lot of foreigners come to work in Alaska.

I just haven't found any Portuguese....yet!!!

Yesterday we had the unique opportunity to join a researcher in is daily journey to the sea ice and help him in the collection of data to be used in science models.

My conclusions: its a job that requires a lot of stamina, concentration and will!!!

From now on a different kind of respect is built upon me for those whose daily job is the gathering of data that we use to predict trends, analyse changes and make decisons.

A special thanks to Chris Petrich!!

People love sunsets..its romantic, beautifull..a moment when you hold your breath and just thank for being alive..

well, now imagine a 45 min sunset..Yesterday when everybody was a sleep i went to look for the artic sunset.........its beautifull and it lasts!!!