Back home

After more than 3 months, traveling more than 12.000 km Im back home. It was very nice experience. I managed to collect more than 600 l of used oil. I found partners for recycling used oil and converting cars to run on vegetable oil in Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Turkey and Bulgaria. I met many nice people and recorded their wishes. Im planning to publish some. Thanks to all beautiful people I met for sharing their thoughts and I miss the great hospitality. Im looking forward to your comments.

Klausův ekonomický rozvoj = cesta do pekel

Jsem v Sofii a na Internetu jsme si precetl odpovedi prezidenta Václava Klauze americkému kongresu k otázkám globálního oteplování.
Názory našeho prezidenta na vliv globálního oteplování na naší civilizaci je zbytečné komentovat. Je jen velká škoda, že svým "ne-vědomím" výrazně škodí. Jako ekonom a prognostik by měl vědět, že pouze rovnovážný stav muže zaručit dlohodobou existenci systému. Současný nerovnovážný stav v nárůstu populace a spotřebě energie je cestou konce této "ropné" civilizace. Vice jak 80 % energie, které lidstvo spotřebuje ( cca 15 TW ročně) pocházi z tkzv. neobnovitelných zdrojů - ropa a zemní plyn.
Z dostupných (vědeckých) informací je zcela zřejmé, jaké aktivity naší civilizace výrazně přízpívají k tvorbě tkzv. skleníkových plynů. Největším tvůrcem CO2 je automobilová doprava. Spojené státy svojí činností vytvářeji 25% CO2. Česká Republika přizpívá 0.5 % což je k počtu obyvatel, také výrazné množství. Druhým plynem, který má vliv na oteplování planety je metan. Lidská činnost se na jeho tvorbě podílí více jak polovinou z čehož, živočišná výroba ( chov zvířat ) má podíl 37 %.

Mé doporučení americkému kongresu je:
Snížení spotřeby energie na 2 kW ročně na 1 osobu ( současná spotřeba v USA je 11.4 kW)
Přechod na obnovitelné zdroje energie
Omezení automobilové dopravy
Omezení živočišné výroby

Letošní zimu jsem strávil cestou do Egypta autem poháněným použitým rostlinným olejem a téměř 3 měsíce jsem neviděl déšt. Důsledek této změny klimatu povede k velkému nedostatku vody. Ekonomcké a sociální důsledky, této změny je těžké si představit. Vědci odhadují že do roku 2010 více jak 50 milionů lidí bude muset v důsledku klimatických změn opustit místa kde žijí.
Na zastavení současného negativního vlivu člověka na globální oteplovaní a odvrácení klimatických změn planety má lidstvo příštích 10 let.
Když čtu názory pana prezidenta, tak jsem velmi skeptický, že se najde dostatečná politická vůle k včasnému prosazení, těcho nutných změn životního stylu nejen američanů

Survival of our civilisation

I cleaned 60 l of oil I got yesterday and went to see a movie called "The planet". It was a very nice Swedish documentary showing the current situation in global warming and the catastrophic consequences in the near future. It was again very shocking how ignorant we are and how little time we have to take some actions before it will be too late. The documentaries I saw show quite clearly that we have 10 years to reduce the activities which cause the global warming. The question is how ? In my journey I see that there is a lot of oil damped to the water sewage which is also very bad for the ecology. Recycling vegetable oil and using it as an renewable energy source can help to reduce the CO2 emissions. If my project can make more people aware of the current situation and possibilities of using the vegetable oil as a good fuel alternative it be small step for the better future. If we want to keep the population ( any growth will be more difficult) we have to lower our consumption. This will be a very difficult task for the so called "developed" world which consumes and pollutes the most If we do not make the changes the price in suffering and the loss of human lives will be enormous. I my journey I have visited many ancient cities and lost civilizations. Most of them were destroyed by earth quakes. This is the first time in the history that activity of some species can change the climate and cause the distinction of many other spices and its own. Despite all this very pessimistic future I still believe that we will manage to live more in balance with nature.

Collecting 120 l of oil

I went back to see if I can get more oil in the restaurants and I was very surprised that the restaurant which did not have any oil yesterday had almost 100 liters of oil. I was very surprised how much used oil they can have in one day. I arranged to come back latter and transfer it to my barrels. At 1 pm I went to see a very nice Israeli documentary about a palestinian primary school where Arab and Jew kids are taught together. The name of the documentary was Bridge over the Wadi. It showed very well the deep differences between the arab and jews cultures and possibility how to come closer. After this nice experience I went to the oil and I managed to get 30 more liters from the same restaurant I collected 60 l the day before. After the messy business I had a nice dinner at the restaurant which gave me 100 l. I went back to see the T
"Gulf Stream, a River Under the Ocean". It was a very nice documentary showing the very possible consequences of the global warming on the golf stream and the related changes in the weather and the bad impacts to our society. It was quite alarming to see what the near future of our civilization could look like. After this I saw a very nice American movie called "Red without blue" It was a very nice story about twin boys who became gay and one changed his sex. It filmed in 3 years and captured very well the family relations. It was an international premiere and I met the young directors from San Francisco.

Thesaloniki documentary festival

I find out that the Thesaloniki documentary festival started on Friday and there are many good movies. Saturday I went to see the Norwegian social documentary Loop. It was a nice movie about people who make extreme sports, an older guy who changed his carrier from being paramedic to live on the top of the fire watch tower in the middle of forest and an old Swedish philosopher. It was a very nice movie and at the end I met with the director Sjur Paulsen. He is interested in my Eco projects and interactive documentaries and there is a possibility to make some collaboration. I parked my car in the harbor with a nice view on the water front but with a lot of noise from the local bars.

Greece - different culture and collecting oil

Since my tanks are almost empty I went to search for some oil. First I went to ask a big hotel, but they did not want to give me the oil, but they sad that somebody is taking it. My next stop was at the beach front were I saw many restaurants. I went to 5 restaurants but no luck. Most of them juts though it away every night - no recycling. It was not too encouraging so on the way out fomr the city I stoped at Lidle and bought 15 l of new sunflower oil - 1l 0.96 Euro ( 1 l of diesel is less than 0.9 Euro).
After driving about 100 km I was stoped by police. I thought that I went too fast, but they wanted to search my car. It looked like that they were looking if there is somebody else in the car. They were not very friendly and after the search of my car at the boarder I felt like being in some police state. The rest of the travel to Tesaloniki was OK. In the center I saw McDonald and I went to ask for some oil. There was a very young manager (girl). She told me that someone takes the oil and she did not want to give me any. I went to few more fast food restaurants and in one they told me to come back next day. I coninued to dowtown. The streets were packed by cars and it was not possible to park anywhere. Suddenly my engine stopped running and I realized that I have run out of fuel (oil). Lukely there was a palce for me to park and so it was not a big problem. I have a 10l of diesel in my spare canister so when I run out of fuel it is OK. I cosed my car and went to explore the city and the local restaurants. I went to Pizza Hut but they do not use vegetable oil but I met there nice guy. Hi name is Startos and he was interested in the possibility of using vegetable oil as a alternative fuel. Hi comes for an island and his family grows organic olives. He told me about few places where I could find used oil. In the first place I met a nice guy. he was very interested in the idea and promised to give me some oil next day after he changes the oil. I was happy and I went to asked to few more fast food places. Most of them did not want to it or they just through it away. I found a place with many restaurants and I was quite lucky to find few places where they will save some oil for me. During my search for oil I have found out that most of the places throw the oil to the sink overnight.
Walking in the streets was very different experience that I had in last 2 months. There were many young girls and a lots of people on the streets and in the bars. Another difference was that I felt like complete stranger - know-body sad halo or welcome. There were many people on the streets but it was not possible to have any conversation or to meet somebody. I felt strange and a bit lonely.

Collecting oil and going to Europe

In the morning I met Aykut in the Internet cafe and we went to ask for some oil. Most of the places we visited did not have any oil - they just through it away everynight. We find one big fish restaurant where they just gave away 300 l of used vegetable oil. The city officials told them to keep it that someone will pick it up but after 1 month knowbody came so they just gave it up to some gypsy. After this quick survey it was clear that it could be a good business to start collecting oil in Turkey. Aykut's family already collects the used olive oil they sell and they make olive oil soap. He is very in terested in the idea of using vegetable oil for cars and he will try to start collecting oil for his WV van and if it works out he will start an oil business. Im happy that there will be more people who will collect the old oil and use it as a "more" ecological fuel.
I took the ferry to the other side and drove to the Greek boarders. I have came to the borders around 5 pm. The turkish policeman was Interested about my trip to Egypt and he was very friendly. I crossed the boarder and came to the European Union and entered Greece. Instead of being welcomed I had to empty my whole car and the greek police used a dog to smell if Im bringing any drags. It was not very nice and people were also not too friendly. It was a first time my car was searched. It was a very big contrast from what I have been experiencing traveling in the arabic and muslim countries. I spent the night at Alexanropoulis. I fall a sleap at 8 pm and woke up at 9 am.

Pamukkalle and Hierappolis

My plan was to continue my journey. Sinc my main tank was getting empty I decided to clean the oil I got in Syria. The cleaning worked quite well and I managed to get few more litters in the other beach restaurant. After this messy job I went for my last swim. When I was ready to leave Tobi came back and asked if he can come with me to the nearby city. We left this beautiful place and on the way took one hitchhiker. He was an older man from Istanbul.
On the way to Pamukkale I stopped at a local market and bought a lot of vegetables and before going to the mountains I bough more oranges. The road thorough the mountains was very nice. The highes pint was 1500 m. The surrounding mountains were covered by snow, but outside was 20 degrees.
I came to Pamukkale on late evening. It was already dark so I did not see the white mountain. I stopped to find out where to go. I met a nice man and hi told me that it is just behind me and that I can park my car in the parking lot of his hotel. He told me that he has a good friend in Czech Republic and showed me a book he got from him. The book was about his African journey. It was nice to find out in Turkey that there are more crazy Checks who like to travel. Since he had a restaurant I asked if he has any used oil and told him about my car and the possibility of using oil instead off diesel. He was very interested and he invited me to the restaurant and I explained the possibilities of using vegetable oil as a fuel. He is very interested and will try to collect the oil from the local restaurants clean it and sell it to the farmers.
Exploring the Pamukkalle.
I wanted to come to Pamukkale already in January but since it was not on our way we decided to go directly to Cappadocia. I saw the beautifull pictures of the white mountains and small pools, but I had no idea that there are hot springs and a big ancient Roman city called Hierapolis. It is not possible to go inside to the pools with hot water. Actually the water inside the pools is not that warm. After climbing the white hill and walking through the running water I came on the top and saw the ruins of the old city. It was quite big. The bets preserved was the theatre with a beautiful view on the valley and snow mountains. I cam back after 6 and my friend was already waiting outside for me. He invited me for a very nice dinner and I showed him pictures of my journey. After the dinner he took me to his carpet shop and showed me a very nice carpets and explain the different qualities. There were few which I like but since they are all hand made that are not that cheap, but I think I will buy one.

Paradise in Olympos

My friend told me that I should visit Olympos. It was not too far from Antalya so I stopped there. I came there in the evening and found a beautiful long beach and small river. It was almost empty. I parked right on the beach and went explore the place. There were many small pension cottages. But since the tourist season did not start yet there were closed.
In the morning i went to swiming. The sea was much colder than in Sinai so I did not stay in for too long. After a breakfast I wen to explore the ancient Roman city Olympos. There was an old castle with a beautiful view on the sea and mountains covered with snow. When I went down I discovered that there is a whole city buried in the bushes. It was quite nice to explore this hidden city.
On the way back I met Tobi. A german guy who was working on eco farms in Turkey. He told me about his experiences woring on 2 ecological farms in Turkey and I told him about my Eco auto. He went to see the ruins and I went to ask the nearby restaurant if they have some oil and I was lucky to get some. It was not too much but I met a young Turkish - German guy who told me his story. Hi was born in Germany and when he was 14 he had to come back with his family to Turkey. He works in the restaurant but he wants to come back to Germany. When Tobi came back we made pasta. He told me that in the nearby mountains is a nice place with burning gases. After the dinner we went to explore this mystical site. It was about 5 km from the beach and after paying 2.5 TL we climed up the hill to see several small fires coming from he rocks. It was nice to watch the never ending fire. After this mystical experience we went back to the beach. Tobi wanted to sleap outside and he find a place inside a boat and I fall a sleep in my bed.

Turkey

Since Monday Im back in Turkey travelling along the Mideteranian sea. Today I arrived to Antalya. You can see my geotaged pictures on the flicker map at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/standa/414002004/map/?view=users

Ibrahim and small village

I woke up around 10 and met with Ibrahim. The plan was to go to the mountains. They are almost 1500 m high and I went up with Ibrahim on his motorcycle. The vies on the valley were very nice. Ibrahim told me that they are quite lucky here - they have enough water and the climate is nice. I found out that teh cost of a smaller house in the mountains with a very beautiful view over the valley will be only 5000 USD. I had a nice lunch at Ibrahim friends house. People in the village were very nice and the girls did not wore any headscarfs. The whole place look a bit different than other parts of Syria. Some girls had blond hear and blue or green eyes. It was a bit strange for me how come people are so different. I left this paradise around 5, taking the road to the other side of teh mountains to Latakia. I arrived there around 8 pm and went to the Internet cafe. I slept near the harbor.

Hams - Palestinians, Iraqi and teenager

I had another great day in Syria. I wisited Hams and met there with nice Palestinian girls and learened more about the situation of Palestinians living in Syria.
Their mothers biggest wish is to come back to Palestine.
Than I met a Iraqi pilot. He told me that two years ago he was driving with his son in Iraq. An American soldiers killed his son and he was very wounded and still have a lot of health problems. He told me that there are more than 2 million Iraqi refugees living in Syria and that life is quite difficult.
Than I met a 17 year old boy. He is a bicycle racer and wants to learn languages and go to Quebec to see his uncle. He also told me what is it like to be teenager. It looks that the boyfriend and girlfriend relation ships can get more intimate that it looks like.
I left Hams in the evening and I planned to go to see a famous castle. On the way out of the city I met the same guy as when I was coming in yesterday. I showed him where I want to go and he told me that he is going the same direction and that I can drive behind him. His English was not too good. After driving more than 40 km he stopped he showed me where to go. After some time I stopped and asked for direction. After few minutes there were more than 20 local guys on motorcycles trying to help, but know-body spoke good English. They showed me the direction and invited me to their homes. Since I was tired and I felt a bit sick I continued my journey. After few more attempts to find the castle I stopped at a big cross road and asked in a falafel restaurant, but the communication was again very difficult and at he vegetable store was not much better. I entered a small mobile phone shop and met there with Ibrahim who spoke very good English. He invited me for a tea and I as I started to tell him my life story I felt better and we stayed up until midnight talking about life. he offered me to stay over night at his home, but since I have my own I parked next to his house and fall a sleep.