I'm in New York for a couple weeks, which is really great. One of the great new things in Manhattan is the west-side bike path which runs the length of the island. Dave & Justine and I set out on a ride this weekend bound for the Cloisters and managed to get a little taste of the many different worlds that collide here.

Follow along with the pop up photos! First, we cruised out to the Frying Pan, a derelict ship that you can explore and have parties on, and wandered among the sports and leisure world of the Chelsea Piers. Soon, we found ourselves in Riverside Park where thousands of people were picnicing and blasting loud latin music. Then things got silent and sylvan as we passed into the northern reaches of Manhattan. Finally, we decided to turn it up a notch and cruised through Harlem, where the classic busted-open fire hydrant scene unfolded, through central park, and finally a mad dash down Broadway through Times Square which is easily the most intense urban biking experience you can have.

I got back from Alaska last week, never bothered to explain why!

It was part fun - 10 days rafting the Canning River on the north slope - and part business: A project called "Treasure America" that is trying to prove that opening the Arctic Refuge to oil exploration is not only a bad idea for environmental reasons, but also, for economic ones.

We spent about 5 days in the hamlet of Kaktovik, and another 5 chatting with folks in Anchorage about the issue. If there's anything I've learned from this experience, it's that it's extremely complex.

Still, we uncovered plenty of evidence that opening the refuge to drilling will have a trivial, at best, impact on gas prices. The only really positive outcome to drilling that I can think of is that it might allow oil sales to China that could play-down the US-China trade deficit to some extent.

But the more I study it, the more it seems that drilling would have a negative effect on American business in the long-term because it discourages innovation at the very momment when we need it most.

As for the residents of the North Slope, who have found themselves dependant on what is essentially a welfare system handed out by the oil industry, there exists a great deal of untapped potential for non-oil-based economic growth. It just needs to be encouraged. Tourism is the obvious started businss, and we helped some of the local guides establish themselves and put up a website for them. Read the latest TAP press release "Debunking the Myth of Oil Dependency in Alaska" for a taste.

Also! If you are in Boston or New York next week please come to our fund-raiser and presentation. For invite info click your city: [Boston][New York].

Google maps is no offering a moon map! Rather cool... the best part happens when you zoom to maximum. Give it a try to see the Moon's true consistency.

Just got back from a wild trip to the hinterland of Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Anchorage and more... The best I can do in terms of writing about it at the momment is merely to provide this link to a massive photo dump I set up: HERE. It takes ages to load, so eventually I'll filter out a few of the best. More to come!