75 Yr. Old Engineer Walking Across Country ~ S.F. to D.C. ~ for the planet and children worldwide

    /24-7PressRelease/ - July 27, 2007 - Antares, the founder of The Pachamama Project, is walking solo at a challenging pace of 20 miles a day for over 3000 miles. The walk began at the Justin Herman Plaza on Sunday, July 15th and will end about five months later in Washington, D.C.

Antares did this walk once before, in 1987, but at twenty years older he knows the trip may be even more arduous and sometimes lonely. After the birth of his fifth grandchild though, he was worried about the kind of world he would inherit and felt he needed to try and do something about that:

"I realized that one of the most important gifts I could give him - and all my children and grandchildren and, with them, all the children of the world - was a planet as environmentally serene and beautiful as the one I have been privileged to live in all of my life. As a practicing engineer for over 50 years I have learned, as all good engineers do, to separate facts from hype and to find practical solutions to problems. To the people I meet along the way who have as yet not involved themselves with the issues of climate change, I will simply suggest that they take a few hours to study both sides of the debate and form a considered opinion."

As an intelligent, knowledgeable professional, and caring father and grandfather, Antares will speak to anyone he encounters along the way who wants to lend him an ear:

"It is an important issue and needs our attention and involvement. If they are unsure what they can do to mitigate the effects of climate change, I will offer suggestions. My primary objective is to get a lively debate going and to set an example by my actions. It should be obvious to everyone that I have taken the time to study both sides of the debate and feel that being involved is important enough for me, at age 75, to take a year out of my life to prepare for and make this long walk."

Without a support vehicle Antares will have to carry all his necessities with him; 150lbs of supplies such as water, food, clothes and camping gear. He figured the only way to do this was to design and build a cart that could do the job for him. Made out of bicycle parts and fiberglass, the cart has three wheels so it can be ridden down hill and also has solar panels to give a little propelling assistance when faced with steep grades. It will have to be pulled on level ground and gentle inclines to conserve power and, if the sun is clouded over.

His mission is simply to walk and talk to the many different people he meets. Antares wants to show people that one person can make a difference, something he thinks Americans have forgotten.

CONTACT MICHAEL:
Cell: 707.888.0312 when in range
Text via iridium.com 'send a satellite message' at # 88116 4147 4724.
For more information on Michael, the project and how you to can help, visit www(dot)pachamamaproject(dot)com

About Pachamama Project
The Pachamama project is a California non-profit corporation dedicated to keeping our planet healthy* for the benefit of our children and grandchildren and for all future generations. The emphasis is to encourage parents and grandparents to become conscious activists and encourage earth preservation; to join their voice with the growing number of people who are acting on behalf of themselves and the earth for sustainable and practical solutions to meet the cascade of crisis in our world today. We aim to provide information and resources necessary to be effective in helping to maintain our planet's healing capacity.

*Pachamama means "earth mother" in Quechua, the language of the Andean people.  Respect for our earth mother is an important part of their tradition.

 * "keeping the planet healthy" means, among other things, dealing with global warming,  being concerned about species extinction,  conserving natural resources and emphasizing renewable resources, especially those providing energy.

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