Earth, Wind & Power Blogazine

Helpful hints for the Ecotourist

By Erin Marquis

Eco tourism is a great travel option for the environmentally conscious traveler, giving people not only a chance to take a vacation but also to do something positive for the environment. However, there are some dangers lurking in this rewarding experience.

Find the right trip. Do you want to experience nature, learn about it, or really help it? There are packages that fit almost every taste and objective, but if you're looking for a relaxing week and sign up to count bird nests or maintain hiking trails you'll be disappointed! Also be realistic about what you can do. If the package you're interested in requires a 20 mile hike and you can only do 5 miles you shouldn't push yourself. This is your vacation, make it enjoyable!

Beware of green washing. Green washing is normally a problem with products parading as ‘green’ without having any real credentials to do so. It is also a problem with eco tourism. Seriously consider if the trip does more harm than good to the area you’re traveling to. If part of the price of your trip is donated to preservation you know you have a good company to work with.

Consider your impact. Just being there creates an impact on the surrounding area. For example, problems have been arising with people visiting the Galapagos Islands to experience their pristine nature and marvelous diversity only to degrade the environment and legendary array of animals. You may not even realize the impact you’re having on an area until it is too late!

Make organization a priority. Disorganization can lead to travelers getting off the beaten path and causing environmental havoc, which is certainly not the eco-tourists intent. Be sure to look for low impact, small scale trips that focus on preservation and education of visitors.

Click here for more about environmentally friendly travel at Road & Travel Magazine

Green Fun: Theme Parks With Environmental Initiatives

Disneyland Resort, California: This wonderful resort has won the 2009 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA), California's highest and most prestigious environmental honor. By "recycling" large amounts of water rather than draining it into the ocean, powering steam trains with kitchen grease, and opening a bakery that's complete eco-paradise, Disneyland Resort is furthering Walt Disney's environmental legacy.

Nickelodeon Family Suites, Florida: This family-friendly hotel in Orlando was recognized with a Green Lodging Certification. Nick achieved its green lodging status by using reusable dining items, encouraging the reuse of bath towels and linens, establishing a volunteer green committee, reimbursing employees for public bus passes and installing energy-efficient lighting throughout the property.

Six Flags, North America: If the world's largest regional themepark is realizing they need to take aggressive steps to preserve and protect the environment for future generations, the "fun" industry must be changing face. Resulting from a partnership with Coca-Cola's Recycling branch, 3,000 recycling bins have been placed in each of the 20 Six Flags theme parks. At four parks, all vehicles and trains that operate on diesel fuel will instead be powered by used vegetable oil generated in Six Flags kitchens.

(Sources: Disneyland Resort, Nick Hotel, Six Flags)

For more eco-friendly travel advice, visit RTM's Earth Tones section.

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The Most Eco-Friendly International Hostels

Hostels are such an exquisitely wonderful concept for tourists, especially minimalist or environmentalist ones. Staying somewhere that gets the job done – i.e., gives you a place to sleep - for cheap, is ideal when you’ve got better things to see and do than enjoy a luxury hotel room. These ones are so charming and inspirationally green that they are an ideal place to sleep regardless of what your wallet can afford.

Rural Serenity

Omagh Hostel: Omagh, Northern Ireland - A small, remote, family-run hostel that offers visitors the greenest of accommodations, evidenced when they received the prestigious EU Flower Ecolabel in the tourist accommodation category. Their recycling, composting and green purchasing policy and eco-friendly reed beds makes this hostel as green as the country it is part of! Dorm beds from £12.50, Private Room from £30.00

Reykjavik City Hostel: Reykjavik, Iceland - Iceland is a country steeped in tremendous icecaps, explosive geysers, steaming solfataras (volcanic areas that give off sulfurous gases and steam) and magnificent waterfalls. Reykjavik City Hostel, located next to one of the great geothermal swimming holes in the city, promotes energy monitoring, erosion control and extensive recycling services. Room rates, in ISK, cover single bed rooms to 6+private rooms.

Urban Bustle

Hostelling International: Washington DC, USA - Just eight blocks from the White House, HI is the greenest place to stay in the city. The carpets are made from recycled materials, there are no disposable products in the kitchen, and it promotes its commitment to being a positive force on environmental issues by showing environmental documentaries once a month. The sociable atmosphere makes this hostel stand out – the rooms range from classic dorms to luxury private rooms, there’s a delicious free breakfast, lively events calendar, bike rental and TV room with a library of DVDs to watch. Dorm-style rooms are $35-$45 per person, per night, plus a $3 HI membership.

High Street Hostel: Edinburgh, Scotland- Edinburgh may be a bustling city, but in High Street Hostel it boasts something very special in environmental terms. The hostel, you see, claims to be 100% carbon neutral. That’s right – a fun, vibrant hostel in a city that leaves no carbon footprint whatsoever. And it’s a claim that High Street Hostel backs up. Not only does it source its electricity from renewable and non-nuclear supplies, but it also owns and maintains 75 hectare woodland that absorbs more than the hostel’s total CO2 emissions.

Rooms start at £13 a night.

Stay tuned for the best tropical eco-hostels!

Visit RTM's environmentally-themed travel section, Earth Tones.

 

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U.S. Airports Take Baby Steps to Go Green

Some airports are beginning to seem more like malls than transportation hubs, packed with dozens of bars, stores, restaurants and coffee shops. According to a September 2009 Energy Business Report, "airports have been spending hundreds of millions in terminal facilities that are aesthetically pleasing but are not configured to conserve energy."

"However," the report continues, "similar to many other industries, airports are fast adopting the green zeitgeist, led partly by better social consciousness and ameliorating engineering science, and made more pressing by ascending fuel costs." Some initiatives airports are taking to improve their images are using Alternative Fuel Vehicle fleets (AFV's) that reduce exposure of travelers to noxious ground level emissions from gasoline vehicles - they include tows, baggage tractors, buses, taxis and shuttles.

Some international airports using AFVs include Dallas/Fort Worth, Sacramento, Denver, San Francisco, Baltimore-Washington, Boston Logan, Los Angeles, and Phoenix Sky Harbor. International airports with other eco-friendly initiatives are Austin-Bergstrom, Seattle-Tacoma, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, Cleveland Hopkins, Portland, and Hartsfield Atlanta.

Just flying in an airplane alone is a huge contributor to greenhouse gases; airlines in the U.S. emitted about 418 billion pounds of carbon dioxide in 2007, according the the Air Transport Association. We recommend offsetting the carbon emissions from your flights at carbonfund.org.

Read more green travel advice in RTM's Earth Tones section.

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How to Camp Responsibly: Leave No Trace Principles

Camping seems like such an eco-conscious way to see different parts of the country, but it too can have ill effects on the environment. Being in a natural environment could mean disturbing a natural environment. Leave No Trace, whose traveling trainers drive their Subarus from site to site across the country, assist outdoor enthusiasts with reducing their impact. They offer these basic principles for roughin’ it on a campsite:

 

Plan ahead: Visit a campsite in small groups when possible, and consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups. Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use. Repackage food to minimize waste and deter wildlife.

 

Good campsites are found, not made: Camping on durable surfaces like established trails or campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow to lessen your impact. When hiking, walk single file through the middle of the trail to prevent its expansion.

 

Pack it in, pack it out: Disposing of waste properly is one of the biggest tenets of the Leave No Trace principle. Everything you bring to the site should leave the site with you. Pack out all trash, leftover food, litter, toilet paper and hygiene products.

 

Leave what you find: Look, but don’t touch is the simple rule that protects environments from being disrupted by human activity. Don’t disturb the area by taking rocks, plants, or other natural objects.

 

Minimize campfire impacts: Use established fire rings instead of creating your own. Only use sticks from the ground, or bring your own fire wood.

 

Respect wildlife: Do not follow, approach or feed wild animals. Feeding animals only hurts them in the long run; it damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.

 

Be considerate of other visitors: Don’t camp close to another site – let nature’s sounds prevail.

 

Click here for more information on Leave No Trace, or to host the traveling trainers on your next camping trip.

 

Visit RTM's Earth Tones section for more responsible tourism advice.

   

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An Eco-Friendly Way to Fight the Swine Flu

A recent government report suggests that as many as half of the United States population could be infected with the swine flu virus this fall and winter. About 30,000 to 90,000 deaths are projected, especially in children, young adults, and adults with health conditions. Eleven states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. Any reports of widespread influenza activity in August and September are very unusual. This will be a huge strain on hospitals in affected regions. So why are we taking normal measures to prevent its spread?

The Center for Disease Control adheres to the philosophy that the best prevention strategy to the spread of the Swine Flu is clean hands, and the next best thing to washing thoroughly and frequently is having hand sanitizer available.

However, hand sanitizer's not always such a quick fix. Sure, alcohol based solutions products kill >99% of germs and bacteria on contact. Though, their effectiveness lasts for just a minute or so, requiring constant re-application eventually drying skin to the point of cracking. They are very unsafe for children and they have no real effect on fungus or viruses. Benzalkonium Chloride or Triclosan based solutions are extremely toxic to the environment and humans if ingested.

But a new sanitizer, Prefenz Botanicals hand sanitizer is a silica based technology that immediately destroys all harmful bacteria, fungi and viruses including H1N1, HIV, SARS and MRSA. The active ingredient, AMOSILQ, is a silica complex that dries into a film on the skin and protects against pathogens that one might encounter during any given day. It does so by slicing the cell wall of the pathogen, hence destroying it, upon contact for up to 24 hours without re-application. It is still active for up to 10 hand washings.

"Prefenz is so eco-friendly that you can drink it without experiencing any harmful effects, so it's safe for all ages,” said company president Aaron Powers. They offer two bottle sizes on-line; a 1.5 oz bottle for $8.99 and an 8 oz botle for $17.99.

For more environmentally-friendly product reviews from RTM, click here.

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Overdoin' It at the Beach: Be Green in the Sun

Yes, going to the beach seems like a pretty innocent thing to do - all it involves is laying around and enjoying nature. But many American beaches today are becoming threatened by pollution, and it's in part due to the oodles of people who swarm the beach daily, not considering the impact they leave behind. Here are some simple tips for keeping your beach trip green.

1. Turn your beachside walk into a litter-picking adventure! Bring a litter bag and throw any trash you find in it - maybe you’ll even find some shells or other cool beach souvenirs! No, one man’s trash shouldn’t be another’s duty to clean up, but when people see you scampering around picking up after others, they may think twice about littering.
2. Make sure you leave with everything you brought. Take home any containers and re-use them for storage, watering flowers, or another day at the beach (sandcastle making, much?).
3. Use sunscreens that won’t harm anything (like coral reefs) when it comes off in the water. Brands like Caribbean Sol and Soleo Organics sell relatively inexpensive, ocean-friendly sunscreens.

For more eco-friendly lifestyle tips, visit RTM's Earth Tones Section.

 

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Sailing: Stylish, Versatile & Eco-Conscious on the Water

Considering dropping some cash on a cruise, sportsboat or jetski? These are all fun, relaxing ways to enjoy the outdoors, but these activities are often environmentally hypocritical because of their degradation upon the very area you wish to enjoy. Sailing is much more complementary to nature. It's also versatile - you could call it a sport, adventure or vacation. While fear of the unknown may cause some resistance from family & friends, keep in mind that with the help of crews your sailing experience can be as interactive or luxurious as you like. Sailing allows you to travel the water as a ecotourist, because it involves harnessing the energy from the wind and water.

The perfect example is Tahoe Sailing Charters, which depart daily from Lake Tahoe’s North Shore, utilizing a small diesel engine which uses clean burning bio-diesel fuel. They only operate the engine about 10% of the time, when wind power is contrary to pre-planned destinations and schedules.  To harness their power from the wind as much as possible, they schedule their sailing cruises efficiently.

In Florida, Offshore Sailing offers campus-style sailing school in three destination resorts, so families can learn this eco-friendly way to spend time together on the water.

 

As an added bonus, ladies can use this as an opportunity to go vintage sailor-outfit shopping! Because sailor-themed clothes have been a quiet trend for so long, there's tons of vintage sailor-themed accessories and clothes out there, like sailor button-jeans, anchor necklaces, and of course, the sailor girl dress.

For more eco-adventure travel ideas, visit RTM's Earth Tones.

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Skip the Plane, Take the Train

We know that using mass transit for everyday travel will help lower your carbon footprint because you hop aboard a vehicle already going to the same destination. But what about vacation transportation? Sure, trains may have a reputation for being slow and taking dozens of hours, but from home to hotel, train passengers get to see more of the world while acting more sustainably. A shorter trip, such as from Washington, D.C. to New York, NY takes about the same amount of time door-to-door as an airplane flight would take, while emitting half the amount of carbon dioxide. Train travel tends to be way cheaper than air travel, even at the last minute!

For more train travel tips, check out RTM’s Train Section.

Eco-Friendly Road Trip: Take the Guilt out of Driving

Even though your car's going to log way more miles than usual, road trips are actually a pretty efficient way of travel. Think of it as a really long carpool - by packing a bunch of people into one car, the group as a whole uses less resources. Want to make your trip even greener?

·         Skip the drive-through – idling wastes gas and your money, produces emissions, and is bad for your car (it increases overall engine wear). In New York City alone, idling cars and trucks each year produce 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide, a new Environmental Defense Fund report shows.

·         Rent a hybrid or vegetable oil powered van.

·         Try not to speed – every 5 mph you travel over 60 mph costs you roughly an extra 20 cents per gallon.

·         Try to eat locally, or use a green restaurant guide.

·         Stay at campsites if possible, or at hotels that are making an effort to go green.

 

For more road trip advice, visit RTM's Travel Advice & Tips Section.