Texas' Enchanted Rock

The Houston Chronicle reports on an intriguing rock that is the highlight of its self-named natural area. The Enchanted Rock of the Enchanted Rock Natural Area, once a part of the earth's interior, was pushed to the surface in an explosive display of natural change:

" 'This huge mass of granite, molten material cooled at depth about 1.1 billion to 1.2 billion years ago. It has been exposed and eroded and exposed again. What we are seeing is a small nub of a much larger structure that runs indepth under much of central Texas,' says petroleum geologist Carter Keairns, former head of geology at Texas State University. 'When you are standing on Enchanted Rock, you are basically standing on top of a one-time magma chamber that probably fed volcanoes up above it,' "

The 425 foot-high Enchanted Rock is climbable with a trail that leads to the top. Views from the summit reportably make one feel connected to nature.

Read the full story: Enchanted Rock

Responsible travel advice from Conde Nast Traveler

Conde Nast Traveler's latest issue is filled with green travel advice. One of the feature articles is a so-called handbook on how to travel the eco way. G. Jeffrey MacDonald does give some insightful tips on how to counter the ethical dilemmas many travelers face, like when deciding whether travel is good/bad for the environment verses being good/bad for the local developing economy:

"But experts are quick to point out that the most obvious solutions to problems such as these—reducing our flights and using less water—aren't necessarily the best way forward. If travelers quit flying, for instance, wildlife and nature preserves in developing countries would likely fail, [Martha Honey, executive director of the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, in Washington, D.C.] says. "It would be devastating to the local economies and to the national parks in those places that depend on tourism."

Read the full article: Green is not Black and White

Is ecotourism solution for Madagascar

The island nation of Madagascar is slowly becoming an eco-travel destination. Tourists come to see animals such as the lemur that can only been seen there. But because the country is poor and developing, environmental damage consisting of major forest clear-cutting for rice farming and survival is a major problem that is threatening the few remaining areas of natural forests. Current TV's Adam Yamaguchi traveled to this island and reports on the hope of eco-tourism among a few other measures to help save what's left of the island's environment:

From poop to paper, conservation in Thailand

An interesting idea for eco-travel is to visit local businesses that help conserve the environment in unique ways. I recently traveled to Thailand and visited two paper factories who reuse elephant and panda dung to make the paper with. Watch my report below:

Oxymoronic ecotourism

One would think that the eco-tourism industry cares about the environment and would therefore not be harmful to the animal and plant life its livelihood depends on. But no matter how careful tour companies are when they take tourists to view wildlife and natural phenomena, disturbance will and does happen. Eric Jaffe from Science News magazine wrote a well-researched and varied piece on this ironic subject. Although written over a year ago, it is still very much current and disturbing:

"Visitors travel 3 to 5 hours by boat to reach the beaches of Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park—home to hawksbill, green, and leatherback turtles. Since the early 1990s, park officials and conservationists have gone to great lengths to protect these rare animals. The money that tourists pay to watch the turtles nest goes to safeguard the species... And while tourists don't directly harm the turtles, they leave trash such as water bottles and snack wrappers in Tortuguero, which lacks an adequate waste-processing center."

Read the full story: Good Gone Wild

Enjoy a special moon phenomenon in Kentucky

The Nashville Tennessean via The Cincinnati Inquirer published a how-to guide to see a unique celestial viewing of moonbows in Kentucky's Cumberland Falls State Park. This moonbow occurs when the light from the moon illuminates the watery mist from the tumbling falls of the Cumberland River. To take full advantage of seeing the moonbows visitors to the park can also go on overnight hiking or kayaking trips.

Read the full story: Moonbows add color

Tooting our own horn, thanks Go Green!

Ecotravel news has been away but were happy to discover just today that we are featured in the Go Green wiki resource guide. Moderator Annemcd wrote an interesting review of our blog containing some insights:

"Standout Features: Schroeder scours the environmental news in both specialty and mainstream publications, provides scathing and/or laudatory commentary, and provides links to the original articles so you can decide for yourself. In a ballsy if self-destructive move for a freelancer, she doesn't pull punches when a story in a prominent publication lauds a leisure travel activity that many environmentalists believe is destructive. She's an equal opportunity decrier."

Annemcd also pointed out some horrifying spelling mistakes in our disclaimer, which have since been fixed. Thanks Annemcd!

Read our full review on Go Green

Endangered bird making comeback

The New York Times reports on a somewhat successful comeback of the endangered Piping Plover. The closures of certain Massachussetts beach areas where the birds nest has led to some sightings of the disappearing bird. The beach closures also led to bans on other nest-disturbing activities such as fireworks and ATV bans:

“The closures are still fairly controversial,” said Mr. Prokop, whose team did an assessment last winter to find alternative trails should some be closed for the plovers. “We try to be reasonable in our closures to provide access, but the protection of a threatened bird species that’s protected under the Endangered Species Act is paramount.”

Read the full story: In aid of a bird, some inconveniences for people

Alaskan island of Kivalina victim of global warming

The Los Angeles Times published a story about the impact of global warming on the Alaskan island of Kivalina. Ocean ice that once protected the fragile shorelines now is open water that is causing major soil erosion. So much so that engineers predict that in 10 to 15 years the entire island will wash away.

Read the full story: An Alaskan island is losing ground

T & L magazine's responsible travel section

Travel and Leisure magazine is taking eco-friendly travel to heart by publishing a responsible travel section on its website. Among the many ecotourism articles and ways to leave less of a carbon footprint was Joe Wise's article on Greenland.

Melting glaciers and icecaps are some of the best places to really see the impact of global warming. And since this topic is gaining popularity, places such as Greenland, with rising temperatures and melting ice are attracting many more tourists recently. Perhaps people want to see upclose big chunks of ice breaking off into the water so they can then brag to their friends back home that they saw some of the last of the polar ice.

Mr. Wise found out that along with the cons of warmer temps also came some pros:

"Greenland has become indisputably warmer over the last decade or so. This has made it difficult to reach traditional ice-fishing sites by dogsled. On the other hand, it’s now possible to take boats out fishing year-round, and the reindeer herds, with more to feed on, are growing."

Read the full story: The melting point

Farm work as vacation

The New York Times reports on a growing niche vacation market of so-called agritourism. City folks who want to know where their food comes from can pay over $100 a night to be farm hands. Certain participating farms will deduct a small amount for each hour of "farming" performed.

Read the full story: Down on the farm with your sleeves rolled up

Spot endangered dolphins in Hong Kong

Among the high-rise buildings and disappearing nature in Hong Kong is the endangered dolphin watch tour. The Washington Post reports on this rare ecotravel sight:

"The dolphins are going head to head with Hong Kong development, and bets are with the builders."

Read the full article: Hong Kong's dolphins will tickle you pink

Eco-transportation in new electric cars

Plenty magazine reports on some choices for green transportation in the form of new electric cars. Car manufacturers are realizing that with gas prices so high, consumers might actually want to drive something that isn't so dependent on oil, so are by demand developing these green vehicles. Although the choices seem limited now, hopefully commuters will see that being environmentally-friendly and carbon-free is a win-win solution and in turn will drive up the manufacture of these more earth-friendly cars.

Read the full story: The second coming of the electric car

Ecotravel guidebooks

The Washington Post had a recent article on "green guidebooks." Popular travel guide series such as Lonely Planet and Rough Guides among others have published books on how to travel the environmentally friendly way:

"'In general, the U.S. market is just becoming aware of eco-travel, carbon footprint and the impact of travel on the planet,' said Fodor's Travel publisher Tim Jarrell. He said that as Americans 'increasingly become concerned about global warming, they will begin to examine different parts of their life.'"

Read the full story: Guidebooks show travelers how to go green

Caribbean resort promises zero emission vacation

Environmental News Network reports on the environmental friendliness of Caribbean island Grenada's Paradise Bay resort. Visitors will have their carbon emissions from both flight and hotel stay offset. All organic food is grown locally. And volunteering will get guests involved with local agriculture. The resort also uses energy produced by its own windmill which actually produces much more energy than is used.

Read the full story: Grenada resort fine tunes sustainable approach

Celebrities in eco-resorts

Plenty Magazine had a recent story about celebrities' green travel choices. Well-known personalities have been spotted in eco-resorts. And if they're not going to eco-resorts they're running them. Several stars have even purchased islands that already run or will run earth-friendly resorts.

Read the full story: Green Splashes

Tourism in India should turn green

Environmental News Network reports that most of India's environmental degradation in certain areas comes from tourism, so recommendations for ecotourism would be very beneficial to both environment and economy. Locals in highly touristed areas such as the Himalayan region don't benefit from international tourism even though tourist money has increased substantially over the years. Recommendations for community-based and owned projects would keep locals in the area who can look after and upkeep the natural environment.

"Conservation-based businesses such as ecotourism and allied services like organic farming and food processing [have] a good potential of generating quality jobs and income in…[the] Himalayas," says Manoj Bhatt, president and executive director of Research, Advocacy and Communication in Himalayan Areas.

Read the full article: Ecotourism may benefit India's environment, economy

Enjoy Natural Wildlife Refuge Week

Next week (10.7-13) is the start of Natural Wildlife Refuge Week. The Washington Post compiled a list of seven different places where one can commune with nature and enjoy the week.

Read the full story: Take a trip to where the wild things are

Miami Herald's mislabeled story

The Miami Herald posted an article with the word ecotourism in its headline but this doesn't seem to be the correct term in describing the subject. Basically the piece was about the writer's family's adventure in Queensland Australia while they drove around in their rented car and marvelled at all the Australian animals. There was nothing about conservation nor preservation nor anything about how animal agriculture has ruined the world's smallest continent and steps taken to counter this. No, only a diary about "white people encountering a new land" and how old can that be? How does this writer Tim Johnson have the audacity of claiming his article has anything to do with ecotourism?

Read the full story: Ecotourism adventures abound in northern Australia's Queensland

LA Times tells where to view fall folliage

The Los Angeles Times showcases their five best picks for viewing autumnal colors.

Read the full article: The hunt for Red October

CSM answers question about cruise's eco-consciousness

The Christian Science Monitor answers their article title's question about how to find and take a green cruise. Happily it seems that most of the large cruise lines respect and care for the ocean and marine life, claims a conservation advocate, which is something that large oceanside hotels aren't so great about doing. But later on in the article it is recommended to "avoid major cruise lines" and take smaller and shorter boat excursions. However each individual passenger needs to be aware of his/her own impact when at ports of call. And naturally travel to less heavily-touristed areas help local economies and lessen the already heavy impact of too many travelers.

Read the full story: Is it possible to take an ecofriendly cruise?

West Africa's new eco-lodges

The New York Times Travel magazine published an interesting account of writer Elinor Burkett's experience with the new luxury eco-lodges in the not-so-eco West African countries of Gabon and Gambia. She scoffs at the "audacity" of a $400 per-night lodge in the middle of such poverty stricken countrysides. But once she enters the compounds where the lodges lie, such skepticism vanishes. For the governments to realize that creating protected areas to lure foreign tourists and their money, is a plus for both the tourist looking for a new exotic destination as well as the county's wildlife and natural areas. And hopefully with time the countries can use their new eco-tourist money to help create larger conservation areas and alleviate some of their poverty as well.

Read the full story: Hope floats in Africa

Sharing bicycles in Paris

The Washington Post has published an article about the French capital's new shared public transportation bicycles. The Velibs, which is a clever combination of the French name for bicycle, velo and freedom, liberte, can be cheaply rented around the city by just using your credit card:

"Here's how it works: Velibs can be picked up and dropped off at any of a thousand stations around the capital, where users insert credit cards into a machine to sign up for a day (one euro, or about $1.40), a week (five euros) or a year (29 euros). A fee of $205 is taken from your account if the bike is not returned. Caveat: At this point, only smart-chip Visa cards and America Express cards are accepted.

The system is designed to encourage short journeys: After paying your subscription fee and picking up a bike, the first half-hour is free. The second half-hour costs one euro, the third costs two euros and a fourth would cost an added four euros, to encourage people to stick to the half-hour system."

So using a bike to get around is a green way to see Paris.

Read the full story: Free wheeling: Paris's new bike system

National Public Lands Day

Next Saturday (9.29.07) is National Public Lands Day, the day to volunteer at public lands such as national parks around the nation to improve trails among other things and to generally make the spaces more enjoyable for other outdoor enthusiasts.

visit their website to see what you can do in your state: publiclandsday.org

Maine corn mazes

Maine's Portland Press Herald had a great article about the popularity of interactive agriculture, that being corn mazes. The mazes are giant works of art that take careful planning and planting but once finished visitors can have fun in the corn. The Herald also points out that the mazes are important as supplemental income for small farms, so visiting also supports local farmers which is always better for the environment than huge faceless agribusinesses.

Read the full story: Get lost

Badger state promoting ecotourism

USA Today reported that Wisconsin is actively promoting itself as an eco-tourist destination as a way to distinguish itself as a better travel destination than neighboring states. Whatever the motivation, it's good to see that this state is greening up its sights and luring visitors that have a low-impact vacation in mind. Wisconsin happens to be only one of the few U.S. states that are now taking an active role in eco-travel.

Read the full story: Wisconsin's sights are set on earth-friendly tourism

Seeing stars at Joshua Tree

Another way to enjoy nature is to visit national parks and gaze upward at the beauty of the starry night sky that is rarely as visible when viewed from a city. The Los Angeles Times had a eye-opening feature about the growing popularity of astronomical interest as viewed from Joshua Tree National Park.

Read the full story: Star-gazing parties light up Joshua Tree's low desert

How to enjoy chilly fall kayaking

The Idaho Statesman's Outdoor section had a good article about how to enjoy outdoor sports such as kayaking in the colder months of autumn. Medical doctor Paul Collins gave sage advice about what sort of layers to wear and what sort of emergency equipment to bring.

Read the full story: Fall kayaking

Bear attack reminds about nature's unpredictability

The LA Times had a gripping two part series about a father and daughter hiking team who were attacked by a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park. Experiencing nature is a wonderful thing but encountering wild animals can be hazardous. It's one of the ironies of ecotravel. Most who go explore nature appreciate and want to preserve it, but no matter how ecological one is, if wild animals deem you a threat, they will do what they can to protect themselves. This becomes more of a problem as people begin to encroach on wilderness areas and wild animals become used to people and find foraging in garbage is an easy way to get food.

Read the full story: A hike into horror

Heli-hiking, ruining the environment you're supposedly enjoying

Leave it to elitist snob newspaper The New York Times to publish one of the most anti-environmental and hypocritical travel stories about heli-hiking. This new sport is inspired by heli-skiing, where skiers who aren't content with regular ski runs, get helicoptered to the untouched powder of the back country in order to "tear it up."

Heli-hiking is for people who want to pay exorbitant fees (excerpt from article: "You also don’t have to be rich: not counting the airfare, I paid $2,400 for my trip," says writer Joe Nocera. Not sure how much the NYTimes pays him, but last time I checked, $2,400 for a joyride up a mountain wasn't just change lying around in my pocket...) to be helicoptered to the top of a mountain because they are too out of shape to actually hike up it from the bottom. These are probably the same type of rich out-of-shape idiots who go up Mount Everest and expect that their wealth will protect them from death.

In any case, enjoying nature is one thing, but to actually go out of your way to take a carbon spewing helicopter to the top of a mountain to claim you are hiking is absolutely ridiculous. Thanks Joe for having another one of those environmentally irresponsible articles all in the name of fun. And to think that you actually felt sore muscles by going hiking which is a physically exerting sport, that's absolutely amazing.

Read the full article: Five-star wilderness

Surfboarding's environmental nightmare

The materials that surfboards are made from are so damaging to the environment that a surfboard core business recently shutdown. Plenty Magazine investigated the unenvironmentalness of the business of surfboard manufacture as well as the actions that British surfers are taking to clean up local beaches. Surfing seems like a back-to-nature type sport and probably most surfers do so because of the closeness to nature. But the detriments of the boards have come to light so the next time a surf holiday comes to mind, thinking twice about the negative environmental impact is a must.

Read the full article: The next big wave

Mt. Whitney trekkers leave nothing behind

The New York Times had an interesting story about how the removal of all outhouses on the hiking trails on Mt. Whitney now means that all hikers must pack-out their - ahem - waste.

"The 19,000 or so hikers who pick up Forest Service permits each year to hike the Whitney Trail are given double-sealed sanitation kits and told how to use them - just as they are told how to keep their food from the bears along the way, and how to find shelter when lightning storms rake the ridges."

Read the full story: No more privies, so hikers add a carry-along

Vatican to be carbon neutral

Although the Vatican started a new airline recently, it is interesting to see a report in the International Herald Tribune about the Catholic nation's carbon offsetting program. A "denuded" forest in Hungary was donated to the Vatican by the Klimafa company, who will plant enough trees that they claim will absorb all the carbon emitted from the nation-state's "various activities."

"In so doing, the Vatican announced, it would become the world's first carbon-neutral state. 'As the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, recently stated, the international community needs to respect and encourage a "green culture," ' said Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Planting forests is only "a partial solution, and a temporary one. [It] will only compensate for a small fraction of emissions, even if you cover all of Hungary in young trees," said Laszlo Galhidy, forestry officer for the environmental group WWF Hungary, although he praised the [Vatican] project as a useful step."

Read the full report: Vatican agress to a carbon offset scheme

Miami Herald's Earth & Man section

The Miami Herald's travel section dedicated to appreciating natural beauty is aptly named Earth & Man / Travel to Sensitive Destinations. Although not all articles published on this section have to do with getting to destinations the most ecofriendly way possible, they do highlight natural areas that can inspire travelers to become more environmentally friendly.

Their latest story about cruising Greenland's icecap shows firsthand reactions to the obvious melting:

"Nearly every [Greenlander] local has a story of warming temps: a noticeably shrinking icecap, shifting fish populations, a dog-sledding season cut short by three months. This much seems certain: As ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica warm and glaciers worldwide thin, the sea will rise significantly. Coasts will shift. Though it won't happen quickly -- not in this lifetime, or perhaps the next -- that scenario seems all the more reason to trade in the gas guzzler, change to energy saver light bulbs."

Read the full story: Greenland: Cruise explores harsh universe - in comfort

Nature Conservancy lodge educates visitors

The Houston Chronicle had a recent article about Bear Mountain Lodge which is one of the seven lodges run by the environmental group Nature Conservancy. Bear Mountain is outside of Silver City, New Mexico. The lodge's staff duly educate the guests about the surrounding preserved land's wildlife, nature and enviromental problems:

"[The guide] had pointed out the impacts of cattle grazing, fire suppression and soil loss. 'It takes 1,000 years for one inch of soil to be restored in the desert Southwest.' He spoke about the fragility of the Western landscape, about the land's capacity and lack thereof, to heal itself. There are hopeful signs — the return of the variable checkerspot butterfly, hitherto not seen in these parts for 30 years; the renewed vibrancy of the clumpy pinyon rice grass underfoot; the exuberant re-emergence of cottonwood forests, marshlands and backwater wetlands at the Conservancy's Gila River Farm Preserve."

Read the full story: Blending comfort and conservation

Vatican adding another detriment to environment

If the Vatican hasn't done enough to ruin the environment with their so-called "godly" edicts such as spreading overpopulation to the extreme by saying birth control is a sin, now they are adding an airline so pilgrims can pray at holy sites that much faster.

Hey, but the carbon emissions spewn out from this "holy" plane will let these souls get to heaven so even though they add to the already polluted skies and global warming, the final goal of death can be that much more torturous. The agony of dying from cancer is noble as long as you will know you will be uplifted in the end into the arms of the Lord.

Congratulations Vatican for adding to the earth's decline, may your souls rest in peace knowing how you helped ruin the world.

Read the Reuters report: Vatican airline takes to the skies

Carbon offsetting explained

Budget Travel magazine's online article explaining the do's and don'ts of offsetting airline travel is a breath of fresh air so to speak. Carbon offsetting is a big trendy word and environmental snobs seem to always proclaim that they do this. Although it is a noble cause - to give money to a company to plant x number of trees to counter the greenhouse gas emissions spewn out from airline travel - knowing what these offsetting companies actually do with your money and if it is really worth it is always sort of mysterious.

Read the full article: On Flier's Remorse

Texas Bamboo Festival worth an eco-visit

The Houston Chronicle headlined Texas' own 15th annual Bamboo Festival in their Texas Weekender section.

As most environmentalists know, bamboo is becoming the darling of the sustainable building. It is easy and fast to grow and also extremely strong, traits that can now replace hard woods as building materials and therefore replace the cutting down of old-growth forests for lumber.

It's good to see that in an oil industry state an environmentally friendly plant can be celebrated.

Learn more about the Bamboo Festival at their official website.

Ultimate ecotrip N to S poles emissions-free

Plenty Magazine highlighted an earth-friendly travel story about two young Britons who are in the midst of journeying from North to South Poles using emissions-free vehicles in order to raise awareness about global warming. Although the two lads will trek, ski, bike and sail the entire distance, they are not entirely alone and do have support vehicles:

"Despite their best intentions, the explorers still need a little technological help while working toward their goal. Every night the pair camps and eats locally-grown food cooked on a portable camping stove using natural gas. Their support team’s trailer, which follows the determined duo, has been fitted with a solar panel.

Inevitably there will be “a moderate carbon footprint due to the logistics of such a large expedition” explains [explorer James] Hooper. But this is being calculated and offset as they go."

A much better and ecofriendlier way to make a long-scale sponsored trip than our previous post about the car-safety awareness trip overland Asia.

Go to the expedition website: 180 degrees Pole to Pole
Read the full Plenty article: Going to Extremes

Road trip across Asia, backed by U.N. under guise of promoting road safety

The Driving Home Road Safety 2007 project was the brainchild of two middle-aged Britons who wanted an excuse to travel the new interconnecting Asia Highway roads all the way from Tokyo to London. It was touted as:

"an epic journey along the newly completed Asia-Pacific Highway bringing world attention to road safety awareness and raising money to help save children from deaths and injury on the roads."

The United Nations jumped on board, eager for a way to promote their Make Roads Safe and Road Safety is no Accident campaigns whose purpose are "to help reduce the shocking toll of road-related injuries and fatalities, particularly in developing nations."

The car driven across the countries was a sponsored Aston Martin with advertising labels all over its exterior. The most profound of these stickers were from the U.N. projects in bold white type: "Make Roads Safe" and "Road Safety is no Accident." Since most of the countries they drove through were non-English speaking and - to say politely - developing , most of the people who saw the car probably had no idea what it was all about.

So promoting road safety is one thing, but doing it in a car is environmentally irresponsible. Especially since the number of vehicles in a huge polluting nation such as China are growing rapidly.

The explosion of car use in China is a major environmental concern. According to The Ecologist, just over 15 years ago there were about 1 million vehicles in use. This has risen to 12 million in 2005; and China estimates that by 2020 there will be some 140 million cars in use. Still, right now, that turns out to be about eight car users per 1,000 people; in the U.S. there are 950 cars per 1,000.

Unfortunately because of the new interconnecting road system, this explosion of vehicles can now do just what these two men did, drive around and pollute the environment. To really make the world "safe" the big picture of health and environmental protection needs to be addressed. A flashy campaign to let two thrill-seeking men drive through various developing Asian nations is just a ruse to make people feel good about themselves under the pretense of doing the good for others. These guys probably arose more interest in driving and possessing a car than anything about being so-called safe.

Read the complete diary: Driving Home Road Safety 2007

Lhasa train excites tourists, but with no mention of environmental or cultural controversies

LA Times travel writer Susan Spano recently made a trip on the new-ish train connecting Beijing and Lhasa. Unfortunately it was more about her own personal observations rather than any insight into the environmental and cultural problems that the train line created. Mostly it was "white person in China" drivel such as:

"When it was time to eat, we filed into the dining car for an unappetizing meal served on tin plates: potatoes, cabbage, greens, a slice of Spam, half a hard-boiled egg and rice."

She did mention one line about the controversy of the train exploiting the mineral riches of "Tibet," but without doing the homework of what "Tibet" really is. Tibet proper consists of the provinces Kham, Amdo and U-Tsang. What westerners call Tibet is really the Tibetan Autonomous Region, or TAR, predominantly in the U-Tsang area. Kham and Amdo lie in China. When the Chinese government "liberated" the region of Tibet in the 1950s it sliced through the middle of the historical Tibetan area and created the TAR in 1965 for "administrative purposes." The Chinese slaughtered and drove out thousands of Tibetans including the Dalai Lama for their own selfish ruling purposes. Western nations refuse to do anything about the "Tibet situation" because of their own dealings with cheap labor and manufacturing that China represents.

The train to Lhasa has brought cultural and environmental concerns. Firstly, it will bring more of the Han Chinese (the predominant chinese ethnicity) to distill the already distilled Tibetan culture. A major health concern from this is the heightened risk of HIV/AIDS which could blossom under the "frontier-like" conditions created by the railway construction and subsequent tourist industry.

Secondly, the environmental concerns of building and running a train over previously undisturbed natural areas has been addressed by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The embassy released a 2003 report criticizing the Chinese so-called environmental protection during the building process. The protection and health of the natural tundra and native species disturbed during the building of the rail line were of major concern. Another key point was the long-term effects hundreds of travelers will have on the delicate eco-system. Where will the waste and garbage be disposed of? How will the train disturb wildlife's natural migrations? And what will be built to support the tourists at proposed rest stops during the train ride?

Glad to see that for western writers the thrill of the train ride is much more important than what the full cost of the train line really represents.

Read more about the entire region of Tibet: The Government of Tibet in exile
Read the U.S. Embassy report: Environmental protection along the Qinghai-Tibet railway
Read the full LA Times article: Beijing-Lhasa Express the train ride of a lifetime

Stay tuned for more "white person in China" stories from Ms. Spano because the paper touts that luckily she: "will take us behind the scenes in Beijing, from its hutongs to its luxury hotels. She will also explore lesser-known corners of China that are made for the cultural and adventure traveler."

Climate Camp's day of "mass action"

Ultimate day for Climate Camp for Action's protest against London's Heathrow airport expansion:

"Mass action: on Sunday August 19 we will symbolically mark out the path of the proposed third runway. Then at 3pm we will converge on BAA headquarters and blockade BAA for as long as possible."

Read their website: climatecamp.org.uk

Ecotravel news' own ecotravel

Ecotravel news was away for a few days to the Washington, D.C. area, and although perhaps this doesn't strike one as an ecotravel destination, we try to be environmentally conscious when traveling even on short trips.

First of all we used public transportation to get there, one of the handy and cheap Chinatown buses. We took the NYC subway to get to the bus station in Chinatown. The bus was pretty much full and we noticed that when the driver gassed-up he used ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.

Once in D.C. we used their subway system to meet up with our friend's private car, which when used, always had at least three people in it.

There are many other options for quick getaways, but the cheapest it turned out was also environmentally minded.

Travel without gassing up your car

Michael Martinez of the San Jose Mercury News wrote an environmentally responsible travel piece this past June about quick getaways using public transportation. For a paper produced in the Silicon Valley sprawl, where driving everywhere is the norm, this was a bold subject. Although originally written to help people not pay high gas prices, he wrote somewhat ironically:

"As it turns out, the virtuous decision to leave the car at home wasn't always an economically smart one. But we felt good about making an environmental statement, even if it cost us a bit more."

Obviously in order to get to these gas-free destinations one must live in San Jose, but there are many destinations in other cities and towns that are within easy reach of public transportation - try and seek them out.

Read the full story: Gas-free getaways

Camp protesting London’s Heathrow airport expansion

BBC online has an excellent series on the Camp for Climate Action whose week-long protest demands stopping an expansion to London’s Heathrow airport. The protestors claim the expansion and growing air travel in general generate the majority of greenhouse gases that contribute to the earth’s changing climate.

Greenpeace campaigner Emily Armistead said in a radio station interview:

"Aviation emissions aren't even part of our climate budget - they don't fall within Kyoto [Protocol, the treaty for climate change]- and for that reason the government has just given the aviation industry a green light to expand when the rest of us are being told we have to reduce our emissions."

International flights leaving the UK constitute 7% of all national carbon dioxide emissions.

Read the full story: Hundreds due at airport protest

Missing Lao ecopioneer bodes ill for Laos ecotourism industry

Laos eco-hoteler Sompawn "Pawn" Khantisouk was abducted in April and has not been seen or heard from since.

Laos' ecotourism industry was just beginning burgeon and many foreign tourists began visiting - but this could also be the problem. Several Chinese building projects were threatening protected areas and evidence of detriments from these projects were beginning to show in the local popluation. The Lao government is still suspicious of foreign travelers and is willing to subcontract its land for environmentally destructive projects only for the purpose of endowing itself. Athough touted as an eco-destination, travelers should think about visiting a country that would kidnap one of its own ecopioneers.

Melody Kemp wrote a wonderful in-depth article about this subject for Webdiary.

Read more about this:
Webdiary: Lost in Laos
Lonely Planet's travel blog: The fate of Lao ecotourism

Wash Post tells you how to ruin the environment

In this era of environmental accountability and responsibility, The Washington Post countered this trend by printing a completely backwater article today about tearing up sand dunes with all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, for the simple pursuit of so-called fun.

It also went on to list the beaches or dune areas where one can actually "tear it up" with an ATV. That is like giving terrorists maps of prime locations of where to plant bombs and giving them instructions of exactly how to do it. But here a so-called "media giant" newspaper is helpfully informing polluters and environmental destroyers how to do more damage to the fragile environment - just so they can have a good time.

The writer of this horrible story, Cindy Loose, should definitely be ashamed of herself. Check out this excerpt:

"The section of the [Oceano] dunes [within the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve] and beachfront open to ATVs and other vehicles is a point of controversy. The Santa Lucia chapter of the Sierra Club won a lawsuit in 2005 that increased the size of the area fenced off for nesting birds. The environmental group is now pushing to make the nesting area off-limits year-round, so that the habitat on which the birds depend is kept in good shape for their annual arrival...

Hiking the dunes would certainly have been better for my health, but I confess a tendency to see an inverse relationship between what's healthy and what's the most fun. And riding the dunes definitely falls into my "most fun" category."

Congratulations Cindy on writing one of the least-environmentally responsible travel articles ever.

Read the full story: Hey, Dune

What makes a green hotel?

Last year, Travel and Leisure explored the question about what constitutes green hotels.

Surprisingly writer David Propson found that even the most eco of the ecoproperties which could claim such inspiring aspects such as solar panels, recycling rainwater etc. could never truly be "carbon-neutral." But awareness of the environment and creating efforts in greening hotels, no matter how small, was a step in the right direction.

Read the full story: The Ultimate Green Hotel

Nature lovers flock to manufactured WA isle

Jetty Island, although made by man, is an oasis of nature - and even better - is just a free two-minute ferry ride away from the Washington State town of Everett. The recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer article says the island, originally built as a breakwater for ships pulling into the port in the 1980's, has become a wildlife sanctuary and a local "mini-vacation spot." Visitors can play on the sandy beaches, take hikes or go on naturalist tours.

This island shows that ecotourism can spring up from surprising places, even those originally intended for easing human purposes.

Another interesting albeit non-environmental aspect is that this article was extremely well-written by high school student Danielle Winslow who is participating in a Seattle University journalism workshop. She could put some so-called journalism professionals to shame, nice job!

Read the full story: Everett's man-made Jetty Island is all about nature

CSM reports on lobster ecotours

The Christian Science Monitor posted this story today with subheadline:

"A twist on ecotourism turns kids into sternmen, adults into foragers, a lobsterman into a floating mentor, and crustaceans into unwitting stars of the show."

It explains how tourists to Maine can go out on a lobster boat with a real lobsterman to learn about the trade and then if there is a good catch eat a lobster for dinner.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines ecotourism as: "Tourism involving travel to areas of natural or ecological interest, typically under the guidance of a naturalist, for the purpose of observing wildlife and learning about the environment."

So according to the dictionary definition, these lobster tourists are traveling to natural areas, under the guidance of the well-informed lobsterman (who doesn't exactly qualify as a naturalist, in my humble opinion), for the purpose of observing and learning about lobsters - but - then eating them for dinner...

A twist on ecotourism indeed!

Read the full story: All claws on deck for lobster tours