Slowly kayaking down the Mississippi

The New York Times reports on the father and son boat trip down the Mississippi.

Paul Schneider and his 15-year-old son took to the river near St. Louis and kayaked down its slow waters.

The truth is, my 15-year-old son and I didn’t have specific destinations in mind on this kayaking trip in June. We hadn’t come to the Mississippi to prove or conquer anything. We just came to see what the most storied river in America had to offer a couple of supplicants with plastic boats and a week and a half with which to play.

Read the full story: Peacefully adrift as the Mississippi rolls by

Photo by Evelyn Hockstein for The New York Times

Berlin solar-powered boat launch

Reuters video reports on the new solar-powered boat that will take visitors around Berlin, Germany's rivers.

The 60-passenger boat called Solon is powered solely by the solar panels placed on the roof. The panels soak in the sun and the energy produced is stored in batteries. Another benefit is that no smelly fumes and barely any noise comes from running the boat.

Watch the video below:

Slow travel for our 100th post

Ecotravel News is celebrating our 100th post with a story about "slow travel," the ultimate in eco-travel.

Slow travel is essentially traveling without the airplanes that everyone knows are bad for the environment and slowing down and enjoying the journey to the new country.

One man that slow traveled around the world is Ed Gillespie who spoke to NPR recently about his journey:

"'What is the purpose of travel?' [Gillespie] asks. 'Is it about a checklist of sights that we want to go and see? ... Or is it actually about the notion of just getting away? And can we experience that notion of getting away with methods that don't have the same kind of environmental impact that unfortunately flying does?'"

Listen to his interview: First slow food, now a movement for slow travel

Boat to use the power of ocean waves from Hawaii to Japan

Environmental News Network reports on the environmentally-friendly wave-powered boat that will be sailed solo from Hawaii to Japan. Although 69-year-old Japanese sailor Ken-ichi Horie hopes to make a Guinness record with this first-ever wave-powered boat, his trip could also prove the viability of this innovative technology. Besides being powered by waves, the boat's electrical elements will be powered through solar energy. His trip is expected to take three months of the distance 4,350 miles.

Read the full story: World's first wave powered boat