Malaysian island's World Heritage status in jeopardy

USA Today reports on the planned high-rise hotel development on Malaysian Island Penang which threatens its UNESCO World Heritage label.

The capital Georgetown is a protected World Heritage site; a status that does not permit the town to build buildings over a certain height.

The city approved four new high-rise hotels violating the height limit and putting the protected status in jeopardy.

Read the full story: Development at Malaysian World Heritage site raises concerns

MTV crew destroys Panamanian rain forest

Tree Climber's Coalition reports on the destruction that an MTV reality show crew did to a Panamanian rain forest site.

Entertainment productions always disturb normal ways of life. In New York City, there is always some sort of production every week with crews setting up their stuff all over the place and closing off streets.

But in this instance MTV - who has a so-called "green crusade" - did not abide by their own self-proclaimed eco-ness.

The TCC has a first-hand account of the disturbance the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" did to the normally quiet Panamanian beach area they filmed in.

When MTV left TCC noticed that MTV left trash, created new roads, and clear-cut the rain forest - all for their production.

Read the full story: "Reality" TV gets real trashy

This week's most un-eco trip goes to Barack Obama

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama went on a trip to the Middle East and Europe this past week.

He traveled thousands of miles on his plane and used up many road miles in private vehicles with security and local police escorts. The amount of carbon emissions spewed out are too many to count.

Senator Obama claims he is for the environment and even has a section on his own website touting all the energy and environmental things he wants to achieve including: reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Mr. Obama needs to take some of his own advice because as we all know airplane travel releases large amounts of greenhouse gases.

The trip was for the purpose of media coverage to show voters that he could be adept at international affairs, an area that he is admittedly lacking in. But the trip was so whirlwind, Obama also admitted that it could be of little political benefit since most Americans are focused more on domestic issues than international ones.

So if the trip was for nothing, then at least Mr. Obama can know that he helped add to the demise of the environment for no good reason except for his own vanity.

At least The New York Times today criticized the trip and questioned if the Senator's motivations of looking presidential were presumptuous and arrogant. We at Ecotravel News answer that with a strong "Yes."

For more on Obama's eco-hypocriticism check out this archived post where he's accepting non-biodegradable plastic bags.

Pope urges lifestyle changes to help environment... from his plane

Australia's The Sydney Morning Herald reports on Pope Benedict XVI's visit and urgent message to Australians (that he delivered from his plane before he landed) to save the environment by changing ones lifestyle.

This is just another ironic event (because as we all know that airplanes emit high amounts of carbon that is causing the climate to change) in the Pontiff's tenure.

Ecotravel News has previously pointed out that the Vatican has started their own airline and also have more honorably gone carbon-neutral.

The catholic leader has good intentions but he needs to start following his own advice too, even though the SMH does point out that Australia is becoming less energy-efficient.

Read the full story: Help to save the world, Pope tells Australia
and the sister story of: Nation of climate sinners

Honduras: an ecotourism paradise or claim to lure tourists?

In this month's Slate.com Well-Traveled section Elisabeth Eaves explores what ecotourism means in Honduras.

She points out the ironies of the tourism industry's eco-promise versus the not-so-eco realities.

And she even selflessly points out that tourists - including herself - are also to blame for ruining the environment:

"On our last day on the coast, I floated facedown in the Caribbean, toting up my sins. I had flown in an airplane, taken taxis instead of buses, requested air conditioning, run the air conditioning even after I realized I couldn't shut one of my windows, and bought small plastic bottles of water. That was all before sundown on my first day. Subsequently, I had participated in the feeding of wild animals, been driven around in gasoline-powered cars and boats, eaten conch (I didn't know it was threatened), and—this one hadn't even occurred to me until I read it in a guidebook—worn sunscreen and DEET-laden bug repellent while swimming above the delicate corals. But I had no idea how to weigh all that against whatever minuscule economic benefit I might have been bringing to Honduras."

At least she admits to her eco-sins while most travel writers do not, but if one is writing a story about ecotourism at least one should try to be a little more eco-friendly than she was. To Ecotravel News her story seems like just a ruse to write an article while enjoying a tropical vacation as opposed to really caring about the environment and doing something to make a difference.

Read the full story: Eco-touring in Honduras

Sting and wife eco-hypocrites

Britain's tabloid Daily Mail reports on the apparent eco-contradictions of musician Sting and wife Trudie Styler. It would be one thing if the couple weren't so in-your-face about their do-goodiness, but these two are always leading the pack on eco-high-holiness.


In this ad for an organic yogurt, Styler lends her face and the words:

"I'm committed to protecting the rainforest and the people who live there..."

But according to the DM report they travel extensively by private jets and a "fleet of cars" between their - count 'em - seven homes. Their carbon footprint has even been estimated to be 30-times the average Briton's.

Their so-called environmental commitment sounds like robbing someone of $100 and giving them back $5...

Sting even admits to having "a huge carbon footprint."

An eco-hypocrite by any other name would smell just like - well - Harrison Ford.

Read the full story: 'It's true - we're hypocrites...'

Harrison Ford environmentalist or ?

National Geographic Adventure Magazine profiles Harrison Ford with the sub-headline: "The offscreen adventures of an eco-action figure."

The interview with Mr. Ford, starts out well, saying that his real life is just as adventurous (yet eco-conscious) as his Indiana Jones onscreen persona. He has been "moonlighting" for Conservation International since 1991!

But what does this have to do with travel?

Ford spoke to the magazine about his supposed environmentalness through his "high stakes, hard landings, lost worlds, and why he prefers his adventures unscripted." Hmm... as an airplane pilot, how environmental can this actor be?

"[Adventure Mag. question]: You've visited some untrodden places with [Conservation International] over the years. Any recent trips that really affected you?
HF: I went down to Venezuela and ended up renting a helicopter and flew with my sons to the tops of the tepuis, these freestanding jungle mesas, "lost worlds" as it were. In fact, it's almost impossible to access them without one. So we were able to land and spend some time there. We were trapped for about six hours by clouds that came in. Unbelievable. Spectacular environments. Very likely places where no other person had ever set foot before."

OK, so he says he's an environmentalist but in order to get to an untrammeled place, he rented a HELICOPTER to get there. Does this guy understand that helicopters are not good for the environment?... and he doesn't stop there:

"A: You own two hybrid cars. But it sounds like you prefer going airborne.
HF: Basically. I fly myself everywhere. I like all kinds of flying, including practical flying for search and rescue. And I also like to fly into the backcountry, usually the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho. I go with a group of friends, and we set up camp for about five days and explore little dirt strips and canyons."

Camping is good, but flying is not.

The most disappointing thing about the interview was the fact that NG Adventure did not even question Mr. "eco-action figure" about his unenvironmental hobbies. The media has a responsibility to its readers/followers to not get so ga-ga over a celebrity that the real issues get lost in the shuffle. Tim Russert of Meet the Press had this problem in the 1990s when he interviewed baseball player/alleged steroid user Mark Maguire. Mr. Russert was so overcome by Mr. Maguire's persona that he did not question him once about using steroids... I do think that IMHO Russert got an autographed souvenir from the interview...

Read the full un-environmental interview: Harrison Ford: the next crusade