Artic ice melting fast, near tipping point?

Environmental News Network reports on a study showing evidence of greater Arctic ice melt than previously anticipated.

The report released by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), called the Arctic Climate Impact, shows vast climate change in all arctic systems that is already altering ecosystems and affecting the people and animals living there.

The scientists behind the report are alarmed to the point of discussing whether the Arctic is near the so-called tipping point where nothing can be done to reverse the damage.

The reduction of greenhouse gases worldwide is what will help reduce the melt.

Read the full story: Climate change hitting Arctic faster, harder

Volun-tourism

Volunteering usually involves people who are donating their time to help others in need.

So voluntourism is a growing movement where people can travel somewhere and donate their time there.

MSNBC.com reports on this trend, how it is green and easy to do. Overseas volunteer vacations are becoming increasingly more expensive so this is creating a domestic market making it easier to volunteer closer to home:

"Domestic volunteer vacations, on the other hand, can offer equally rewarding experiences in more familiar surroundings. You can work with Native Americans in Montana or immigrant families in Minnesota with Global Volunteers or help build homes in a dozen different states with Habitat for Humanity."

Read the full story: You don't have to go far to do good

Fishing, hiking and camping along California's Kern River

Hugo Martin of the Los Angeles Times compiled a list of great fishing, camping and hiking spots along the non-crowded Kern River.

Martin, a "spring fever" trout fisher, says fishing should not be a "contact sport" like it is at popular angler spots along the Owens River Valley.

So he set off to find less-crowded spots to enjoy his pastime as well as other outdoor activities.

The Kern is located about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles and just east of Bakersfield.

Read the full story: The fishing's fine along California's Kern River

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...'

Books on the endangered environment

Traveling is bad for the environment no matter how "eco" the traveler is.

And to drill in that point The Washington Post reports on four books that will "make you think about where you're going."

The titles of the books say exactly what you will encounter:

1) Disappearing Destinations: 37 Places in Peril and What Can Be Done to Help Save Them

2) Disappearing World: 101 of the Earth's Most Extraordinary and Endangered Places

3) The Quest for Kaitiakitanga: The Ancient Maori Secret From New Zealand That Could Save the Earth

4) Across the Tibetan Plateau: Ecosystems, Wildlife, and Conservation

It seems like all the books' authors have actually traveled to the places they have written about. But nothing about if they used environmentally-sound traveling policies. The one thing that always bothers me is when pro-environmentalists go all over the world to show how bad the environment is but travel in planes or other greenhouse gas producing transportation, hence worsening the problems with global warming.

It seems to me a little hypocritical.

Read the full story: Traveling to the edge of extinction

Florida without a car

Today is Earth Day; but since we at Ecotravel News make everyday Earth Day, we will as usual just inform eco-interested readers on the latest environmentally-friendly related travel story that caught our eye.

Miami Herald reporter Marjie Lambert was given the task of traveling through Florida sans car.

For her five-day trip she actually had to take the train to three cities and - gasp - walk to all her sightseeing destinations. American cities are not made for walking especially when lugging a suitcase, I'll give her that, so her car-free trip was actually a real challenge that even Ecotravel News would not enjoy undertaking.

Ms. Lambert had a healthy attitude however and by the end of her trip relished in her brush with slow travel, especially since it was cheaper than driving:

"Each leg has taken at least an hour longer than the same trip by car, and cost some convenience. But this journey is part of the growing trend of slower travel with its own pleasant compensations -- the leisure of the train ride, the scenery not visible from I-95, the absence of traffic jams and metal detectors -- and I know I've gotten a real deal."

Read the full story: Florida by train, cities by foot

Earth Day ecotravel deals from Budget Travel

Budget Travel magazine has compiled a list of earth-friendly vacation options for Earth Day.

Among the suggestions is a volunteer vacation to clean-up trash from a national forest in Washington State.

In additon there are weblinks to green organizations for people who want to "make every day earth day."

Read the full story: Give back to the Earth

Houston tops U.S. air pollution emission study

Reuters via the Environmental News Network unveiled the findings of a carbon dioxide emission study and named the top 20 worst offending U.S. cities.

Unsurprisingly cities with major traffic and/or oil business were the largest offenders.

The Vulcan report, funded by NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE), named the Houston area number one with CO2 emission at 18.6 million tons and Los Angeles area a close second with 18.59.

Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit complete the top 5.

Read the full story: Houston, LA named top CO2 polluters

Art created with plastic bags

Plastic bags are the scourge of the environment.

They are hard to avoid in every day life and even harder when traveling, ask Senator Barack Obama. (We endorsed Hillary remember?)

So whenever a clever way of reusing or recycling plastic bags comes along, we like it.

One doesn't usually think of art when thinking about plastic bags, but that is what one innovative art student did.

Joshua Allen Harris (left in picture) created art using plastic bags and air pushed out through the New York City subway grating.

Some of his creations include the Air Bear:


the Air Zoo:


and the Air Giraffe:


According to the Associated Press, these creations are usually installed in the Chelsea neighborhood near Mr. Harris' art school.

So now there's another thing to add to visitors' or curious environmentalists' lists of things-to-see-or-do in NYC.

Contradictions in Costa Rica's ecotourism trade

Costa Rica is often touted as an ecotourist paradise.

But although many tourists visit this Central American country to enjoy nature, the tourist outfits aren't always thinking about keeping the environment as pristine as one would think.

The Christian Science Monitor explored this dark issue in a recent article:

"Statistics revealed that 97 percent of Costa Rica's sewage flows untreated into rivers, streams, or the ocean, and that more than 300,000 tons of garbage was left uncollected on streets in 2006. And a flurry of illegal well-drilling is running aquifers dry, ironic in a country where as much as 20 feet of rain falls annually.

Despite the chaos, less than a quarter of coastal towns have zoning plans to balance tourism development with natural resources and government services such as sewage treatment and public water supply."

Read the full story: Costa Rica sees tourism's environmental dark side

British Columbia's eco-campaign

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports on the new eco-campaign "Be Wild in BC" by neighboring British Columbia.

It's a new publication dropping today that "will help you connect with eco-friendly vacations in British Columbia."

Sounds good to us.

Read the full story: Be wild and green in B.C.

Fodor's gives 10 green travel tips

Travel advice giver Fodor's posted 10 tips on how to be a green traveler. Although many of the tips may be a "duh" for savvy Ecotravel News readers, it's good to see that a mainstream travel publisher is at least trying.

Some of the 10 tips include (with Ecotravel News' comments inside the parens):

#2 Ask about the [tour] company's green philosophies (Good tip, especially if they claim they are eco, they could still use unenvironmental methods like transportation)

#4 Be sensitive to cultures and customs (Although good advice, not sure how that applies to being a green traveler?)

#5 Never litter (!)

Read the full story: 10 tips for greener travel

W Hotels to offer free bikes on Earth Day

The New York Times reports that the luxury W hotel chain will begin offering green transportation alternatives starting this Earth Day.

Guests will be provided with free bikes and helmets. There is a "Spring Fling" package that will donate 100 trees to a charity org. And W will offer a green limo service using hybrids or alternative-fuel vehicles.

Because it's a luxury chain, the green limo service will probably be the greenest thing the guests will be able to sacrifice their lifestyles for. Somehow I don't see these guests using bikes to get to and fro. And who knows how long these so-called green services will last...

Read the full story: W celebrates Earth Day

For-profit ecotourism in Peru reaps many rewards

The Economist magazine highlights how a for-profit ecotourism outfit in Peru has the best interests of the Amazonian rain forest in mind... something that NGOs or non-profits have struggled with.

The area of the Amazon in Peru is fast becoming an eco-tourist destination with a reported 20-times increase in the past 15 years.

Rainforest Expeditions operates Posada Amazonas the largest tourism outfit in the area. Its goal has always been conservation through tourism, which has been successful, but it has also enriched the local families in the area as well. RE has actively involved the local community in the tourism projects, the locals get most of the profits and eventually will take over entire control. The peoples literacy, health and nutrition levels have benefited greatly while the forest has remained intact.

But the future of Peru's rain forest is still up in the air because of a newly paved road straight through it leading directly to Brazil. Past statistics of paved roads leading into Brazil's Amazon have shown that an increase in damaging development has occurred.

Read the full story: Rumble in the jungle

Plastic beach trash reaches highest level ever

Reuters via Environmental News Network reports on the record high levels of plastic beach trash on British beaches that pose great threats to marine life such as whales, dolphins and seabirds:

"[Environmental group] the Marine Conservation Society, which campaigns for cleaner beaches and seas, said plastic litter has increased by 126 percent since its first survey in 1994.

Scores of marine wildlife species, including seals and turtles, have died after eating plastic or drowning after getting tangled in debris or old fishing nets, it said.

In the last decade, the amount of plastic drinks bottles has risen by 67 percent, plastic bags by 54 percent and cigarette butts by 44 percent, the society said."

Read the full story: Record beach litter threatens marine life

The greening of national museums

The Christian Science Monitor reports on a growing trend of museums turning "green."

Correspondent Yvonne Zipp writes that Michigan's Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) is the very first to get the Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and En­­viron­­mental Design) certification.

Others such as Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art will also join GRAM with a Gold status.

Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory is so environmentally friendly that it has even banned bottled water.

"The director of the Phipps, Richard Piacentini, can describe every step the conservatory has taken to become more environmentally sustainable.

This fall, the conservatory will break ground on a greenhouse that Piacentini and his team hope will become the first Living Building in the United States – one that is completely self-sustaining and relies exclusively on renewable energy.

Organic waste will power the fuel cell that supplies the building with electricity, and a combination of constructed wetlands and a 'living machine' (with anaerobic bacteria) will treat the sewage for the entire complex."

Read the full story: Museums sprout 'green' architecture

Kansas reporter's Southwest Chief train ride

Kansas newspaper, The Wichita Eagle, posted a great travelogue by reporter Mike Hutmacher about his 24-hour train journey from Newton to San Bernadino, California.

Eschewing a harried plane trip, Hutmacher took Amtrak's Southwest Chief train that travels back and forth between L.A. and Chicago.

Hutmacher was prepared to be bored during the day-long journey but he found interesting people to talk with and even enjoyed the dining car experience:

"It was refreshing that I could choose when, what or if I wanted to eat, as opposed to being offered a tray with a stale ham sandwich, a cup of fruit, a bag o' nuts and can of soda."

He also notes that traveling by the rails should become more popular since gas prices continue to go up and more people are looking into alternative forms of travel.

Read the full story: Patience makes Amtrak trip from Newton a rewarding train journey

Endangered Malaysian lizards off the menu

The Malaysia Sun reports on the seizure of over 200 endangered lizards believed to be bound for foreign restaurants. Malaysian wildlife officials found the lizards by chance when conducting a random check on an estate:

"Two years ago, the state's wildlife officers seized 5,400 clouded monitor lizards bound for Hong Kong, [state wildlife director Saharudin Anan] said. Those caught for smuggling endangered species of animals face a fine of up to 5,000 ringgit ($1470) and three years in prison."

Although the clouded monitor lizard is endangered it still is considered a delicious meal to some as well as having healing medicinal qualities.

Read the full story: Malaysian wildlife officials save wok-bound monitor lizards

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

Border fence go-ahead violates numerous laws

Another reason why the Bush administration is horrible for the environment: waiving off the law of actually reporting on the environmental impact of the U.S. - Mexico border project.

The Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle says that the U.S. government "does not have to explain how the border fence will affect the environment."

Even though under the National Environmental Policy Act it is required by law to submit a comprehensive report.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was given permission by Congress to waive this and another 30 laws in order to build the fence to "to protect against terrorism and stem the tide of illegal immigration."

Read the full story: U.S. will not explain how border fence will affect environment

ABC News reports on growing ecotourism in Cambodia

Because we at Ecotravel News are committed to reporting on sustainable and environmental travel, we also like to toot our own horn when our stories have been published elsewhere. Our latest story about eco-bird watching tours in Cambodia has been published on ABCNews.com.

Read the full story: Go on vacation, save an ecosystem

Greediness hidden behind electric vehicles

Wired Magazine's latest issue confronts the rather sticky subject of exposing electric vehicle maker ZAP as charlatans.

We at Ecotravel News are all for emissions-free or emissions-cutting vehicles but were stunned at the greedy antics of the heads of this so-called eco-car company.

According to Wired, ZAP promised to manufacture many different models of electric vehicles (EVs) and urged individuals to open their own dealerships after paying ZAP an investment fee. ZAP only delivered two of the promised cars (one pictured above) and those had defects that ZAP refused to fix according to their warranties. The dealership owners, some who had put their entire savings into the promise of selling these environmentally-friendly cars, were crushed financially.

ZAP also issued phony partnership press releases to create creditability and buzz to up their stock price. The two heads issued themselves thousands of stock options and would issue more stock options to investors.

ZAP has yet to get more promised vehicles than the already defective two EVs on the road, but always manages to say they will be delivering new models soon. Meanwhile new people are constantly brought in to help the company, only to leave just as quickly, after realizing the greed of the company is the real goal hidden behind the rouse of environmental cars.

Read the full story: Hype Machine: Searching for ZAP's fleet of no-show green cars

Visit little-known national parks near Seattle

Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Getaways section highlights new and relatively unknown state wilderness areas worth visiting:

"Over the past 15 or more years, thousands of acres in dozens of plots have been acquired all over [King] county. Today the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks manages 180 parks totaling 5,000 acres, plus 20,000 more acres of open space, 175 miles of official trails and uncounted miles of unofficial 'local' trails that lace much of the newer lands."

Because a lot of these acquired lands are so new, they're not well-known and the county land managers are trying to get nature-lovers to come visit. Hiking, biking and horseback riding are just some of the outdoor activities welcome throughout the various terrains and trails.

And one of the best features about these unknown areas is that there are very few other visitors. The article's author Greg Johnston tried out a two-hour hike and encountered only four other people.

Read the full story: King County has acres of newly acquired public space, but few are using it

Air New Zealand now offers carbon offsets

Yahoo! 7 News Australia reports that Air New Zealand now offers travelers the option of purchasing carbon offsets to counter their flight. Air NZ joins Australian airlines Qantas and Virgin Blue who already have offset programs. For example, flying from Los Angeles to Auckland, the distance of around 6500 miles, will cost about $70 (NZ$88).

Read the full story: Carbon offsets from Air NZ

Hanford nuclear power plant tours FULL!

USA Today via the Associated Press reports on the surprising sell out of the limited tours offered of the Hanford nuclear power reservation:

"The [U.S. Department of Energy] had offered 48 tours for the public to register for on a first-come, first-serve basis. The registration opened early March 17, but by 6 p.m., all 2,000 spots were filled."

As everyone recalls, this Washington State reactor, located near Richmond, spewed radioactive material into the air and water from 1944-1966. This was subsequently covered-up even though or probably because noticeable problems and effects were reported as early as 1948. All documents related to the plant were to remain classified until 1986.

There is probably still radioactivity surrounding the site as there is in Chernobyl, Ukraine, so visiting doesn't sound like a good idea.

Read the full (albeit very short) story: Hanford nuclear tours more popular than ever

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

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

Contest for most fuel-efficient car

At the New York International Auto Show this week, there are several fuel-efficient car models that are competing for a $10 million prize. The contest is the Progressive Automotive X Prize for the first vehicle to get 100 miles-per-gallon, but so far no major car makers are entering. The Christian Science Monitor sent reporter Ron Scherer to check out these earth-friendly cars:

"We need a car that is not just a concept but can be made in mass quantities at a reasonable cost for the average American," says Jack Hidary, chairman of the Coalition Advocating for Smart Transportation and a donor to the X Prize's new effort. "Unfortunately, Detroit has not stepped up to the plate, they have fought CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards every step of the way."

Read the full story: $10 million quest for a practical 100-mpg car

CSM is also venturing into video reporting, accompanying this article is a video report produced by print journalists... meaning, they tried but it's no CNN...

Opinion about Tibetan protests and China travel

Ecotravel News is deeply disturbed by China's violent reaction to the widespread Tibetan protests. Travelling ethically and environmentally is always something we at Ecotravel News try to write about and take into consideration.

We've read a lot of travel stories about whether it's a good idea to visit countries with repressive regimes like Cuba or Myanmar, but China never gets put in that list.

But perhaps now it should.

China has a horrible environmental record and its treatment of fellow citizens - as these past few weeks have shown - is almost as bad. Chinese cities are choked with such bad air pollution that permanent grey skies are the norm. The countryside is being exploited with major industrial factories so there are few pristine areas left. The Chinese ethnic majority, the Han, are the ones who control the government and insert their presence and influence around the world. The areas of traditional Tibetan lands in China were still relatively untouched by pollution and industry, but with the advent of the new train to Lhasa, exploitation by the Han is now enabled. Tibetans have been repressed by China since they were "liberated" and "taken over" and had their land swallowed up in 1959. And now that monks, the forbearers of peace and harmony are being brutally killed by the repressive regime, foreign travelers should question their visit.

A good resource on all the latest happenings about all things Tibet is Phayul.com. They have stories that you won't see in western media and have graphic pictures and video. Decide for yourself if it is ethical to enrich a communist government that is trying its hardest to cover-up everything bad that they think will harm their summer Olympic event.

Ecotravel News says don't go.

LA Times showcases desert wildflowers

The Los Angeles Times highlights four of its famous deserts and the beautiful and rare blooms that have been bringing in wildflower tourists like mad this month.

Ecotravel News wrote a previous post about this spring being a peak year for western desert wildflower viewing, because of the very rainy winter.

The Times article says it's almost past peak viewing in the Anza-Borrego Desert, Death Valley and Joshua Tree parks but the orange state flower - California Poppy - is just beginning to carpet the Antelope Valley. For arm-chair desert wildflower viewers, the article has a wonderful photo slide-show and links to real-time desert flowers.

For the full LA Times article: California's deserts ablaze with wildflowers