Archive for June, 2008
June 30, 2008
Some years ago I rafted the mighty Franklin River, an Australian watercourse that plunges through the pristine wilderness of Tasmania.
The only reason I could do this was due to a determined group of protestors and much of the Australian population who, 25 years ago, saved this river from damming.
The 25th anniversary of the High Court decision which saved the Franklin River is on at the Federation Ballroom of Hobart’s Grand Chancellor Hotel.
Among the people attending tomorrow are Senator Bob Brown, former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, David Bellamy, Senator Peg Putt, entrepreneur Dick Smith, ABC TV’s Peter Thompson, Premier David Bartlett and actress Lorraine Bayly.
Songsters will include Lisa Yeates, Ian Paulin and (Goanna’s) Shane Howard who is flying in from Ireland to sing the campaign anthem ‘Let the Franklin Flow’ while author Richard Flanagan will reflect on the Franklin victory. Further details are at www.franklin25th.com
Senator Brown: “In an age of much greater environmental alarm, the Franklin campaign continues to send out shock waves of optimism around the world. Against huge odds, the wild river was saved because it galvanized national public opinion. Latest polls show the environment is easily the biggest issue for the future on people’s minds.”
June 26, 2008
I love New Zealand. It is a strikingly beautiful place, easy to travel around and inhabited by a cheerful bunch of people.
The nation is also taking the greening of its industries seriously and one bus tour company has converted its Auckland tour bus to run on waste cooking oil.
I love it!
The Stray ‘hop-on-hop-off’ bus network caters for the backpacker market. The oil means that the emissions are zero and running costs are very low. www.straytravel.com
June 23, 2008
Microturbine is the latest energy and emission cutting initiative by Marriot Hotels. Their New York Marriott Downtown is a 500-room property that has recently installed two PureComfort systems creating clean technology to provide electricity, cooling and heating on-site.
Gene Coutu, regional vice president, Market Operations for Marriott’s Eastern Region said: “Our hotel guests are very aware of hotels’ impact on the planet; more and more, they are making hotel choices based upon the company’s commitment to environmental practices. The New York Marriott Downtown’s trigeneration technology is a great example of how committed we are.”
The New York Marriott Downtown is located at 85 West Street in Lower Manhattan. The trigeneration installation comes on the heels of the completion of hotel renovations that include all new guestrooms, brand new meeting space, and a new concierge lounge overlooking New York City Harbor, with additional guest elevator modernization slated for completion by November 2008.
Marriot.com
June 18, 2008
Let me not be sceptical and point out that, bar Branson’s Virgin, it is not so much climate change that is pushing airlines to decrease emissions but rising fuel prices. Because we can be happy that for whatever reason, there are many positive changes appearing in the world of planes.
Budget carrier Easyjet is bringing in snazzy new engines for its fleet of A319’s.
CEO Andy Harrison said: “There is no doubt that climate change is a real and pressing danger which should be a concern for us all and that the biggest benefits are to be gained from environmentally-sensitive companies developing and operating the big leaps forward in technology that will enable our industry to achieve the green growth that is expected of us.”
The new engines will reduce mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 25%. This means less C02 emissions and will also lower their fuel consumption and maintenance costs.
The European Commission is developing a NOx emission legislation proposal that will help operators lower their environmental impact whilst also lowering costs.
June 15, 2008
Next time you are thinking about a healthy, green holiday, think bikes. Cycling is easier than walking, you experience the destination at a deeper level than whizzing about in a car and it is a guilt-free way to travel. You also become fit.
Sustainable travel website responsibletravel.com has received an 86% increase in the number of enquiries from people looking for cycling holidays between 31 May 2007 and 1 June 2008, compared to the same period the previous year.
Justin Francis, co-founder of responsibletravel.com says:
“We are seeing more and more people consider their everyday transport and commuting options so it makes sense that travellers are starting to hop on a saddle when on holiday too. Cycling is a fantastic way to explore a destination. You are more likely to interact with local people and appreciate local scenery. It’s also much easier to get off the beaten track by bike. Of course, it’s also a much greener way to travel and a great way to work of the holiday excess!”
It is National Bike Week in the UK (14 - 22 June) so here are a few cycling operators who can take you into a few interesting destinations:
Take your pick from over 200 responsibletravel.com specialist cycling holidays at: www.responsibletravel.com/cycling including an Ardeche mountain biking holiday, self-guided cycling holidays in England and cycling day tours in Cape Town
The site also has an interesting story about a US family who has ridden nearly 1,000 miles around the USA and Mexico and have just set off again to pedal from Alaska to Argentina for the next two and a half years:
http://responsibletravel.blogspot.com/2008/05/trail-blazing-families.html
Australian cycling holidays http://www.cyclingtours.com.au
Cycling in Vietnam www.worldexpeditions.com/au/index.php?section=trips&id=68
European cycling holidays including following the ultimate cycle ‘tour’ the Tour de France www.topbike.com.au/
June 12, 2008
I love Venice. Oh those beautiful buildings, romantic waterways…and there is a lot of water in Venice. So let’s drink some of it.
Venice is asking the millions of visitors to their city to stop buying plastic bottles of water because as they contribute to an enormous waste disposal problem.
Instead you can quench your thirst by using the city’s drinking fountains. A new initiative called “100% Public” is outlined on www.100X100pubblica.it
Near Piazzale Roma, where most tourists arrive in the city, visitors are given a kit consisting of an empty plastic bottle and a map showing the location of 122 fountains across Venice from which they can fill and refill with drinking water flowing from the city’s aqueducts.
The bottles are labelled with a chemical analysis of the water that gushes from the fountains, which the local water authority describes as “super-safe”. The bottles will also carry the slogan: “Don’t throw me away; reuse me”.
June 9, 2008
We just love to move. Move over great distances. Humans are still nomads, or many of us are and our cars often feel like extensions of ourselves. The thought of not being able to range far and wide is a sobering one.
At the Detroit motor show, General Motors states that electric cars were inevitable as oil becomes pricier and then peters out.
The word in car circles is that the petrol engines in hybrid cars will become smaller and electric motors will increase in size.
I am looking forward to ‘plug-ins’. These are rechargeable batteries that will take care of most people’s commuting requirements. Chrysler has forecast that battery-only driving ranges could extend to 250km.
Other car options include hydrogen and solar. Bio-fuels are getting a bad name because of competition with forests and agriculture, however other bio-fuel sources are being researched.
There is hope for commuters…and none too soon. Petrol is pricy, the world is heating up and we need alternatives now!
June 4, 2008
Airports, planes, trains and cafes could soon feature laptoppers (do you like that word?) with a sustainable component or two. I recently saw an article about a new laptop that is going to be made from bamboo, one of the world’s sustainable plant species.
Laptops are greener than desk computers anyway as they use far less energy to run and now new models are appearing that are becoming even more energy efficient.
Don’t forget that many parts of your old laptop can be recycled. Check http://planetark.com/ for your nearest depot.
June 1, 2008
Far and Away Adventures among the Leaders
I asked a few probing questions to Steve Lentz of Far and Away Adventures, a US tour operator who have put themselves forward as an environmentally responsible operator. Are they really?
Here is the Phoenix interview (free of any advertising/gratuitous arrangements), you be the judge:
What does your operation offer?
Our niche is high-end, wilderness luxury vacations on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River, as well as the Owyhee and Bruneau / Jarbidge rivers. We personalize the adventure to fit the individual in you.
Rafting is a non-consumptive, non-polluting industry; unique in its potential for enjoyment while not undermining the inherent values of these precious areas we are allowed to operate in.
What are your environmental practices?
Our brochures and information packets are both printed on recycled paper, along with all of the stationary and the actual folder of the information packet. The recipients are encouraged to further recycle the paper when they are finished with it.
Before the guests arrive…the trip has started in the prep kitchen readying the food for each week’s trip, and glass, plastic, paper, aluminium, and other products are separated in the kitchen to be taken to a recycling center.
Ingredients are purchased in bulk to eliminate unnecessary packaging, and the energy expended in producing it, and is transferred for river use in reusable plastic containers (almost eliminating waste on the river itself).
When guests reach camp, they are shown where the trash containers are - for paper, aluminium, and other trash. Then when the trip is over, all the recyclable materials are taken to their appropriate place, and the cycle begins anew.
How do you encourage your participants to be environmentally responsible?
By serving a whole food and organic diet and advocating a sustainable lifestyle. The wilderness fosters an ideal opportunity for outfitters to…educate the public on how easy it is to practice recycling and how effective it can be - especially when you can see the results from the thirty people on the trip.
The impact that the pristine environment and the crystal-clear water has on people is powerful in motivating them to continue recycling and conserving energy once they get back home. It makes everyone very conscious of what they are saving.
(Then I asked probing questions about the gritty details, the point where most operations falter…)
How do you transport your equipment, people and food?
With the remote population base, grease conversions have yet to be a viable form for a diesel alternative. We have, however, been able to format our trips to avoid additional air shuttle packages that are common for our remote departure points. We also share our trucks and trailers with other companies alleviating additional vehicles on the road. In other words, our vehicles are always transporting and not running empty when on the road. It’s really quite efficient.
What oils/products do you use for your riverside massage and how are they sourced and transported?
Bon Vital natural massage crème. 100% all natural ingredients. Purchased in bulk and used in refillable containers.
What materials are used in the interior tent rugs, elevated soft beds, hand towels, linens and toys?
Due to the nature of the use, the carpet is rubber backed nylon, bedding is oversized flannel zip together poly loft sleeping bags, hand towels are cotton.
Great that you use organics, however how are they and the wines packaged and transported? How is the wine grown?
Far and Away purchases food as local as possible. Our local lamb is http://lavalakelamb.com/ and beef from Kings Crown Organic Farm, 70 miles away. Pork is Niman Ranch. Salmon is wild. All produce and dairy is organic. Wood fired grills and ovens are utilized. Our prep kitchen in Sun Valley portions and trims meats and seafood and assembles all dry mixes and sauce accompaniments from scratch packaged in reusable containers. Wine is from small vineyards using sustainable practice packaged in glass. We still recycle.
How do you ‘nurture respect, and learning about nature’?
Practicing leave no trace camping, our service strives to leave camps in better condition than found. Volun-tourism projects from removing invasive weeds to trail maintenance are offered for all guests’ involvement as a practice of giving back. The six day river trip consumes approximately one third of a gallon of propane per person in natural resources. Transportation for the week is propelled by gravity. Truthfully, can you think of a greener vacation opportunity?
How is the office/centre/base of Far and Away Adventures in Sun Valley, Idaho, powered, heated/cooled? Do you use recycled office materials? What is your office sustainability policy?
We built our office in 1991 and met the criteria to be awarded by the city for its design for environmental performance. Guest information has been printed on recycled paper since 1990. Sales brochure via pdf and personalized are printed one-by-one so as not to print thousands.
Hmmm, I don’t know about you, but these folk sound like one of the leaders in environmentally aware operations. May be time to hoist a paddle?
More info on www.far-away.com
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