9 Tips for a Greener Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner, here are some tips to having a ghoulishly green time:

1. Bobbing for apples? Make sure you buy locally or organically grown varieties.
2. Go to a pumpkin patch nearest you to pick out your pumpkins for carving and decoration or make sure your grocery store has purchased them from a local patch.
3. Use LED lights instead of candles inside pumpkins; they’ll last longer and you can reuse them next year.
4. Save the pumpkin seeds you removed while carving and roast them for a healthy seasonal snack.
5. Make your own costume instead of buying one. Consider revamping an old skirt or shirt into something wicked, or explore the local Goodwill. Some tips for do-it-yourself costumes can be found at Planet Green.
6. Decorate your house with orange and black CFL bulbs.
7. Consider buying environmentally friendly treats such as candy made with fair trade or organic chocolate. Some ideas can be found at Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Store or Chocolate Bar.
8. Having a Halloween party? Use plastic cups, plates, bowls and cutlery which you can stick in the dishwasher and re-use next year.
9. Be sure to give kids cloth bags or pillow cases for trick or treating.

Apple Introduces New Earth-friendly MacBook

Earlier this week, Apple released a new line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros, that are, as we’ve come to expect from Jobs’ product lines, sleeker, slimmer, and sexier than the last generation models.

One major addition to this line: its environmental friendliness.

With features including a revolutionary energy efficient LED-backlit display, a recyclable aluminum body and glass screen, and even 41% less packaging, these new laptops are a surefire solution to overflowing landfills and increasing energy consumption.

Read more specfics here.

Eco-Tourism on the Rise in China

While many travelers choose to visit the popular and often over visited landmarks of China, among them the Great Wall, the Yin Ruins, and the Forbidden City, more and more travelers are beginning to choose to travel off the beaten path to a more authentic and oftentimes more remote China. Fortunately, more eco-lodges are popping up to assist this new trend where supporting the local community is an inherent feature of a traveler’s stay. A good example is the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat which has committed to being sustainable through the creation of its own well which lessens its dependence on water resources, by hiring staff from nearby villages, and also by committing to replacing coal with alternative energy by 2009.

Two other ecolodges in China are Wenhai Ecolodge and Alou’s Tibetan Lodge.

Test Your Eco-Sensitivity

Want to test your inner greenness? Go Green Travel Green has a list of quizzes here, testing your knowledge on everything from eco-anxiety levels to travel history to organic foods and many issues in between. What’s your favorite quiz and how did you rate?

Threatened Species and A Database That Might Help Save Them

The Economist published two articles last week focusing on endangered and threatened species. The first of these articles, Living on the Edge, chronicles the number of animals on the verge of obliteration, citing that “of the 44,838 species considered, 16,928 are threatened with extinction, including almost a quarter of the world’s mammals.” This is a shocking number considering the many conservation programs in place around the world.  However, it tells us that these programs aren’t doing enough.

In the Amazon alone, a piece the size of Rhode Island was deforested in the second half of 2007, making way for soybean farms and taking with it all the birds, bugs, and mammals endemic to that region. Malaysia is also clearing its forests to make room for palm oil trees to be converted into biodiesel.

Reasons for species endangerment aren’t limited to deforestation, but vary from poaching to global warming to pollution. While eco tourism, heightened awareness, and conservation efforts can help some of these cases, another tool that might help save threatened species is a new database which The Economist discusses in Where the Wild Things Are. Called the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool, or IBAT for short, this online database aims to “make it easier for businesses to incorporate concerns about conservation into their planning from the beginning of a project,” thereby being able to idenitify biodiverse habitats and the species that are endemic to them, and as a result, make it easier for these business to alter their building plans to preserve ecological hotspots.

Cyclists To Benefit From $700 Billion Bail-out

Come January 2009, as part of the $700 billion bail-out, those who bike to work will get a morsel of relief for their carbon neutral transportation method. Bicycle commuters will be eligible for a $20/month “tax-free reimbursement from their employers for bicycle-related expenses” which will also then be tax deductible at the end of the year. Called the Transportation Fringe Benefit to Bicycle Commuters, will this program get more commuters out of their cars and onto their bikes?

Find out more about it here.

Google Goes Green(er)

Google recently announced its efforts to green its data centers, wanting to operate the “world’s most efficient data bases.” However, beyond just efficient data centers, before the end of the year, two of its data centers “will run on 100% recycled water, and by 2010 [Google] expects recycled water to provide 80% of [their] total water consumption.” They even created a website dedicated to “sustainable computing” which outlines its green mission and Google’s commitment to being carbon neutral as a company. Will this mean that Larry and Sergey will be buying carbon offsets for each trip they take aboard the Google jet?

Check out details of Google’s greening efforts here.

What if the environment had received a $700 billion bail out?

Friday’s $700 billion bail-out restored $18 billion in alternative energy tax credits. This amount, although less than 2.6% of the total bail out, may seem like a lot of money. However, a good question that many have raised is, what if there had been a $700 billion bail-out for the environment?

A stunning landscape in a surprising location…

Taiwan's "Peculiar Peak" - Mt. Dabajian

More than 200 summits over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft.) in elevation, world-class mountaineering & rock climbing, thousands of kilometers of alpine trekking, lush evergreen forests, breathtaking valleys – an amalgamation of features that describe the likes of the Canadian Rockies or the French Alps, right? True, but what if I told you that you can find all this and more in… deep breath… Taiwan!?!? That’s right, Taiwan! Often noted for its extreme population density in urban areas and progressive architectural escapades, Taiwan also boasts an unbelievably gorgeous countryside that would leave any outdoor enthusiast foaming at the Nalgene. From the “rooftop of Taiwan,” Mt. Yushan (3,952m) – Northeast Asia’s highest peak – to the Sea of Clouds in the Central Mountain Range, Taiwan has a diverse expanse of rich terrain and stunning vistas. So… When you’re planning your next open-air adventure, take a gander at what Taiwan has to offer – you’ll be amazed!

For more information on the titillating Taiwanese terrain, check out the following links!

Taiwan’s National Scenic Areas & Parks
Taiwan Tourism Bureau

Eco-tourism as a way to protect and save wildlife

Many travelers equate eco-tourism and green travel with preserving local cultures, customs, and the environment. However, there’s another aspect to eco-tourism to think about, which is not as obvious a part of the environment: preservation of wildlife.

This is especially true in such war-torn countries as Senegal, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo where wildlife can be sacrificed in the middle of conflicts but where eco-tourism can work to counteract this destruction.

For example, ivory has for centuries been a treasured commodity, used for both ornamental as well as practical and medical purposes; this has been especially popular in Asian markets.

A recent article in Ethical Traveler (2008) highlighted the rise of elephant poaching due to  “China’s insatiable appetite for ivory” and cited shocking statistics including the demise of the Senegalese elephant population from 20,000 tusked pachyderms in the late 90s to only two today. Reuters also investigated the obliteration of elephants by poaching, citing that the 2-million acre Virunga National Park of Rwanda, once the home of 5,000 Savannah elephants in the 1970s, now only has 300 – seven elephants having been killed as recently as August 2008.

It has been suggested that eco-tourism, however, can help turn these numbers around. Travel to elephant sanctuaries and game reserves brings not only much needed money for elephant protection and conservation, but also attracts attention and heightens awareness of the continued illegal poaching.

Whole Travel offers a number of different African safari adventures including Leopard Walk Lodge, Tsaro Elephant Lodge, and many more which contribute to helping this preservation effort.

Whole Travel Beta is live!

Whole Travel Beta went live last night at 11:23 pm!!!  Our team has worked really hard all summer to get to this point and I know everyone is excited to launch! Please visit our site at www.wholetravel.com, and send any feedback to feedback@wholetravel.com.  We are eager to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Also, check out some of our press coverage from yesterday and today:

“Whole Travel Launches and Shifts the Paradigm for Online Travel with Revolutionary ‘Blue Sky’ Search Technology”, BusinessWire

“Whole Travel Launches Rating System to Keep Eco-Friendly Hotels Honest”, TechCrunch

“Some Interesting, New, or Improved Websites”, Tribune Media Services

Clubbing with a conscience

The newest in eco-friendly destinations?  Eco-clubs.

Earlier this summer in July, the world’s first eco-club, Surya, opened in London.  Surya doesn’t charge cyclists and walkers for entry and the club’s energy needs are powered not just by solar and wind power, but by club-goers on the dance floor through the use of piezoelectric technology.  The club is the work of millionaire property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr. Earth.

A similar club opened in Rotterdam last Thursday: At WATT, dancers generate power to light the floor, drinks come in recyclable cups, and toilets flush with rain water.

No Hotel Beats my Big, Honduran Host Family

You want a really cool vacation? Like a really awesome, life changing experience? Live with a host family. Sure, five star resorts can pamper you, but nothing can compete with the hospitality you’ll receive in another person’s home.

Last summer, for example, I was fortunate to live with a large family in rural Honduras for six electricity-free weeks. I was there with an organization called Amigos de las Americas, teaching children in Spanish about health, hygiene, and the environment.  

Condé Nast Highlights Responsible Travel

Condé Nast just released its September issue with a special spotlight on the power of travel. It features Matt Damon on the cover and the story of how his 2006 trip to Zambia inspired him to create the H2O Africa Foundation which partners with a variety of other foundations to focus on clean water. With hundreds of children dying each day due to dirty water, Damon emphasized the importance of clean water, saying that it  “put people on the first rung of the development ladder.”

With its slogan “Travel Right, Do Good,” the issue highlights social responsibility through travel with such articles as “How to Be An Ethical Traveler,” “How to Do the Right Thing,” “The Green Traveler’s Handbook” as well as several profiles and forums.

Find the complete coverage here.

Why hasn’t Obama’s campaign gone carbon neutral?

There has been a huge amount of media buzz this past week and a half surrounding the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. There have been rumors, scandals, debates and comparison – all typical signs that a presidential race is rapidly approaching. This year, however, much attention has focused on the Democrat’s highly publicized goal of producing “the most environmentally sustainable political convention in modern American history.”  For an environmentalist–skeptical, pessimistic and distrusting–this might seem like just an attempt at securing the votes of a gullible electorate, but a seemingly good-faith effort was made at “greening” most every part of the convention, from energy sources and waste reduction to transportation and community support.

To me, the question that arises from the convention is: How does Barack Obama’s campaign make the same effort as the Democratic National Committee at achieving carbon neutrality and environmental benignity? Needless to say, Barack Obama and John McCain are both logging plenty of miles in their campaign airplanes, traveling from one end of the country to the other rallying members of their respective parties. But from what I’ve been able to find online, there have been only three presidential campaigns ever to make the promise of carbon neutrality: Tom Vilsack, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton after Earth Day. With these three candidates starting the trend, it doesn’t make sense that Obama wouldn’t follow suit. Making a statement like this would raise awareness that the impact of plane flight can be mitigated. Besides, I’m sure Obama would sway more than a few fence-sitters by declaring his campaign to be carbon neutral.