Tag Archives: rainforest

Green Travel or ‘Greenwashing’?

Everyone is trying to cash in on the eco-tourism boom. Here are six tips to help you be a savvy eco-minded traveler.

As ecotourism has grown in popularity, many travel providers and hotels have jumped onto the green travel bandwagon while doing little to actually support its sustainable practices and conservation efforts.

Greenwashing claiming to be eco-friendly without making a significant effort to minimize environmental impact occurs in all industries, andtravelis no exception. A hotel chain, for example, might promote itself as green because it allows guests the option of reusing towels or sleeping on the same set of sheets for more than one night. But, according to the University of Oregons Greenwashing Index (GWI), this policy actually does very little to save water and energy where it counts on its grounds, with its appliances and lighting, in its kitchens, and with its vehicle fleet.

There is no internationally recognized group that certifies the environmental practices of the travel industry, so its mostly up to individual vacationers to make their getaways as green as possible. These suggestions can help you be a savvy eco-minded traveler:

  1. Research companiesthat market themselves as being green, advises the GWI. Can you easily find more information about the companys sustainable business practices on its website? Does it have a comprehensive environmental story? Is there credible information to substantiate its green claims? If not, let the buyer beware.
  2. Look for a seal or certification markfrom a recognized, independent third-party organization that specializes in verifying green advertising such as the U.S. Green Building Council or Rainforest Alliance and check with the certifier to verify the companys marketing claims.
  3. Ask tour operators and hotels directlyabout their waste-management operations and conservation policies, as well as the percentage of employees who are local residents and whether they support any projects that benefit the localcommunityor environment.
  4. Avoid tripsthat involve interacting with wild or captive animals, such as riding an elephant or petting a lion cub.
  5. Support local tradespeople and artisans,but dont buy products made from endangered plant or animal species or remove natural features, such as wildflowers, rocks, or shells, from the landscape.
  6. Consider purchasing carbon offsetsto minimize the environmental impact of vacation flights.

Find more tips atwww.responsiblevacation.com.

Written by Maggie Fazeli Fard. This post originally appeared onExperience Life.

Photo Credit: Trekking Rinjani/Flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Read article here: 

Green Travel or ‘Greenwashing’?

Posted in Dolphin, eco-friendly, Everyone, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, organic, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Green Travel or ‘Greenwashing’?

20 Percent of Plant Species Could Go Extinct

green4us

Climate change, deforestation, and pollution are wreaking havoc on the Earth’s vegetation. djgis/Shutterstock One out of every five plant species on Earth is now threatened with extinction. That’s the disturbing conclusion of a major report released this week by scientists at Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The planet’s vegetation—from grasslands to deserts to tropical rainforests—is being hit hard by human activity. And deforestation, pollution, agriculture, and climate change are all playing a role. The sliver of good news, though, is that some researchers are hopeful that people will be able to act in time to avert the worst of the impending crisis. “I am reasonably optimistic,” said Kathy Willis, Kew’s science director, in an interview with our partners at the Guardian. “Once you know [about a problem], you can do something about it. The biggest problem is not knowing.” But others take a darker view. “Regardless of what humans do to the climate, there will still be a rock orbiting the sun,” said University of Hawaii scientist Hope Jahren in a recent interview with Indre Viskotas on the Inquiring Minds podcast. Jahren is a geobiologist—she studies how the earth (“geo”) and life (“bio”) come together to shape our world. “I’m interested in how the parts of the planet that aren’t alive—rocks and rivers and rain and clouds—turn into the…parts of the world that are alive: leaves and moss and the things that eat those things,” she explains. And what she’s seeing isn’t good. “We are already seeing extinctions,” she says. “We’re already seeing the balance of who can thrive and who can’t thrive in…the plant world radically shifted. In a lot of ways, I think that train has passed.” You can listen to her full interview below: Jahren, who is the author of a new book called Lab Girl, was recently included onTime magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. She’s also an outspoken voice for gender equality and the fight against sexual harassment and assault in the scientific community. Part of Jahren’s work has focused on reconstructing the climate of the Eocene, the geologic epoch that lasted from about 56 million years ago to about 34 million years ago. In the middle of that period, about 45 million years ago, the world was so warm that massive deciduous forests were growing above the Arctic Circle—despite the fact that, as Jahren points out, the region saw little-to-no sunshine for part of the year. Jahren and her colleagues study fossilized plant tissues left over from these ancient forests in order to understand how the climatic factors of the time—light levels, atmospheric composition, water, etc.—combined to “make possible this life in the darkness.” She compares her work to investigating a crime scene. “Almost anything you come upon could have information in it,” she says. Jahren’s description of a lush Arctic full of plants and animals is striking. Imagining that world, she says, is “a really neat thing to do when you’re…juxtaposing that image against that fact that you’re near the North Pole, and there’s not a soul in sight for thousands of miles, and there’s not a green thing in sight for hundreds of miles.” That may be one of the reasons why she speaks so passionately about environmental destruction in the present day. “The world breaks a little bit every time we cut down a tree,” she says. “It’s so much easier to cut one down than to grow one. And so it’s worth interrogating every time we do it.” In the end, though, Jahren isn’t sure that science will lead humanity to make better decisions about the planet. Instead, she says, “I think my job is to leave some evidence for future generations that there was somebody who cared while we were destroying everything.” Inquiring Minds is a podcast hosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas and Kishore Hari, the director of the Bay Area Science Festival. To catch future shows right when they are released, subscribe to Inquiring Minds via iTunes orRSS. You can follow the show on Twitter at @inquiringshow, like us on Facebook, and check out show notes and other cool stuff on Tumblr.

Jump to original: 

20 Percent of Plant Species Could Go Extinct

Related Posts

There’s a Horrifying Amount of Plastic in the Ocean. This Chart Shows Who’s to Blame.
Care about global climate change? Then fight local air pollution
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Defends Decision to Suspend Science Program
China’s Toxic Air Could Kill a Population the Size of Orlando
Climate Change is Clear and Present Danger, Says Landmark US Report
This Major Newspaper Just Declared War on Fossil Fuels

Share this:






View this article: 

20 Percent of Plant Species Could Go Extinct

Posted in bamboo, Brita, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, global climate change, LAI, Landmark, Monterey, ONA, OXO, Paradise, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 20 Percent of Plant Species Could Go Extinct

This might be the coolest photo of a farm you’ll ever see

green4us

See more here:  

This might be the coolest photo of a farm you’ll ever see

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on This might be the coolest photo of a farm you’ll ever see

How to Make Sense of Sustainable Coffee Labels

See more here – 

How to Make Sense of Sustainable Coffee Labels

Posted in alo, eco-friendly, Everyone, FF, GE, LG, ONA, organic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How to Make Sense of Sustainable Coffee Labels

Clashing Visions of Conservation Shake Brazil’s Presidential Vote

Satellite data shows that Brazil’s annual deforestation rate in the Amazon is rising again after years of declines. View original article: Clashing Visions of Conservation Shake Brazil’s Presidential Vote ; ; ;

Read the article:

Clashing Visions of Conservation Shake Brazil’s Presidential Vote

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, oven, PUR, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Clashing Visions of Conservation Shake Brazil’s Presidential Vote

Plan Ahead for Spring: 8 Efficient Watering Tips

No Thanks

Welcome Roxana

Here’s your opportunity to make a
difference today!

We’re having trouble reaching you at Hotmail. By adding us to your address book, you can ensure that you get our emails.

To thank you for your time, we’ll make a donation to save 25 sf of the Amazonian Rainforest!

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved

View this article:

Plan Ahead for Spring: 8 Efficient Watering Tips

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Plan Ahead for Spring: 8 Efficient Watering Tips