Jaunted - Tag: Green Travel

State Department Warns Us About Belize Ecotourism

pbb — 2008-11-06T14:15:08-05:00

While most of the US State Department's travel warnings seem pretty obvious--Don't vacation in Sudan? No problem!--an update yesterday concerned a surprising destination: Belize. Usually considered a safe and easy intro to Central America, it seems the country's extensive ecotourism facilities are more dangerous than we'd have guessed.

Says the department's website:

Following a fatal accident at the Cave Branch Archeological Park in September 2008, the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is implementing new regulations, effective and legally enforced beginning October 15, 2008, to improve safety at cave tubing attractions. Those policies will include an enhanced, mandatory guest-to-guide ratio of eight-to-one for all operating cave tubing tour companies in Belize.
Additional signage will be posted in each cave tubing excursion site, informing participants of park rules and current water conditions and/or warnings. Mandatory specialty training for each cave tubing guide will continue and include education on new regulations. Helmets will also be required for each cave tubing participant starting January 1, 2009.

Diving can also be dangerous, not because of intrinsic risks, but because of ill-maintained equipment or poor decisions on the part of dive operators and boat crews. If you end up left behind at the dive site, don't say Condi Rice didn't warn you!

Related Stories:
· State Department Country Specific Information [Official Site]
· Dangerous Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kthypryn]

Is Long Distance Dating Killing The Planet?

BS — 2008-11-04T11:05:07-05:00

So you've been eating local, biking to work and using those light bulbs Al Gore said we had to. Being eco-conscious is feeling pretty good, right?

Wrong. Apparently, we all have one more thing to feel eco-guilty about. Well, at least those of us in long-distance relationships.

Slate reports that locawhores are now the new locavores, and you had better quit those every-other-weekend cross-country flights to visit your sweetheart:

The same type of environmental logic has already been applied to our eating habits. The Local Food movement encourages us to cut CO2 emissions by calculating food miles—the distance a meal travels from production to the dinner table—and eating only what's produced within a 100-mile radius. Isn't it time for a Date Local movement, too? Let's start thinking about "sex miles": Just how far was this person shipped to hook up with you? And how many times more efficient would it be to date someone within a 100-mile radius?

Cleary, Jaunted can't get behind this kind of anti-travel, anti-long-distance-hookup stance--particularly now that a new website is here to help get us some action--but we just wanted to make sure everyone knows there's one more thing we're supposed to not be doing.

Related Stories:
· The Environmental Case Against Long Distance Relationships [Slate]
· Romantic Travel coverage

[Photo: Kossy@FINEDAYS]

Elephant Tusks On Parade

ced138 — 2008-10-29T14:35:03-05:00

Southern Africa opened an auction of existing ivory stockpiles Tuesday, selling off more than 220,000 pounds of what's ordinarily contraband in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The nations plan to sell the confiscated, poached tusks to approved Chinese and Japanese entities, and return the funds they earn to existing environmental conservation efforts.

The whole things strikes us as a bit counter-intuitive, like PETA hosting a pig roast fund raiser to promote vegan lifestyles. But if the pig’s already dead, then why not right? No point in letting good tusks go to waste.

Opponents say the sales could reignite a dying trade, and warn that the ivory could eventually end up in the wrong hands, particularly in China where the rules appear particularly lax. The potential bounty from the sales could be as high as $30 million: We hope our surviving trunked friends see a chunk of the cash.

Related Stories:
· Controversial Ivory Sale to Open [BBC]
· Addo Elephant National Park [Jaunted]

[Photo: rocky0009]

Green Travel: The Taga Bicycle

Dan Gould — 2008-10-22T15:05:49-05:00

Bicycle innovation keeps coming at a super fast pace. And places like the Netherlands, where bike riding is eclipsing automobiles as the preferred method of transportation, are leading the way.

The Dutch have cranked out yet another awesome design in the Taga. This multifunctional urban vehicle combines a baby stroller and a carrier bicycle. The three wheeled ride goes beyond typical conceptions of a bike, becoming a handy tool for harried parents on the go.

But the Taga can do more than haul your kids. Different baskets and cargo carriers can be swapped out of the front section when you have other errands to run. Oh, and we're not the first to lavish praise on the bike: It just won a Eurobike 2008 Award and the Kind and Jugend Innovation Award.

Related Stories:
· Taga [Official Site]
· Urban Family Biking [Swiss Miss]
· Biking Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Taga]

National Parks Travel: Potential Changes for Parks Down Under

kjb — 2008-10-16T09:00:45-05:00

The New South Wales Environmental Defenders Office is warning that changes to Australia's national parks could shift the focus away from conservation--and to eco-lodge resorts and "glamping."

Government officials are just doing want everyone else is trying to do: Raise some cash. They feel that allowing further development in the parks will bring more tourist activity, but maintain that they are keeping conservation at the forefront. Says the head of the group appointed by NSW to study potential projects:

This doesn't involve anything to do with commercial resorts; we want people to spend more time in our national parks and appreciate a more meaningful experience. There is no place for resorts with swimming pools, tennis courts and golf courses in national parks, and that kind of thing is not part of what we are considering.

A final report on exactly what might change in the parks is due next month.

Related Stories:
· NSW Parks Bid Sparks Mickey Mouse Fears [Canberra Times]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Myall Lakes National Park: alunmac]

National Parks Travel: We See a National Park in Your Future

kjb — 2008-10-09T13:30:41-05:00

You would think that a country like China would certainly have its share of national parks, but apparently not so much. Officials with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the National Tourism Administration announced that they are looking to create the country's very first national park.

It will be located in a southern area of the Xiaohinggan Mountains right at the source of the Tangwang River. The region is home to the most pristine example of a Korean pine forest in Asia and also boasts more than 100 rare species of trees including the dragon spruce and Faber's fir. There will be plenty of critters roaming around the granite landscape of the park as well.

While this will be the first "national park," the country does have reserves and historic areas that are recognized by the government. The difference is that while sightseeing will still be part of the allure in the Xiaohinggan Mountians, the new preserve's main purpose is environment protection.

Related Stories:
· China Plans First National Park [China View]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: scottfeldstein]

Petersfield: Trashy Travel: Cans and Bottles Turned Frequent Flier Miles

ced138 — 2008-10-08T09:45:40-05:00

When we see men and women trolling the streets, piling discarded bottles and cans into a rusty shopping cart, we tend to feel sympathy. But maybe envy would a more suitable emotion: For one English couple, recycling thousands of bottles and cans at a local supermarket translated to a free business class flight.