A lionfish: both beautiful and dangerous. Photo: tibchris

That’s what the person on the other end of the line asked after the teacher passed her cell phone to me.

I was about to take 20 of her students snorkeling a mile or so offshore in La Parguera, Puerto Rico and her husband was calling to ask if I’d heard about the invasion of lionfish plaguing the area.

I hadn’t.

The caller–the teacher’s husband–related that he’d heard some lionfish had escaped from an aquarium in Florida. They’d recently been spotted in the Caribbean, and allegedly in the area where we’d be snorkeling.

As the group put on their swimsuits and slathered high SPF sunscreen on each other’s backs, I ran up to the shop where our local outfitters were based. “Carlos*,” I said, hugging the divemaster I’d known for five years. “Y que con el pez leon?”

Carlos might as well have been born in the water. He’s got a shark tattooed on his shoulder. He leads snorkel and dive trips all day, every day, but his free time is still spent on his boat. For a long time, he even lived in a house perched on stilts–in the water.

On the water, at least, I trusted him with my life.

“Nada,” he said, asking me about my husband, my daughter, what I’ve been up to since I saw him last July.

After the small talk, I pressed him again, just to be sure. “En serio, have you guys seen lionfish out there?” “Out at La Pared, yes,” he answered, referring to The Wall, a popular deep water dive spot a few miles offshore. “But not where we go. Todo bien.”

He winked.

*
Sometimes, if the kids aren’t strong swimmers, I’ll stay on the boat. Though the outfitters are attentive, teenagers stray; they get tired easily and overestimate their strength. When this happens, I can see them, jump in the water, and swim them back on track. Or haul them in.

But maybe I stayed on the boat this time because of the lionfish?

“Jim, I’ve got a question for you.” The captain, an American guy I hadn’t worked with before, lowered the Jimmy Buffett. “Shoot.”

“So is the lionfish out here?” “Yeah,” he said, almost without feeling. “It’s here.” He went back to the cabin. In a minute, Buffett’s washed out voice filled the quiet.

*
I saw Carlos dive down deep and surface again, a massive sea star in his hand. This is why he’s great with kids; he shows them a new world, gets them excited about it. He helps them confront their fears and he tells them “I’m proud of you” when they swim through that fear and pop up on the other side. Though neither of us will ever see these kids again, I know that their time with him changes them. They’re more self-confident. More brave. More willing to try new things.

If he told me about the lionfish, he knew I’d tell them the truth. And if I told them that truth, it would change everything. They’d sit on the boat, minds swimming with images of schools of lionfish.

And so he lied.

In La Parguera. Photo: Francisco Collazo

He lied, too, because this–showing people the sea–is his living. In a very real way, it’s the sustenance of the entire town. Described in guide books as a “quaint fishing village,” if you visit more than once or stay a lot longer, you know things are more complicated than that. All kinds of little lies are told here. Without them, the travel industry here would collapse.

As it would elsewhere.
*
The danger of the lionfish is real, but the National Geographic Society notes that a lionfish’s sting is “rarely fatal.” Excruciatingly painful, yes. But rarely fatal. Rarely. Hardly a comfort to people already frightened about the mysterious sea.

So we lie, Carlos and I.

__
*all names have been changed.

Community Connection:

Far more dangerous than the threat of lionfish to snorkelers and divers is the threat these invasives pose outside their home environments. To learn more, visit REEF.org.

Photos by author

He hauls it into the boat, pulls the hook from its lip with a practiced yank.

The catfish emits a guttural gurgle that Roy doesn’t appear to notice. He plops the fish on the shiny silver boat bottom, now speckled with blood. I watch the catfish gasp and struggle for life, flopping about helplessly. I can’t look away – I’ve never seen a fish, or anything else, die before. Roy, however, climbs to the back of the boat and speeds on to another line. The dark, whiskered creature is soon a still mass of scales and flesh.

It is one of only two catfish that Roy will bring in today.

The words echo throughout the Atchafalaya Basin during our trip: “I always wanted to be a fisherman. I love fishing. But it’s not like it used to be; you can’t make a living fishing anymore.”

I was traveling in a group of 12: 11 students and Sheryl St. Germain, our professor and a Louisiana native. She’d brought us to the Atchafalaya to inspire our writing and teach us about a culture that is disappearing with the 25 miles of Louisiana coastline that turn into sea each year.

Roy’s friend Greg, a Cajun fisherman, photographer, writer, and woodworker, refuses to work anywhere else, despite the difficulties. Greg says the swamp is a spiritual place for Cajuns. I close my eyes to smell the swamp and try to internalize the feeling: mud, crawfish, water hyacinth, alligators, humidity, hot sun, cool damp breeze, dirt, cypress trees, water.

Water.

Annual floods provide a good environment for crawfish to breed and grow. However, in recent years, floods have been bringing extra silt into the basin and burying crawfish breeding grounds or the floods haven’t come at all, depleting the water of oxygen and freshness. And it’s all because of human control of water flow.

Greg supports himself with writing, photography, and rescuing sunken cypress logs to turn into art and furniture. Roy had to take a job as a hotel maintenance man. But both men make time for fishing and teaching visitors about the Atchafalaya.
As they work, they wait to learn if oil from the BP Gulf oil spill will seep into the Basin.

“It depends on whether the river currents can keep the oil out in the Gulf. If the water level in the Atchafalaya gets very low in late summer and early fall, oil could creep upriver and into the Basin. That would probably have a devastating effect on all life in the water, including crawfish,” says Greg. “There is plenty oil in the marshes already, along the Gulf, and a hurricane could spread it north into the Basin swamps.”

Roy hauls up a crawfish trap – there are only a handful of crawfish in it. He lowers the trap back into the water without emptying it.

Maybe tomorrow there will be more.

Community Connection:

Human actions endanger our own habitats and livelihood, as well as the habitats of animals. Read about other threatened places in 9 Places to Experience Now Before They Literally Vanish.

We thought that was bad, but it’s not even the worst possible scenario.

The Niger Delta has been dealing with the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez spill every year for the past 50 years. More oil seeps out every week, and most wildlife is long gone.  Recorded oil spills number at 6,800 with anywhere from 9-13 million barrels of oil spilled into the delta over the last few decades.

According to cnn.com,

“The 700,000-square-kilometer Niger Delta is one of the most important wetlands in the world and home to 31 million people — 60 percent of whom, according to the U.N. Development Program, depend on the natural environment for their livelihoods.”

The Niger Delta, that used to be abundant with mangroves, shrimp, crabs, fish, and other wildlife, is now practically a dead zone.  Fisherman have to go farther and farther to find fish, and some have to make a living collecting and selling firewood instead of seafood.  Is this the future of the Louisiana wetlands?

The publicity around the BP oil disaster leaves Nigerians wondering when their help will come.  While BP has promised millions of dollars towards cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico, no one is going to the aid of those who live near the Niger Delta.

The Shell oil company blame thieves and gangs for damaging the pipes, saying that they pay the Nigerian government to maintain security in the area, while locals blame the old, rusting pipes.  Oil companies are still legally responsible for the clean up of their oil, and although they claim to “remediate the environment regardless of the cost of the spill,” that’s pretty hard to believe, especially considering their track record.

So what’s the answer?  No more drilling?  Force oil companies to take responsibility?  What do you think?

Community Connection:

Can you imagine living in a place contaminated with oil? For some Americans, it’s becoming a reality, but Emergildo Criollo Quenama of Ecuador has been living with the effects of oil spills for years.

Looks nice here; . Photo: Francisco Collazo

As I pulled myself onto the boat, I had my gear in one hand and a collection of garbage I’d picked up from the bottom in the other. My occasional tour guide work in Puerto Rico always reminds me that humans have a really sick relationship with garbage. We make too much of it, first of all, and we ship it off to places that get paid for storing it because we don’t want to see it ourselves.

For people who live on islands or near water, problems with trash are particularly acute. When you learn more about the Pacific Trash Vortex (and there’s a companion vortex of garbage swirling in the Atlantic), you can’t help but think we’ve got to come up with a better way to deal with the waste we produce.

Community Connection:

Do you have ideas for improving our waste management systems? Share them in the comments.

Feature photo:Fibonacci Blue|screenshot above by the author

The website If It Was My Home uses Google Earth mapping technology and data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create a map that shows the dimensions of the oil spill.  NOAA releases data daily, and the site is updated at least once per day.

Just type a city name in the search bar at the top, and the map will show the oil spill over your city, enabling you to see exactly how big this mess really is!

Community Connection:

If you want to do something to help, consider getting a haircut!  That’s right, hair can be turned into mats used to sop up oil.  Read all about it in Nancy Harder’s article, Cut Your Hair to Stop the Oil Spill.

On April 20th a BP oil rig was preparing to cement a well shut, so it could later be bored for oil, when it exploded. The rig sank, the riser broke, and the “blowout preventer” (a system of valves and hydraulics designed to prevent oil from leaking out) failed. Eleven people were killed, and dead animals have begun washing ashore.

Many people hear the phrase “oil spill” and think of the Exxon Valdez spill, but experts say this is WAY worse.  The Exxon Valdez tanker had a limited supply of oil, while this situation has been compared to “an upside-down faucet, just open and running out” that may take months to contain.

Add to that the type of oil that is leaking into the water.  The heavier blend that comes from deep under the ocean floor emulsifies well with water, meaning it doesn’t evaporate as well, isn’t rinsed off as easily, and isn’t as easily burned as lighter oil.  This makes the regular methods of clean up considerably more difficult.

As if that’s not bad enough, there’s more.

Louisiana marshland. Photo: Ray Devlin

The oil might have had a chance to rise to the surface without immediately emulsifying, but the wind and the waves are accelerating the oil and water mixing process.  This toxic mix is then being pushed towards some of the United States’ most sensitive coastal areas – the marshlands in Louisiana and the surrounding states.

Marshes are so delicate that even cleaning them can be dangerous.  Once the oil gets in there, it will be nearly impossible to remove without damaging the fragile ecosystem.

The U.S. Coast Guard had set up several booms (that are beginning to break down due to the weather) and have been talking about a controlled burn as early as Wednesday.  BP has been attempting to use robot mechanics and is developing another idea that involves “subsea oil collection systems” that will still require two to four weeks to build and install.  The best hope might be summer hurricane season as a hurricane could actually help disperse and distribute the oil.

How you can help

Whether you live near the Southeast U.S. or not, you can sign up to volunteer with the Sierra Club in a variety of ways – wildlife rescue/shoreline clean-up, recruiting volunteers, writing letters or contacting officials, working a phone bank, or even blogging.

There is also a list of organizations by state that will need volunteers for wildlife rescue/shoreline cleanup efforts.

Alabama:  Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

Louisiana: Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

Mississippi:  Pascagoula River Audubon Center

Florida:  Save Our Seabirds

Community Connection:

The potential for an oil disaster isn’t the only problem with Big Oil.  Check out The Trouble with Black Gold: 7 Sins of Oil Production.

“You can’t call it sustainable when you cut down the mangrove,” Paul Sanchez-Navarro Russell is in the middle of a rant about hotel development. I’m sure he has no shortage of these as the director of an ecology conservation organization.

“There are solutions to the problems [Akumal faces] in resource destruction and bad management,” Paul continues. “But [these solutions] need to take precedence over the immediate economic interests of a few.”

Obvious, yes, though it’s this message that needs to be said and said loudly if Akumal has any hopes for reducing human impact and recovering what it’s lost so far.

Having worked in environmental policy for years now, it’s clear Paul is up for the challenge, if not inspired by it.

His Work

Six years ago, Paul stepped up as Director of Centro Ecologico Akumal (CEA), the ad hoc environmental authority in the Akumal region.

“I was really inspired by the challenges of strengthening the organization and to be able to work on so many issues focused in one area,” he explains.

But being able to work on so many issues is what accounts for Paul’s very hectic schedule.

“There is no typical day,” he laughs.

Last Wednesday, Paul took a sick sea turtle to the animal hospital before conducting a press conference and then dealing with an electrical failure that shut down the entire office.

When I met with him a week and a half ago, he was wired on Diet Cokes and stealing time away from rubbing elbows at an eco-fashion event in Tulum.

“This is sort of normal,” he insists.

Though he may not be able to predict his erratic day-to-day, Paul has very clear goals for Akumal:

- to establish a locally managed sea turtle refuge
- to protect the mangroves and ecoparks surrounding the tourism area
- to use sustainable water treatment technology to control water pollution

He also wants to continue to be able to see the stars at night, and, of course, for the lost coral reef to grow back.

At Matador, we would like to see all that as well.

The Organization

Founded in 1993, CEA is a non-profit organization dedicated to marine and coastal protection, sea turtle protection, and water quality in the Akumal region.

Roughly ten years later, the organization recruited Paul from their technical advisory committee. Previous to CEA, he served as the Biodiversity Policy Advisor for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International as well as for both the WWF México Program and Pronatura.

Currently, the majority of his efforts concentrate on harmonizing Akumal’s growing tourism industry with CEA’s environmental conservation agenda.

“We want to demonstrate to everybody that you can have business without hurting nature. Right now, [Akumal's tourism industry] is not sustainable, but we’re working toward it.”

It’s not easy trying to convince everyone from government officials to independent fishing boat operators to look beyond the immediate financial gratification of current tourism practices and endeavor to establish something sustainable, but it’s all Akumal has.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Photo by Crazy Creatures

In the last three years, the region has lost almost 80% of Mesoamerican reef due to water pollution and the influx of tourists.

Fortunately, CEA’s presence is bringing about a positive change: beach front hotels have agreed to help facilitate the nesting of endangered sea turtles; the Mexican government has made it a federal offense to interfere with sea turtle ecology; and CEA is developing eco-certifications to encourage hotels to practice sustainable tourism.

How You Can Help

You can help CEA through financial donations, item donations, sea turtle adoptions, or by volunteering.

The organization accepts volunteers for each of their six programs throughout the year. Interested parties should visit the website for more information and volunteer applications.

“Remember that each action you take to improve how you use the Earth is important. There is no effort too small. Expect more from yourself than you do from others.”

Couldn’t have said it any better, Paul.

Community Connection

You can read more about Global Environmental Issues on Matador.

For other volunteering abroad opportunities and information, check out our Volunteering Abroad focus page.

San Franciscans enjoying a Grind for Green concert. Photo: Steve Rhodes

These organizations are based in San Francisco, but why not see if something similar exists in your community? And if not… take the initiative by taking these ideas and applying them where you live.

Building Resources

Building Resources accepts donations of reusable items, typically sturdy home items that people have gotten rid of during remodels, and sells them to people who want to reuse them.

By doing this, Building Resources diverts about 1,000 tons of materials from landfills each year.

One of the coolest offerings is tumbled glass. Old broken windows, mirrors, vases, dishes, and pots are tumbled in cement mixers and become smooth and pretty little pieces that can be used for landscaping, flower arrangements, and art projects.

Grind for the Green

Grind for the Green (G4G) aims to involve youth of color in the environmental movement through hip hop music and culture. It’s more than political lyrics à la Dead Prez; environmental responsibility is also promoted in the way their events, like green concerts, are run.

A big part of what this organization strives to do is to provide real world applications for environmental involvement. It does so through offering paid internships and educating youth on green jobs, including hosting a Green Career Fair.

Literacy for Environmental Justice

I highlighted this organization in my Urban Volunteering: San Francisco. Literacy for Environmental Justice has been around since 1998 and has been combating environmental injustice ever since. It’s fought power plants, restored wetlands, and created a community garden.

Most recently, LEJ opened the EcoCenter, an environmental education center that is completely off the grid. It’s wind and solar powered, has a living roof to regulate the temperature and catch rainwater, and on site waste water treatment. It seems like their quest has come full circle– they blocked the power plan;, now they are demonstrating a better way of doing things.

Earth Island Institute

Earth Island Institute was founded by David Brower, the first executive director of the Sierra Club. I first learned about the Earth Island Institute by volunteering at their annual Brower Youth Awards, which are given to six young people for their environmental work. Listening to them, I always feel and hope that I am watching the people who will eventually be the leaders of this country.

Aside from putting on that event, the Earth Island Institute helps with wetland restoration, provides monetary and other types of support to a variety of environmental organizations, and publishes a quarterly journal.

Garden for the Environment

Garden for the Environment was created 20 years ago on what used to be a vacant lot. Now, it’s an acre of urban garden used as a model for urban farming. Garden for the Environment also provides educational opportunities for youth and low cost weekend classes in urban farming, including creating your own compost, raising chickens in the city, controlling pests in an environmentally friendly way, and creating your own community garden.

Community Connection:

What organizations are fighting for the environment in your community? Leave the name and URL in the comments below.

Screenshot of Nalgene’s survey results. Feature photo: CanarsieBK

Last year, I made an argument for cities as potentially more sustainable than rural areas.

As a New Yorker who doesn’t own a car, takes public transportation, shops local, recycles, and has access to communities of other like-minded folks, like freecyclers, I have lots of first-hand reasons to be passionate about the environmental potential of cities.

Earlier this month, Nalgene published the results of its second annual Least Wasteful Cities study; the rankings are visible in the above graphic. San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Portland, Oregon, and Boston are the top five; Houston ranks dead last.

Nalgene defined waste aversion by questioning 3,750 respondents (approximately 150 participants from each of the 25 largest cities) about 23 different behaviors and habits that ranged from recycling to using public transportation.

As for the analytical nitty-gritty:

The answers for each question was [sic] calculated with a point-value giving to each answer based on the same 10-point scale. To derive the average answer for each question for a particular city, the number of respondents for each response was multiplied by the corresponding value (1-10), and then divided by the number of total respondents for that city. The result is the “unweighted” score for each question:

The average of all 23 questions was then used to derive the overall unweighted score for each city.

[Q]uestions were then weighted, reasoning that some actions are have a higher influence on waste or overall impact on the environment. Each question was assigned a value of 1, 5, 10 or 25 by which the unweighted score was multiplied, providing the final, weighted score:

1 Minimal impact behavior (e.g. Reusing wrapping paper)
5 Low impact (e.g. Turning water off when brushing teeth)
10 Moderate impact (e.g. Energy efficient light bulbs, reusable bottles)
15 High impact (e.g. Recycling)
25 Extremely high impact (e.g. Taking public transportation)

Do you live in any of the surveyed cities, and if so, what’s your take on the results? What might explain a particularly low score? If you live in a city outside the U.S., how might it rank according to these criteria? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Community Connection:

Why are cities sustainable? Here are my six reasons why cities are sustainable places. Let me know if you agree or disagree!

Photo: +Angst

This isn’t to say that I don’t have goals (I do) or that I’ve perfected living in the moment (I definitely haven’t). It’s just that I realize how quickly new opportunities can arise, and how an idea that seemed viable today may have fizzled out by next week.

So the premise of this video, put together by the organization Four Years. Go., is slightly overwhelming to me. What can I commit to today and work on steadily for the next four years to help prevent continued environmental degradation and to make the world more livable for everyone?

On the other hand, thinking about the urgency of doing something meaningful for the environment within four years as opposed to 40 or 50 years feels more doable and just makes sense.

Check out the video and Four Years. Go.’s mission. Is this a project you’d want to be involved in, and if so, what do you pledge to do?

The largest JW Marriott resort in the world / All photos by author

Last month, my wife and I spent two nights at the recently opened (as of late January this year) JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. Our lodging and meal costs were comped.

This place is massive. There are 1,002 rooms, 85 of which are suites.

Big, empty event room

The “executive suite” we stayed in had as much square footage as our house, I’m pretty sure, and featured a giant dead space in the sitting room that could’ve served as a mini square dance area.

Add to that a couple 40,000sqft “ballrooms,” some 20 smaller (but still enormous) meeting/conference rooms, three wedding/event venues, a 26,000sqft spa, a waterpark, half a dozen restaurants, hallways of shops and cafes, and two 18-hole golf courses.

It is the largest JW Marriott resort in the world.

So when I saw them also proudly pushing their “Greenitiatives” (an unfortunate neologism I hope doesn’t catch on elsewhere) on their website, I knew what my junket would focus on. I mean, all else aside, the idea that a golf course of any size, one hole or 36, could be “green” is bullshit.

What I found during my stay, however, was that not all of these — okay, fine — “Greenitiatives” were totally contrived. And, given the land development alternatives in the region, signing off on the resort might have been the city council’s way of making the best out of an inevitably bad situation.

The centerpiece “Greenitiative”

Golf is what it’s about. The resort’s two 18-hole courses make up the private TPC San Antonio club and will host PGA Tour tournaments. I don’t know what that means.

But I do know golf greens are on par with Superfund sites in terms of toxicity, a result of all the chemicals used to keep the grass nice and pretty and green.

And these courses I’m sure are no exception. In fact, we saw signs along the greens warning of pesticide contamination.

But TPC San Antonio’s 36-hole complex does differ from the standard golf course in other ways. It’s built over a shield of 75,000 cubic yards of impervious clay that largely keeps the contaminated water from seeping into the earth below.

It features a closed-loop irrigation system that captures irrigation and rainwater runoff, preventing it from leaving the course and recycling it for future irrigation use.

And there are monitoring stations at the entrance and exit of the local watershed to measure how much contamination is escaping the system via water that manages to pass through.

All this kinda puts TPC San Antonio out in front of golf “greenery,” if there is such a movement:

Scott Halty, director of resource protection for the San Antonio Water System, said he’s been unable to find another system like it anywhere in the country. Vernon Kelly, president of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties, said the system…goes far beyond anything the tour has installed at its 26 other Tournament Players Clubs.
Source: San Antonio Express News

Great. They’re trying. Why?

Author enjoying one of the heated pools

Green by necessity

San Antonio tap water is delicious. The bulk of it is pumped from the Edwards Aquifer, a subterranean network of porous limestone that traps and stores enough water to supply two million people.

The recharge zone for this aquifer — the area where water from precipitation and creek systems enters the ground — is spread over 1,500 square miles of the Texas Hill Country. And the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa, golf courses and all, sits on top of a sliver of that recharge zone.

The aquifer is an abundant but fragile artesian water source:

In most places, rain passes through layers of sand or gravel that act as natural filters before it enters the underground water supply. But over San Antonio’s recharge zone, a thin layer of grass and dirt has less ability to filter impurities.
Source: San Antonio Express News

This is why previous development proposals brought by the land’s owners, the Austin-based Lumbermen’s Investment Corp., were rejected by the city. They failed to provide adequate protection for one of San Antonio’s most essential natural resources.

The investment in the clay shield, closed-loop irrigation, and monitoring system, then, can be seen as a concession, the absence of which would have scuttled the entire project. You could call it an “Involuntary-Greenitiative” (amalgamate that!).

Another fundamental of Lumbermen’s proposal was that the entire 2,847-acre Cibolo Canyons Development (which includes the resort and golf courses as well as residential properties) cannot exceed 15% impervious cover.

This figure comes from studies showing that “the recharge zone’s natural ability to filter pollutants is compromised when the area covered by streets and houses exceeds 15 percent of the land’s surface.”

Additionally, 758 acres adjoining the golf course are to remain untouched, within which is a 100-acre bird sanctuary. It has walking trails, but they’re closed March–October to protect the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.

(Also included in the deal was a living wage commitment to resort and golf-course workers, something on which Marriott generally has a good track record.)

The argument made to me by Mike Kass, the resort’s Director of Sales and Marketing, was that all of this is “better than the alternative”: an extension of the tract housing that uglies up the rest of north San Antonio. Streets and roofs and driveways that collect and channel motor oil, paint, and other everyday toxins into the recharge zone. Totally unmonitored.

It’s the same argument Jim Mayor, chairman of the board for the San Antonio Water System, made back in late 2007:

I truly believe that this is the best environmental plan that any organization could put together with a private property owner over a most-sensitive part of our aquifer… It’s the maximum that could be achieved short of taking somebody’s property.
Source: San Antonio Express News

Voluntary or not, these “Greenitiatives” seem to be better than nothing.

Lunch plate at 18 Oaks

Green by choice

Of course, the JW Marriott, like most other mainstream hotel/resort chains these days, knows consumers like “green.” And they’ve adopted some policies I’m assuming weren’t arm-twisted out of them.

The most impressive is their participation in the Windtricity program, a service offered by South Texas’s CPS Energy. Residences and businesses pay a premium to help fund the capture and transmission of energy from wind farms in west and northwest Texas to the state’s electric grid.

Marriott isn’t feeding off renewable energy directly (such as they would if they had turbines on their property, for example), but their annual premium supposedly pays for 70% of their power. So, in the abstract, the resort gets 70% of its electricity from a renewable source. It’s the largest single user in the Windtricity program.

The list of smaller green initiatives is long and includes a few from Julie Schwietert’s 10 Steps Hotels Can Take to Go Greener. Here’s a sampling:

• Recycled steel studs and low-VOC (volatile organic compound) glues and paints were used in the resort’s construction.
• Rooms feature “smart” heating and cooling systems that shut off when exterior doors are opened.
• Plumbing in guest bathrooms is supposedly low-flow. Our “executive suite” shower definitely wasn’t, though.
• Guest literature advertises the standard “linen reuse” program. However, there were no instructions in our room on how to participate.
• The clubhouse restaurant, 18 Oaks, features menu ingredients sourced from within a radius of 150 miles.
• A planned on-site greenhouse will provide fresh produce for the restaurants.

I was even given a “green” press kit — a little cartridge with a USB interface. Sweet. For some reason, though, it was accompanied by an attractive but ultimately wasteful cardboard-bound photo brochure.

Executive suite bedroom

My case study conclusion

Is the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa “green”? No.

It is a behemoth, it is sprawl, it devours energy and natural resources. Plus, there’s no guarantee all the fancy clay cover, closed-loop business on the golf course is going to work.

In the words of Graciela Sanchez, director of San Antonio’s Esperanza Peace and Justice Center:

“What they presented us was the best that they thought they can do, but they have no history with this. We don’t know for a fact that it is not going to leak. It’s just going to be, ‘Try it and see how it goes.’”
Source: San Antonio Express News

I can think of dozens of “greener” uses to which this land could have been put. But the truth is that no one was going to make a park, or a 2,800-acre bird sanctuary, or a giant disc golf course (still golf, but none of the chemicals!) on this prime piece of real estate.

If it hadn’t been the resort, it almost certainly would’ve been something worse. Something much less controversial and thus much less scrutinized and monitored.

It’s a “lesser of two evils,” “opportunity cost” scenario. But maybe this is how we baby step towards true sustainability in the hotel industry.

What do you think? Would you ever consider a resort like this one to be “green”? Been to a resort that does it better? Speak up in the comments.

Community Connection

Over at BNT, Jennifer Bernstein looks at The Inconvenient Truth About Green Travel. And Nights has profiled The 9 Best-Designed Hotels Worldwide.

Photo: Morgan Solar

Everyone with an Internet connection knows what Google is and has used it for a basic search. Beyond its basic search engine, though, Google’s got a bunch of other products, many of which are virtually unknown to users.

One of those products is Google PowerMeter, a free software program that calculates your energy use for you. A project of Google.org, Google’s philanthropic umbrella, the purpose of Google PowerMeter is to “help users understand how they use electricity and help them use less,” as well as save money on energy costs.

The PowerMeter isn’t widely available just yet– it requires the collaboration of local utilities, and Google has formed initial partnerships with 10 providers in the United States, Canada, the UK, and India. If you happen to be a customer of one of these utility providers, you can apply to become a beta tester of the PowerMeter.

If you’re not a customer of one of these utility providers, you can either purchase a monitoring device that streams live energy use data to your computer or register for updates.

Community Connection:

Check out Matador’s Global Environmental Issues Focus Page.

Best Buy announces its recycling program on a billboard in Times Square. Notice that the sign is made of disposed electronics. Photo: Francisco Collazo

E-waste–the garbage that takes the form of disposed electronics–is largely responsible for landfill overuse and health problems in communities where e-waste ends up.

Many people see electronics as difficult to recycle, as their local recycling programs don’t accept e-waste. Here in New York City, our periodic e-waste collection days were eliminated last year due to municipal budget cuts. It’s easier to throw these items away, even when we know that the consequences of doing so may harm the environment or other people.

Electronics retailer Best Buy is attempting to make e-waste disposal easier and less damaging to the environment and to communities by sponsoring an e-waste recycling program. If you have a TV, DVD player, computer or laptop, cables, cell phones, or other electronics you’d like to get rid of, Best Buy will accept them– even if they weren’t bought at their store– and work with third party vendors to recycle or repurpose the items.

It all sounds good, but upon hearing about the recycling program, I was somewhat suspicious: is Best Buy ensuring that these electronics won’t end up in developing countries, where they’ll be stripped of valuable components like copper wire, exposing people to harmful chemicals in the process?

Best Buy addresses such concerns in its FAQ section. In response to concerns like mine, they write:

Best Buy makes sure that the recyclers we work with adhere to the highest guidelines and standards so that the products customers bring into our stores for recycling don’t end up in landfills or in foreign countries, and that all hazardous materials are disposed of properly. We partner directly with a short list of qualified, respected recycling companies who ensure all products collected for recycling through Best Buy are handled responsibly. These recycling companies meet our standards, and we encourage them to examine and consider additional third-party standards for responsible practices (such as the EPA R2, eStewards, etc.). Please refer to our Consumer Electronics Recycling Standardsfor more information and a list of our partners.

If you’re interested in recycling your e-waste through Best Buy, stores in the US and in Puerto Rico are accepting drop offs (two items per person, per day) indefinitely. The store locator can help you identify a drop off point near you.

Not in the US? Please let us know of e-waste recycling resources in your city or country by leaving information in the comments section.

Community Connection:

Get more information about environmental responsibility on our Global Environmental Issues focus page.

William Kamkwamba, one of the TED presenters. Photo: whiteafrican

Here are six of our favorite TED Talks about the environment:

1. Yann Arthus-Bertrand captures fragile Earth in wide-angle.

“You know the problem [is that] we don’t want to believe what we know,” Arthus-Bertrand says at the beginning of this 15 minute talk, in which he presents large-format photos he’s shot that show exactly how we’re damaging the planet. The statistics he superimposes on the photos of Kilimanjaro, the North Pole, and the New Caledonia coral reef are given weight by the fact that those images illustrate numbers that remain abstract unless we see the damage with our own eyes.

I first saw Arthus-Bertrand’s photos in Puerto Rico a couple years ago and recall thinking, “This is important. It’s only by presenting familiar information in a new way that we’ll take action.”

Though Arthus-Bertrand’s photos might leave you feeling desperate, the other part of his talk provides reason for hope. He presents his other projects, an Internet-based multi-media documentary called “6 Billion Others,” and a film, “Home,” both of which aim to collect and disseminate people’s stories about their own lives.

These two projects complement his large-format photos of destruction in an important way: they put a human face on the problems we’ve caused and show just how much is at stake. “It’s too late to be pessimistic,” Arthus-Bertrand concludes. “We can all be part of the solution.”

By showing us the problems, Arthus-Bertrand helps point us toward solutions.

2. James Balog on time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss

I learned about James Balog’s work in the NOVA special, “Extreme Ice.” Balog, a photographer like Arthus-Bertrand, is also director of the Extreme Ice Survey, and it’s through this research project that Balog documents the rapid recession of glaciers in time-lapse photography. “Ice,” Balog says, “is the canary in the global coal mine.”

Photos and film of receding ice can help reshape our understanding of why glacial melt is important.

You can argue all you want about climate change, but once you see Balog’s work, you’ve got to concede that the planet is heating up… and that the consequences are likely to be devastating.

3. Edward Burtynsky photographs the landscape of oil

Do you really know where your oil comes from? Burtynsky shows you where it comes from–and where it goes–in this super-short but profoundly powerful talk. To me, Burtynsky’s photos of the landscapes of oil–the places where oil comes from and the places where oil-powered and oil-based objects end up– are evocative of Chris Jordan’s photographs of mass consumption, and they have the same effect: that of making us more conscious about our consumption.

4. John Francis walks the Earth

The fact that John Francis even gave a TED Talk is fairly remarkable: the man spent 17 years in silence. That’s just one of the unconventional commitments he made in his personal campaign to improve environmental awareness.

That campaign began in 1971, when Francis watched two oil tankers collide in the San Francisco Bay, spilling 1/2 million gallons of oil. He immediately decided to stop driving, choosing to walk everywhere instead.

It’s an unusual journey, he acknowledges in this TED Talk, but one that can serve as a means of reflection for all of us on our own journeys.

If you think environmentalism is for boring people, then bump Francis’s talk to the top of this list.

5. Nalini Nadkarny on conserving the canopy

Nadkarny’s verbal intensity can be a bit much, especially by the end of this 16 minute talk, but it matches her passion for her subject: the importance of the canopy in forests around the world.

Nadkarny believes that the life of the tops of forests can tell us a lot about the health and future of these vital areas. But she also believes that most people could care less about the forest because they have little experience with it.

Rather than simply try to convince listeners by presenting them with scientific facts, she conveys this information through creative approaches, including distribution of TreeTop Barbies and scientist-artist collaborations she refers to as canopy confluences. These have resulted in dances, art installations, and urban youth rap.

I’m a big fan of making academic information accessible and engaging, so Nadkarny’s talk was inspiring.

You’ve got to sit through seven minutes of no-nonsense, fast-talking fact-dropping before you get to that, but the wait is worth it.

6. William Kamkwamba on harnessing the wind

I just love the absolute honesty and transparency of Kamkwamba as he talks about what it was like for him to be invited to give his first TED Talk in Tanzania. Kamkwamba, of Malawi, said: “Before that time, I had never been away from my home. I had never used a computer. I had never seen an internet. My English lost,” he says. “I wanted to vomit. I’d never been surrounded by so many azungu (white people).”

One of seven children, Kamkwamba was forced to drop out of school in the midst of a famine. Looking at his father and seeing the dry fields was “a future I couldn’t accept,” he said. So he changed it.

He taught himself English by looking at graphs and diagrams in physics books he borrowed from a library. And then he built a windmill, which generated both electric and water power. “People started queuing up at my house,” he explained, “to charge their mobile phone. I could not get rid of them. And the reporters came too, and the bloggers, which led to something called TED.”

And why did he agree to give a TED talk?

“Because maybe one day, you’ll watch this on the Internet” and will be inspired to “not give up on your dreams.”

Community Connection:

For some home-grown Matador inspiration, check out Ian MacKenzie’s Interview with Casey Kochmer on Taoist Travel.

In a time when just about everyone is doing their part to lessen their environmental impact, it’s exciting to see the trend catching on at a bigger level.  Concerts, conferences, and even the Olympics are becoming “greener.”

According to the Vancouver 2010 website, the Olympic committee researched local and global sustainability issues, as well as past Olympic Games to decide which practices to put in place.  The committee went beyond recycling and conserving by including “social and economical dimensions of sustainability.”

Some of the initiatives taking place this year to create a more eco-friendly Olympics include:

• Signing the the Protocol with the Four Host First Nations, ensuring that indigenous people and businesses are involved in the Olympic planning, hosting, and legacy, which is the first time something like this has happened.
• Making the Games more accessible to inner-city people and others who couldn’t afford to attend the Games by distributing 50,000 tickets through the Celebrate 2010 program.
• Integrating sustainability practices into all operations, lowering the overall carbon footprint through practices such as energy efficiency.
• Using LEED standards in design and construction.
• Instituting a carbon neutral torch relay.
• Creating long-lasting programs, such as the Sustainability Stars Program, which recognizes efforts by Games partners and sponsors, and the Buy Smart program, which is a sustainable purchasing and sourcing program.
• Raising awareness by encouraging participants and spectators to do their part during and after the Games (using alternative modes of transportation, and reducing, reusing, and recycling).

The sustainability practices will be monitored during the Olympics and initial dissolution phase (April 30, 2010) and then a final report will be issued.

This is a major turning point for the Olympics, and possibly sustainability practices around the world.  It’s not just about the events this year in Vancouver.

Community Connection:

If you’re headed to the Olympics, you’ll definitely want to read Olympic Sidetrips.

Not everyone thinks the Vancouver Olympics are good for the community. Read Chris Vandenberg’s article, The Dark Side of the Olympics for an alternate perspective.

Photo courtesy of Amazon Watch

MatadorChange has been following the ongoing saga of Chevron’s shenanigans since last May, when our colleagues at the environmental group Amazon Watch forwarded us a letter from Emergildo Criollo, a representative of the Ecuadorean community of Cofan, which has been devastated by Chevron’s oil extraction activity.

We’ve written several articles about Chevron and other big oil interests, including Shell, since that time, and we’ve been following developments in what has been called the largest class action environmental lawsuit in history.

Amazon Watch notified us recently that Chevron has a new CEO. On January 1, 2010, John Watson, Chevron board member, was appointed head of the company.

With more than 30 years of his career invested in Chevron, environmentalists critical of the appointment wonder whether Watson can really lead the way in cleaning up the company… not to mention the countries and communities it has harmed.

On It’s Getting Hot in Here, a youth climate action blog, writer Nick Magel observed:

“…John Watson is the very man [who] orchestrated Chevron’s takeover of Texaco, and with it the 18 billion gallons of toxic waste water and 17 million gallons of crude oil deliberately dumped in Ecuadorian rainforest communities. Given Watson’s intimate understanding of Chevron’s toxic legacy there is no question he knows what is necessary to clean up their mess and compensate the communities that have been living with the effects of Chevron’s contamination for decades.”

Magel went on to issue a challenge, asking “Will Watson build a tenure on human rights or legal fights?”

Amazon Watch has released a video of Ecuadorean people who ask Watson to take charge and lead Chevron in a new direction. You can watch that video below, and then read on to learn about the petition campaign led by Amazon Watch and how you can get involved:

The petition being led by Amazon Watch reads as follows:

Dear Mr. Watson:

As the new CEO of Chevron, climate change and the environmental and human rights impacts of Chevron’s operations are the two issues that will define your tenure at the helm of one of the world’s largest oil companies. Chevron has fallen behind other businesses and many political leaders already taking a leadership position on climate change. Furthermore, your company is drawing increasing criticism for failing to rectify its massive human rights and environmental disaster in Ecuador. Taking the following steps will demonstrate a true commitment to environmental responsibility and respect for human rights – which will only strengthen your company’s future.

We the undersigned call on Chevron CEO John Watson to:

Clean up Chevron’s toxic legacy in Ecuador, compensate affected communities for health and environmental impacts, and provide affected people real access to health care and potable water.

Develop a global environment and human rights policy that will prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Adopt aggressive strategies to provide clean energy to a carbon-constrained world.

To sign the petition, visit ChevronToxico.

Community Connection:

Educate yourself about oil! What Cuba Taught Us About Peak Oil is just one article from our archives that addresses oil as a dwindling resource.

The inhabitants of the smaller islands in the Pacific Ocean notice the effects of climate change and rising sea level everyday, and each day that passes these people get closer and closer to becoming “environmental refugees.”

Cartaret Islands

The Cartaret Islands rise five feet above sea level, and due to flooding and high tides, are practically uninhabitable. The people of the Cartaret Islands have tried to save their land by creating sea walls and planting mangrove trees, but it is estimated that the islands will be totally submerged by 2015.

In 2007, the government of Papua New Guinea officially designated money to relocate the families living on the island, making them the first island residents in the world to be relocated by the government due to rising sea levels.

Tuvalu

Global warming has been a concern for Tuvaluans since the 1990s. The government even runs workshops to educate the residents about the impacts of climate change and how it continues to affect them.

Tuvalu’s highest point is 15 feet, much higher than some of the other islands, but most of the island is just over three feet above sea level. As with the Cartaret Islands, high tides are causing severe erosion and widespread flooding.

According to assistant secretary for Foreign Affairs Paani Laupepa,

“Even if we are not completely flooded, in 50 to 70 years we face increasingly strong storms and cyclones, changing weather patterns, damage to our coral reefs from higher ocean temperatures, and flooding of all our gardens.”

Maldives

At just four feet above sea level, the President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has already pledged to use tourism revenue to buy land in India, Sri Lanka, and Australia for Maldivians to relocate to once their island is gone.

Over the next 90 years, the sea level is expected to rise two feet, and with the highest point in the capital city, Male, just three feet, the 70,000 people who currently live there might want to consider relocating for their future children’s sakes.

Not Just Islands

Not just the islands of the Pacific are feeling the effects of global warming and rising sea level. The coastlines of Chesapeake Bay in Delaware and parts of Florida are diminishing each year, but one of the major areas of concern is Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is situated on a large delta, created by hundreds of tributaries of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers. 90% of the land is on the flood plain, and 15-20% of the population lives on land that is just three feet above sea level.

Every year, storms and extreme flooding cause the communities in this area to be evacuated, and some permanently relocated.

Community Connection:

For more information, read Ian MacKenzie’s article about The First Casualties of Climate Change, or Julie Schwietert’s article, “Maldivians Abandon Archipelago; Establish New Country in Australia”.

Photo by: midorisyu

Recently, supreme research brains at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science discovered a way to genetically modify a a type of bacterium to consume CO2 and produce isobutanol, a liquid fuel that can be used as a gas alternative.

And the process only requires sunlight to get going, meaning this achievement carries with it all sorts of cleaner, greener, cheaper energy implications.

Revolutionary? You betcha.

The modified bacterium potentially serves as not only a fuel substitute, but also an environmental cleanup agent through its consumption of carbon dioxide, the villain in our global warming story. Researchers say the ideal place for this bacteria is next to power plants emitting carbon dioxide so the plants’ greenhouse gases can be swallowed up and recycled into liquid fuel.

Unfortunately, the research is only in its initial stages, making it still too early to tell whether or not this will be the bacteria that saves the world.

Until then, we should continue doing our part to try and reduce emissions as we watch the infamous emissions clock climb to unfathomable numbers.

You can read more about the research here on the online edition of the science journal Nature Biotechnology.

Photo of Dr. Jane Goodall by: JJ W.

One of the largest political conferences of the year, the UN Climate Change Conference draws various experts, political figures, media members, and other participants to discuss climate change and international efforts to combat it. The Copenhagen conference aims to achieve four main issues:

* Ambitious emission reduction targets for developed countries
* Nationally appropriate mitigation actions of developing countries
* Scaling up financial and technological support for both adaptation and mitigation
* An effective institutional framework with governance structures that address the needs of developing countries

This year Dr. Jane Goodall has put her global tour on hold to join the conference in hopes that her presence and presentations will help emphasize the importance of local communities putting in efforts to fight deforestation, a major contributor to global warming.

From her press release:

“According to Dr. Goodall, “Any agreement reached at Copenhagen should include direct funding to local communities to assist in protecting carbon-rich forests.” This support, she explained, can be achieved through the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) financing mechanism to the benefit of both local communities and the goal of REDD to provide long-term protection of forests.

At Copenhagen, Dr. Goodall and Dr. Lilian Pintea, the Jane Goodall Institute’s director of conservation science, will demonstrate a pilot project that, with the aid of Google mobile and web-based mapping technologies, will enable local communities to provide accurate and timely forest monitoring data that is essential to meeting REDD’s goals.

The project will allow local communities in Tanzania and Uganda and indigenous Surui people in Brazil, along with their institutional partners, to exchange experiences and find ways to mutually support ongoing carbon/REDD project development efforts in these geographic areas.”

Watch this video which examines the complicated array of issues facing negotiators who specialize in REDD issues: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries. Video courtesy of Clean Skies.

Also check out Managing Editor Julie Schwietert’s article “It’s a bad time to be an iceberg” discussing some of the effects of global warming.

With the global water crisis, can you really buy bottled water in good faith? These facts that might make you think twice before buying bottled water.

Community Connection:

Read 40 Shocking Facts About Water to learn more about water use around the world.

Feature Photo: khym54

Photo: stev.ie

This Christmas, take some simple eco-friendly measures to reduce waste, protect the environment, and save money in the process.

The Tree

The first step to a green Christmas is picking the right tree. For years, artificial trees were considered the best option as they saved real trees. However, the production and disposal of artificial trees cause much damage, utilizing and emitting harmful chemicals and ending up in a landfill.

Cut Trees

A better idea is to source a real tree from your local organic tree farm. These farms continuously plant and replant trees, negating worries about deforestation and environmental damage. Furthermore, many of these farms offer other organic produce as well as tree recycling options.

Potted Trees

The other option is to rent or buy a potted tree. These trees come with living roots, which means you can return the tree after the holidays or keep it for the next few years. Once the tree outgrows the pot, replant it in your yard or donate it to a local park or farm.

Creative Trees

If you’re up for some crazy creativity, recycle assorted scrap lying around the house and fashion your very own tree. Empty bottles, beer cans, coat hangers, cardboard, whatever you fancy. Need some inspiration? Look at these ideas over at Eco Friend.

Recycling the Old Tree

Once the tree has run its course, be sure to recycle. If you have a garden, turn the tree into mulch, a great way to supplement soil nutrients. If not, find a shredding center in your area or an organic farm that will turn the tree to mulch. In case of artificial trees, call the local recycling center for the best possible options.

Decorations

The holidays are a time for family, so gather around and bond as you transform old magazines, pieces of fruit, empty bottles and bits of lace into Christmas decorations.

Try Upcycling

Upcycling is the process of transforming out-of-commission items into something useful. This means you can create unique Christmas decorations out of scrap materials like expired light bulbs, old CDs, empty tins and used cups.

Our 10 ways to reuse wine bottles article also falls in this category.

DIY Eco-Displays

Play with cardboard, origami, old jewelry and organic materials like fruits, pine cones, dry branches, and flowers to create festive displays. These are small, simple decorations– sticks of cinnamon tied with gold trim as place settings for the big family dinner, painted pine cones on the coffee table, or your own wreath – that add to the festivities.

LED Lights & Green Candles

Photo: Thijs

Switch from conventional Christmas lights to energy efficient LED Christmas lights. You’ll have lower electricity bills and a brighter Christmas. Also ,replace petroleum based candles with eco-friendly natural-vegetable-based candles, like soy candles.

Gifts and Cards

Season’s Greetings

Make sure your gifts and cards work for the environment. There are a number of eco-friendly gift options to choose from. Add a personal touch by attaching handmade cards, using papers and other recycled items, to your gifts.

Green Packaging

When gifting, especially within the family, use fabrics as wrapping material instead of paper. Pull out unused scarves, left over fabric and cloth bags to wrap Christmas gifts. If this idea appeals to you, look up the art of furoshiki, a traditional Japanese gift wrapping technique using fabric.

Similarly make use of eco-friendly bags, old wrapping paper or create your own personalized collage wrapping paper.

Do you have other tips to share? Leave them below in the comments.

Community Connection:

Looking for gifts that make a difference? Check out our guide to Gifts for a Good Cause.

As if cued to add fuel to the environmental debate that erupted on Twitter recently, the new “world’s largest passenger vessel” docked at its home port in Florida for the first time just a few days after.

Royal Caribbean’s “Oasis of the Seas,” finished in October of this year, is 40% larger than its closest rival for size. With a passenger carrying capacity of 6,296 guests plus 2,165 crew members (for a grand total of 8,461), it could house 80% of the entire population of Sarah Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.

If you asked me to do a word association with “cruise,” my immediate response would probably begin something like: waste, drunk, exploitation, gambling. Funny enough, the Royal Caribbean management at least partly agrees with me.

After all, “Oasis” practically brags about the amount of resources and commodities it consumes on a daily basis. Its fact sheet reads like a guide book to wastefulness. These are some of the so-called “Fun Facts” about the ship found on their website:

150 miles (241 km) of piping
3,300 miles (5310 km) of electrical cables
158,503 gallons (600,000 liters) of paint
4,700,000 lbs. (2,350 metric tons) of fresh water consumption per 24 hours

In addition to the vast quantities of non-renewable resources consumed to build the behemoths, cruise ships produce a lot of waste themselves. An environmental activist group called Oceana reports that the average cruise ship produces daily:

- 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets
- 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys, and showers
- seven tons of garbage and solid waste
- 15 gallons of toxic chemicals
- 7,000 gallons of oily bilge water

I’m not sure what oily bilge water is, but it can’t be good.

In some ways, the environmental damage possibly caused by cruising on the “Oasis” isn’t actually so drastic. When you consider the fact that, if they weren’t on a cruise, those 8,000 sailors would be consuming goods, services, and water elsewhere, the numbers don’t seem so dire. 4.7 million pounds of water works out to around 70 gallons per person – within the normal range of the average American’s daily home water consumption (not to say that isn’t still egregiously high).

At least a cruise ship has the opportunity for reducing consumption per capita through economies of scale. Some of that water used (though likely a tiny fraction) surely goes to water the ship’s 12,175 live plants. And in the last decade most cruise companies have made an effort to clean up their business. They have updated ships with advanced sewage treatment facilities, improved emissions systems, and have begun plugging into hydroelectric power sources while docked at port, rather than running their engines.

But cruise ships can be damaging in other ways.

For one, they can cheapen and degrade local cultures. Let’s be honest: cruise-goers on a 7-day cruise Caribbean cruise aren’t looking for a cultural immersion experience. “Oasis” stops in Jamaica, Haiti, and Cozumel, Mexico for 29 hours. Total. That’s 29 hours out of 168, or about 17%.

Photo: lepiaf.geo (better off slipping into blur)

Think of what happens when a boat carrying over 6,000 passengers pulls up to port after being at sea for two days straight. They all pour out onto the island to shop, eat, and drink their way through local towns.

Time for a little honesty again: thousands of cruise-boat tourists on shore for eight hours aren’t going to buy a hand-woven scarf or take the time to get to know the people they’re buying from. Chances are they’ll buy cheap trinkets that were more likely than not made in a factory in China and only resold locally.

What do you think will happen when that local scarf-weaver realizes that they can earn more money from selling cheap Chinese trinkets than making textiles?

Cruise ships, for better or worse, cater to the most attention-span-deprived among us. Cruises are often an all-inclusive package deal; your ticket pays for your room, your meals, all the endless entertainment your heart can take, and sometimes soft drinks and alcohol.

“Oasis” is no exception.

As the world’s largest passenger boat – almost five times larger than the Titanic – it is expected to have a commensurate level of attractions. It doesn’t disappoint. It has so many amenities, in fact, that USA Today’s “Cruise Log” even asked: “Is Oasis of the Seas too complicated for a first-time cruiser?”

But all of those diversions come at a cost. Tourists who are coddled and satisfied by cruise staff for several days straight, then suddenly released into the laid-back culture of a Caribbean island, are probably not going to be the most patient or understanding people in the world.

Surely all cruise-goers aren’t environmentally ignorant nor culturally unaware. People cruise to escape from the stress and pressure of the daily grind, and to have everything taken care of for them, which doesn’t make them greedy or insensitive.

But a cruise ship – especially one like “Oasis” that touts itself as a floating city, complete with seven different themed “neighborhoods” – doesn’t do much to encourage cultural awareness.

Cruise ships have a responsibility to the local communities where they dock – not just to the government officials whose permits they buy, or to the ports whose electricity they use. They have a responsibility to the culture as a whole.

The least they could provide their guests is a little cultural education to go along with their all-you-can-eat buffet.

Community Connection:

Did you miss the Twitter debate on cruising? Read Julie Schwietert’s article, Should Travel Writers Care About Their Environmental Impact?

Ah, life’s simple pleasures. Photo: Kecko

While the rest of the world’s populations are flocking toward their nation’s metropolitan hotspots, a 2001 British census shows that Brits have been forgoing the fast-pace of the city for slower country living, a trend that has only gotten worse in recent years.

Not okay, says University College London research associate and author P.D. Smith in an article published in Wired UK magazine’s January issue.

Smith cites data revealing rural households emitting higher carbon dioxide than their urban counterparts due to larger residences, longer commutes, and multiple cars. Turns out, the regions with the largest carbon footprints in the UK are in the rural northeast, not the famed cities of London or Glasgow. London, interestingly enough, has the lowest per capita emissions. Who would have thought?

Smith argues that city living creates a low carbon economy and those who opt for country living should be taxed for the luxury.

“British people need to be cured of the insidious fantasy of leaving the city and owning a house in the country…. We tax cigarettes to reflect the harm they do to our health: we need to tax lifestyles that are damaging the health of the planet – and that means targeting people who choose to live in the countryside.”

Making exceptions for agricultural workers and those who are employed in rural areas, Smith wants to institute a “Rural Living Tax” for all other country residents, such as rich people with two houses.

But other than tax the pants off country dwellers, isn’t a better solution to aggressively promote greener living for all citizens?

Rather than punish people for choosing to live with cows and chickens, we should be encouraging the habitual acts that contribute to sustainability. The Earth is everyone’s responsibility and finding more reasons to tax certain demographics doesn’t exactly carry that message across.

Sound reasonable enough? Let those opinions fly free in the comments below.

Photo: rq?

Recently, The Fun Theory, a group promoting behavioral and environmental change, turned an average subway staircase in Stockholm into a giant, musical piano to see if they could motivate people to take the stairs more if fun were a factor. Watch the video of their results:

Additionally, the group is promoting recycling by creating a recycling bin arcade machine that makes the act of recycling ordinary bottles and cans feel a bit like playing skee ball and some serious fun.

The Fun Theory believes that “the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better.” And after watching the videos, it’s easy to see why they are so consistently successful. As BNT Editor Christine Garvin points out in her article “Yogis At Play”, one of life’s most important qualities is play.

Now, discuss.

Photo: Marcin Wichary

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Matador is constantly scouring the Web and assembling a collection of the best travel video the world has to offer.

Perpetually with one foot in the future, Japan recently brought on board a team of companies and researchers for what has got to be the most astro-ambitious project of the 21st century: the Space Solar Power System (SSPS).

The SSPS project, which Japan hopes to become fully realized as soon as 2030, will put into orbit giant solar panels just outside Earth’s atmosphere to gather the sun’s energy and beam it down to us in the form of lasers or microwaves. In the absence of clouds or that pesky ozone layer, solar energy can be over five times stronger in space than on Earth and according to the report from PhysOrg, Japan has been dead serious about this project since 1998.

Just a svelte island floating in the eastern Pacific, Japan depends on oil imports to run much of its machinery. If SSPS becomes a reality, Japan estimates the electricity produced will be six times cheaper than current in-country costs. “We’re aiming to produce stable, cheap power and hydrogen at a target price of 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour,” research scientist Hiroaki Suzuki was quoted saying in the Scientific American.

But powerful lasers beaming down from space don’t exactly inspire confidence in the court of public opinion and the very twilight zone nature of the SSPS project has got all the science and technology blogs aflutter. Tonic admits that the plan “sounds so very far-flung and fanciful,” while Tech.Blorge refers to it as “as a nod to science fiction.”

And while Matador is committed to greener living (hey, we sent one of our MatadorU students to take on the No Impact Week Challenge), we’re reserving opinion until the 2020 test launch.

Around this time last year, Matador published this article about US commitment to renewable energy, though it is clear that, much like as with cell phones and robot girlfriends, the Japanese have outpaced all others once again.

What do you think about a giant laser beaming super concentrated solar energy down from outer space? Share your thoughts with us!

Photo: Lisa Brewster

The latest twitstorm blew through the travel writing universe over the weekend, leaving the blogosphere breathless–but certainly not speechless–over the quantity and quality of mudslinging that can be done in 140 characters.

I daresay the majority of us following the #followmeatsea hashtag on Saturday and Sunday didn’t give a damn about the spa treatments, fruity drinks, or lavish meals that bloggers on the Princess Cruise Twitter press trip were enjoying and then thumb-diddling about online. I mean, really: who wants to hear about someone else’s free trip while they’re sitting at home up north, slogging away at work? I’m just saying.

As several of us following the twitstorm admitted, we couldn’t look away. Some colleagues even suggested we all go make some popcorn and pull up a virtual chair in this online theater.

The twitstorm was about this: A travel blogger following the hashtag from home raised the issue of the environmental impact of cruise ships. Unfortunately, her phrasing was charged with a certain holier-than-thou tone. What ensued was an hours-long joust of keyboards between said blogger and the bloggers on the cruise, tempered with an occasional observation from those of us on the sidelines.

Before long, the whole exchange–which could have been an excellent opportunity for thoughtful discussion–devolved into a mutually defensive and embarrassingly immature display in which each party clearly wanted to have the final say.

In the midst of the storm, a couple of bloggers on the trip declared they’d speak to cruise ship representatives in order to provide a definitive answer about the environmental impact of cruise liners. They tweeted about their 5.5 hour tour of the ship, remarked about the GPFs (gallons per flush) of cruise toilets (“better than home!”), and insisted that “NO SOLID WASTE [read: poop] goes off a cruise ship!” Princess even, reportedly, “turns its old cooking oil into biofuel.”

Some onlookers were content, saying they “can’t wait to hear the REAL enivronmental facts” from the bloggers who were determined to resolve the matter once and for all.

All of which is well and good, I guess, but the whole exchange leaves me with a few questions:

*Is a 5.5 hour tour of the cruise ship led by people who clearly have a stake in presenting the ship in the best light really going to produce compelling evidence about the “REAL environmental impact” of cruising?

*Were any of the bloggers on the trip concerned about the environmental impact of cruise liners before the issue was raised by someone who wasn’t on the trip?

*Should travel writers care, ultimately, about their own environmental impact?

*And if the answer to that question is yes, how do we figure out what our true environmental impact is?

As I’ve written elsewhere, I’m not opposed to press trips. I’m not envious of the bloggers on this trip–I’ve never been interested in going on a cruise. I wouldn’t have been the least bit interested in #followmeatsea if it hadn’t turned into a disturbing yet fascinating real-time case study about the intersection of comped travel, social media, and environmental issues. Were any of the bloggers on this trip concerned about the environmental footprint of the trip before they eagerly signed on to cruise around the Caribbean on Princess’ dime?

Should travel writers care about their environmental impact? Should travelers?

My own opinion is an unequivocal yes. What’s yours? I hope you’ll share it–politely, please–in the comments.

Community Connection:

Missed the other recent twitstorm about travel writing ethics? You can read all about it here.

Photos: stuartpilbrow

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 5: Energy

A couple weeks ago, one of the three light bulbs in the bathroom went out. I kept procrastinating replacing it, and then I got used to it. We don’t actually NEED three light bulbs in the bathroom; we can totally get by with two.

In my classroom, we have two light switches. A teacher next door always complains how bright my room is. I decide to turn on one switch, and I get used to it. Just like with my bathroom, when I use full light power, it actually gives me a headache.

Which brings me to today’s challenge – energy.

Today I assessed my current energy habits by making a list of EVERYTHING in my house that uses energy to operate (electricity, oil, gas, batteries). Then I went through the items and chose certain ones that I could eliminate (lights in the extra bedrooms), and others that I could definitely cut down on (turning off or unplugging electronics, turning off lights even if I’m leaving the room for a minute).

Besides using less electricity for lights, you can save electricity by stripping down or bundling up and turning off the AC or heat for a while. Use natural daylight when possible and burn candles at night. Not only will it “set the mood”, it will reduce your electricity bill!

Take advantage of the solar and wind power outside to dry your clothes. This natural drying method will save you money and your clothes will smell great. If you don’t have a backyard, use a drying rack or hang up a line in your shower.

If you are a tea person like I am, make tea from solar heated water with a homemade solar water heater.
Reuse plastic water bottles and use solar power at the same time. This is one I’m really excited to try out!

Did you know that electronics still suck energy even when you aren’t using them? Plug your computer, TV, and other electronics into a power strip and turn the strip off when you are done. I’m going to use one for my computer, printer, and wireless router, and another for my TV and video games.

Here’s a challenge that I’m going to take on – not using one of my top electronics (TV, computer, or stove) for a whole day once a week. My goal is to go for not using my laptop, but we’ll have to see on that one!

Water is the challenge for tomorrow!

Community Connection:

Curious about the environmental impact of your gadgets? Check out our article “Is Your Computer Killing the Planet?”

Consumption will consume you. Photo: Daquella manera

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 1: Sunday: Consumption

The Sunday challenge was to not buy anything new (excluding food). Considering I am on a tight budget anyway, this would not be too much of a challenge. The first step for today in the No Impact Guide was to make a list of things you “need” this week, take off the ones you can live without, and find an alternative way to get the rest of the items (second hand, borrow it, make it). I didn’t have a very long list, so this was relatively easy. I’m also trying to jump start my workout regimen, so every time the urge to go to the mall comes up, I’m going to consider a run or bike ride instead.

What about people who do need to buy something new? Luckily, there are plenty of resources available for you to make an earth friendly purchase. Try The Green Guide for Everyday Living for information about making better product choices, or the GreenPages to find a directory of screened and approved green businesses.

There is also a non-profit organization called Freecycle, whose members give away stuff they don’t need to people who do need something. The mission statement of this group is to “build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.” Membership is free and there are close to 5,000 groups globally. If you don’t feel comfortable getting something from a stranger, have a clothing/item swap with your friends.

The next step was to start collecting my trash from the day in a separate (reusable) bag from the regular trash can. Unfortunately, my week’s worth of food runs out right around Sunday, so I conveniently finished the apple juice, cereal, and a box of crackers today. Add in the receipt for the new food I purchased, and the plastic container the pears were in, and my bag is almost full. The good thing is that those items are all recyclable, which I have a separate trash can for already, so I wasn’t too hard on myself for that one.

Day 1 complete. That wasn’t so difficult, although I am a little nervous about tomorrow’s challenge – trash.

Community Connection:

Are YOU taking the No Impact Week challenge? If so, share your experiences with us in the comments.
To learn more about Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, check out this article from our archives.
Want to learn more about consumption and its impact? If you do nothing else, watch this video. “The Story of Stuff” is a video by Annie Leonard about our production and consumption patterns and the environmental impact these patterns create. Its fast pace and compelling facts make the 20 minute long video feel like five minutes.

Ice that sheared off a glacier in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile; Photo by author

Polar bears are dying, ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising.

You’ve heard these facts so many times, you’ve likely tuned out any mention of them.

You know the planet’s climate is changing, and it’s not for the better.

But judging from some of the (ahem) informed comments we receive in response to climate change articles on Matador, it’s pretty clear that some folks still don’t believe climate change is a problem.

That’s where you come in.

October 15–that’s this Thursday–is Blog Action Day, an “annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance.”

This year’s issue is climate change.

Besides being an urgent issue that affects everyone on the planet, the organizers of Blog Action Day selected climate change as this year’s topic in order to stimulate conversation about the issue leading up to the Copenhagen climate meeting scheduled for this December.

To get ideas about a post you can write for Blog Action Day, click here. And for other ideas about how you can take action, the Blog Action Day organizers offer 12 concrete steps you can take to address climate change in your own community.

Community Connection:

Want to learn about someone who’s concerned about the environment every day? Check out Chris Jordan’s Pacific Garbage Patch project here.

Photo: Yafut

Greenpeace has some advice for you.

Recognizing that the most hard-core environmentalists want to make every aspect of their lives green, the environmental activism group published an “Eco-Sex Guide,” consisting of 10 tips for greater, “greener” sex.

If you’ve never thought about the carbon footprint of your sex life, check out some of their suggestions:

Turn off the lights. We all have to do our part to stop climate change; energy reduction and energy efficiency are an important part of changing our energy culture. If you want to see your partner, or what you are doing, have sex during the day.

Forget the fossil fuel based lubricants like petroleum jelly! Esso’s screwing the planet, but you don’t have to.

Soap up together in the shower or bath to save water and create passion for more than the environment. More than one billion people do not have access to clean water; it is a luxury…

If you want…paddles for something other than rowing, please, for God’’s sake, make sure they are made from sustainably harvested timber. Look for timber, paddles, whatever, certified by the only internationally recognised ecological forest certification organisation, the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC.

If you’ve got advice for eco-friendly sex, share your tips below.

Community Connection:

Want to go green while you’re traveling? Check out our green guides to cities like Milan, Barcelona, and Washington, D.C..

Photo by Antoine Bonsorte; remaining photos by author.

Manuel Ignacio Salinas was so proud to repeat his name when I asked him a third time.

“Manuel…Ignacio…Salinas.”

Standing just over five feet tall, the aging Señor Salinas had graying hair, a discolored left eye, and rashes visible where his tattered light-blue button-down shirt failed to cover his dark Ecuadorian skin.

We passed his ramshackle wooden home, which was held ten feet off the ground by white concrete stilts. In the backyard, a group of children were hanging clothes on a line and chasing a small, fluffy white dog. They smiled and waved before quickly returning to their tasks. It was obvious they knew what we were there to see.

I was visiting Señor Salinas with one other volunteer as part of a Toxic Tour of the polluted area in the Amazon jungle. As we entered his backyard, I began to smell the unbearable scent of crude oil. Lying before us was what looked like an abandoned sewage waste site—a 50 yard-long section of marshy land with weeds jutting out.

There were no rats or flies like I expected, perhaps because even these creatures could not stand to live near such a massive pool of stagnant oil. The area was encircled with yellow tape that read “peligro”—danger—but the side closest to Manuel Salinas’s home was left open. We walked to the edge of the area, and Señor Salinas began to talk to us.

“I bought this land 25 years ago, without knowing what was beneath the surface,” he said. “I started to clear away the trees and brush to grow coffee and fruit trees, because this was how I had planned to make a living. But then I discovered what I thought was a huge swamp and could only plant a few trees around it.

“We were unable to farm the land. We were unable to get clean water. We slid into poverty. But we had no choice but to continue drinking from the contaminated well. For a while, we had nothing, ni agua,” he said. Not even water.

As I listened, his adorable white dog scurried around our feet. Suddenly, it sprinted a little too far and hopped directly into the pool of contaminated oil-water. We screamed for it to come back, and when it finally pulled itself out of the sludge, its coat was completely black. Señor Salinas also called for the dog, but it was obvious he was not nearly as shocked as us. After all, he had lived near the backyard waste-sight for over 20 years and had seen many animals perish in it.

“I wanted to move, but who would buy this land?” he continued. “I just don’t want my family to be sick.”

Despite being threatened with “a lifetime of litigation” by Chevron attorneys, Señor Salinas is one of the 30,000 residents of the Ecuadorian Amazon who are plaintiffs in a $27.3 billion class-action lawsuit against Chevron, to remediate what has become known as the Amazon Chernobyl–the worst oil-related disaster on the planet.

Texaco, now Chevron, admitted to dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic chemicals into hundreds of waste pits throughout the jungle between 1964 and 1990. As a result, oil-polluted water and soil are spread over more than 1,500 square miles in the pristine Amazon wilderness. Environmental and medical experts believe the mess left by Texaco’s negligence has caused extremely high levels of cancer, miscarriages, birth defects and other health problems in the region.

Judging by his discolored eye and skin rashes and Señor Salinas’ tales of frequent hospital visits, it was apparent that Señor Salinas himself had been affected.

“Even the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, came to visit,” Señor Salinas said. As he spoke, the sadness in his eyes was impossible to ignore. “The president put his hand on my shoulder and he asked, ‘What can I do?’ The truth was, at this point, not much.”

His family is forced to travel seven hours by bus to Quito, the capitol, to seek medical treatment for the illnesses caused by the polluted water that they unknowingly drank and bathed in for years. I could not imagine staying near this pool for an hour, never mind a lifetime, as Señor Salinas’s children have. After just a few minutes of standing around the waste site, my nose and whole body felt infiltrated with the gross waste, and I even began to feel light-headed. Wiping my face and blowing my nose later in the car, I was appalled to find the tissue black with what appeared to be nasty petroleum particles that must have been densely polluting the air around Señor Salinas’ home.

A few days later, I traveled to Cuyabeno National Park in the heart of Ecuador’s rainforest. As we traveled slowly down a bumpy dirt path toward the river, large, untouched forests lined one side of the road. On the other, massive oil extraction stations were visibly still in operation. We passed by huge, black tanks surrounded by a maze of black and yellow tubes, fenced-off silver machinery covered in skull and crossbones signs, old unused oil barrels thrown carelessly in all directions and several shiny oil-pits with outlandishly tall and sweltering gas flares in the background that stood higher than the hundreds of tall green trees directly next to them.

We finally arrived at the Cuyabeno River, and I stepped into a canoe that would take us to our destination: a rainforest eco-lodge. Two hours later, we arrived at the lodge, surrounded by a lush canopy. Stepping off the boat onto the small wooden dock, I walked towards what looked like a pseudo-summer camp in the middle of the jungle – complete with fishing boats, small stilted straw huts, bunk-beds, hammocks, and a communal outdoor dining area.

The sound of birds singing intermingled with the pounding rain. I took a deep breath and savored the fresh jungle air. This was how the rainforest was supposed to be. As I plopped into a hammock beneath the canopy, my mind drifted back to all the things I had just seen: the incriminating pools of pollution, the countless rusting oil barrels, the massive oil stations, and the flaming gas burners with birds circling in their emissions.

Eventually, I think I could forget these images. But the one thing I will always remember is the face of Manuel Ignacio Salinas.

Community Connection:

Read more about Chevron’s acts in the Amazon here.

Villa Sevilla (in feature photo) and Hacienda Los Laureles (in photo above) can teach hotels a lot about going green. Feature photo and photo above: Francisco Collazo

Maybe I don’t represent the traveler norm–that’s entirely possible–but my average hotel stay is no longer than two nights. I don’t need my sheets and towels changed at all during that time.

Hotels claim to save “thousands and thousands” of gallons of water through their pillow card sheet-towel change policy, and I’m willing to concede they probably have. But if hotels are really committed to going green(er), here are 10 tips I’d like to offer them based on some smart environmental strategies I’ve seen during my travels in the past year.

1. Replace disposable plastic coffee pods and bleached paper filters.

How about reusable mesh filters and small packages of coffee in recyclable paper envelopes? Or take a cue from Portland, Oregon’s Heathman Hotel, which offers a French press in each room. Any of these three options reduces waste and cuts costs… a management no-brainer, if you ask me.

2. Replace disposable cups with ceramic or glass.

While we’re talking about coffee, can we get rid of the disposable cups… especially Styrofoam, which contains toxins and takes hundreds of years to break down? Your guests can drink their coffee in the room or fill up their travel mugs (bonus points if you sell reusable travel mugs on-site).

3. Turn room wastebaskets into trash sorters.

Improve recycling and the use of your staff’s time by turning each room’s wastebaskets into a simple sorting system. The Doubletree in San Juan, Puerto Rico does this. Each wooden wastebasket has two plastic bins nestled inside: one for regular trash, one for paper and plastic recyclables. Employees don’t have to sort trash from recyclables, and guests get visual confirmation that the hotel is taking an extra step in reducing its negative environmental impact.

4. Get rid of toiletries in little plastic bottles.

Matador contributor Teresa Ponikvar confessed that she loves hotel shampoos, conditioners, and lotions that come in little plastic bottles. So do I (and I have a whole collection of them).

But getting rid of these little plastic bottles and replacing them with refillable pumps that adhere to the side of the shower are much more environmentally friendly and cost efficient. Villa Sevilla in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico uses refillable pumps, and proprietor Marina Lawson says:

“Those small sample bottles of shampoo and conditioner are not only expensive but they generate much waste. Instead, we purchased wall dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and hand soap. These are easily refilled and can be taken down to be cleaned. At the cost of $15 for each dispenser and about $0.06-$0.12 cents per ounce for the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and soap, this won hands down over the cost of $0.75-$0.95 cents per one ounce unit of plastic bottled product with our logo. For guests on a week-long vacation, we calculated that we’re preventing at least 14 small plastic bottles from going into our landfills. We’re also lowering our operational costs, and we can pass those savings on to guests.”

5. Replace plastic laundry bags with cloth bags.

By now, I hope you’re cluing into the fact that going green also reduces hotel operators’ costs. Switch out those plastic bags guests use for laundry service and replace them with cloth bags, which the guest leaves in the room at the end of his or her stay, just like all the other linens.

6. Switch to a key card system that activates lights and air conditioning.

Last year, while working on a couple of city guide assignments for Gayot Guides, I stayed at five boutique hotels in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Oaxaca, Mexico.

In each hotel, I noticed that my room key controlled the lights, making it impossible for me to be irresponsible and leave the lights on when I went out. When the guest enters the room, he or she inserts the hard plastic room key into a wall unit that allows the lights and air conditioning to be controlled. When the key is removed, the lights and utilities are disabled.

According to Sylvie Laitre of Mexico Boutique Hotels, there’s an obvious reason besides environmentalism to switch to the key card system: electric bills are cut by as much as 40% in hotels where key cards are used.

7. Green your roof.

Photo: pnwra

This step is a big one, no doubt… one that requires more planning, effort, upkeep, and up-front investment than the preceding tips. Yet it’s also one of the most visible ways to show your hotel’s commitment to the environment, and its long-term payoffs guarantee a respectable return on investment.

Among the benefits of green roofs: (1) longer lifespan of the roof; (2) cost savings on heating/cooling bills; (3) improves sound insulation; (4) improves aesthetics and–depending on design–creates attractive recreational/amenity space; (5) provides potential space for small-scale food production; and (6) contributes to decreasing overall temperature of urban spaces.

That roof you see in the photo above? That’s the green roof of Marriott’s Victoria, British Columbia property.

8. Build an on-site garden.

This is an especially smart step for hotels that also operate or host restaurants. On-site growing cuts sourcing costs and provides visual confirmation to guests that some of the food they’re enjoying is just about as local as it can get.

9. Implement a gray water recycling program.

Like the green roof and the garden, setting up a gray water recycling program is a step only the most committed hotels are likely to take, but Peter Kaiser, owner of Hacienda Los Laureles in Oaxaca, Mexico, offers persuasive evidence suggesting that the switch is worth the effort.

“We recycle approximately 90% of the water consumed per room (or 20.000.00 liters per day based on a full hotel)…, and recuperate 20,000.00 or more from our pool when cleaning,” Kaiser says. Not only does he feel better about the impact of his operations; he saves money, too.

Beyond gray water recycling, Kaiser also recommends installing energy-efficient light bulbs with a lifespan guarantee of one year or longer. In addition to being environmentally responsible, says Kaiser, “it saves me many complaints and work hours.”

Kaiser’s boutique hotel, which turns nine years old today, also has an excellent on-site restaurant, Los Cipreses, which composts egg shells, coffee grounds, fruits, and vegetables.

10. Encourage guests to enjoy environmentally friendly activities.

Provide bikes for loan or rental. Partner with local ecotourism companies to promote low impact activities that also expose guests to the local ecosystem. Include recommendations for local farmers’ markets and the like in your concierge’s list of recommended activities.

Community Connection:

Hoteliers: What other strategies do you recommend to your colleagues? Share your tips in the comments below and don’t be shy showing off the environmentally friendly steps you’ve taken to make your property greener!

Costa Rica / Photo: Wha’ppen

In a recent article at Brave New Traveler, I discussed 5 Key Ingredients in the Search for Happiness. What I didn’t take into account was the planet we live on. Can we be satisfied, live a long life, and be good to the earth?

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) doesn’t solely indicate people’s happiness levels. It measures happiness levels in relation to a country’s consumption of its natural resources. Its aim is to prove that you can be happy without raping the planet. From the HPI website:

The nations that top the Index aren’t the happiest places in the world, but the nations that score well show that achieving long, happy lives without over-stretching the planet’s resources is possible.

What is the HPI?

2009 is the second year that the Index was put together. It was started by the new economics foundation (nef) — an independent think-and-do tank — whose tagline is “economics as if people and the planet mattered” and who explains their goal as such:

We aim to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environmental and social issues. We work in partnership and put people and the planet first.

Photo: Uncle Kick-Kick

Obviously, the HPI takes into account several factors and by its nature is subject to debate, given that quality of life is a subjective factor. In the end, the HPI measures well-being delivered per unit of environmental impact.

A country achieving a maximum life satisfaction score of 10, and life expectancy of 85, whilst living within its global fair share of resources (one-planet living), would score 100.

For detailed information about how the HPI is calculated, you can view the full report here.

The results

So just what country is the happiest while doing its fair share in ensuring a happy planet? Costa Rica.

Costa Rica scored a 76.1 on the HPI for its high levels of life satisfaction, long life expectancy and low ecological footprint (one-quarter that of the United States). Second and third go to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, respectively. In fact, nine out of the top ten nations in the HPI are Latin American.

At the other end of the spectrum, rich and developed nations fared poorly. Out of 143 countries, the highest ranking Western nation is the Netherlands at 43rd. The UK sits at 74th. And where exactly is the USA in this Index? 114th. While the Dutch only live on average one year longer than Americans and have similar life satisfaction, their ecological footprint is half that of the US, accounting for the significant difference in ranking.

Photo: Joe Shablotnik

What does it all mean?

I think that many of us living in rich, developed countries already had an inkling that we might not fare well in something like this. While life expectancy may be improving (Canada is ranked number one there) due to medical advances, life satisfaction is on the decline as we sacrifice things that are important to us — family, friends, time — in the chase for money and career progression.

Add to that the enormous amounts of resources we use, much of which is non-renewable, and the low rankings are inevitable.

It’s becoming more and more evident that our current economic models which rely on infinite growth and which don’t factor in the environment aren’t working. If we become rich at the expense of the planet, what good is that? The HPI is a refreshing and practical measurement which balances our health, quality of life, and our effects on the earth. This is the new economics.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Journalist Eric Weiner circled the globe in search of the world’s happiest countries. Read a review of his book, The Geography of Bliss, here.

Photo: ingridtaylar

A couple months ago, we featured the photographs of artist Chris Jordan in the popular–and highly controversial–photo essay, “Intolerable Beauty.”

When I last spoke with Jordan, he was thinking about a new project. Exhausted by the stress of the “Intolerable Beauty” project, which confronted him daily with our tendency toward excessive consumption and waste, he knew he’d be moving on to a new subject soon.

But that new project wouldn’t be escapist in any way because “Intolerable Beauty” also taught Jordan just how profoundly art could exert an influence over public opinion and personal lifestyle choices.

So it wasn’t too surprising when we received a message from Anna Brones, Matador member and senior editor at Wend Magazine, alerting us to Jordan’s next project: a visit to Midway Island, where he’ll be photographing the Pacific Garbage Patch, described here in this video from ABC News:

Dubbed the Midway Journey, Jordan’s new project will involve not just his own artistic interpretation of the problem of human waste; he’s bringing a few other artists along with him.

From their perch on Midway Island, Jordan and his colleagues will bear “witness [to] the catastrophic effect of our disposable culture on some of the world’s most beautiful and symbolic creatures,” especially albatross.

“But even more,” Jordan writes over at the Midway Journey blog, the artists are “embarking on an introspective journey to confront a vitally relevant question: In this time of unprecedented global crisis, how can we move through grief, denial, despair and immobility into new territories of acceptance, possibility, and wise action?”

Jordan explains more about the project in this video:

A Message from Chris Jordan from Midway on Vimeo.

Follow along on the Midway Journey blog or by adding @midwayjourney to the people you follow on Twitter.

Community Connection:

Matador contributing editor Carlo Alcos includes the Pacific Garbage Patch–also known as the Great Pacific Trash Gyre–in his list of the World’s Most Offensive Landfills.

Photo: 350.org

We’ve been keeping tabs on plastic bans around the world, and have come across two encouraging stories from different ends of the world this week.

First came the news that Mexico City has banned plastic bags. Our friends over at Wend Magazine reported that Mexico’s capital city has “banned businesses from distributing plastic bags that are not biodegradable. The ban affects all stores, production facilities and service providers.”

The policy is especially significant considering that Mexico City is one of the world’s most population dense metropolises. The plastic bag ban will prevent massive amounts of unnecessary waste from ending up in the country’s shrinking landfills.

On the other side of the world, the Herald Sun of Australia is reporting that a Melbourne primary school has banned students from bringing plastic water bottles to class. Instead, students are being told to bring reusable, environmentally friendly bottles from home, which can be refilled at fountains and taps in the school.

School principal David Foley indicated that the ban was part of a school-wide effort to improve its environmental consciousness and to decrease students’ collective carbon footprint.

What are policy trends related to plastic use where you live? Share the news from your area in the comments below!

Community Connection:

Why are plastic bottle bans important? Check out Eva Holland’s article “Bottled Water: Making a Big (Bad) Impact” for the answers.

Feature photo: artefatica; Photo: ubrayj02

One night last April, Diana Oppenheim committed a peculiar act of vandalism. Dressed in black clothing and bandannas, Oppenheim and three of her friends sneaked into the playground of Darwin Elementary near Logan Square. Their target sat in one corner of the lot, a wooden bench flanked by two empty planters.

Armed with trowels and bags of potting soil, the four set to work. After 10 minutes of digging and transplanting, the formerly barren planters sported clumps of bright yellow daffodils. It was Oppenheim’s first experience with guerrilla gardening.

Originally popularized in British gardener Richard Reynolds’ manifesto On Guerrilla Gardening, the guerrilla gardening movement is taking root in Chicago. Informal groups with names like Trowels on the Prowl and SOIL are taking horticulture to the streets, covertly planting flower and vegetable gardens in public lots and neglected planters around the city and its suburbs. Bit by bit, these Green Age graffiti artists aim to reinvent Chicagoland’s landscape, while making us take another look at how we use urban space.

As might be expected, guerrilla gardeners don’t face the kind of opposition that their spray can cousins do. While Oppenheim does all of her gardening under cover of night, the 23 year old graduate student says she’s not worried about being caught (Oppenheim claims to have received “only positive reactions” from passersby). Instead, she says, she gardens at night to leave a morning surprise for neighbors.

“For me, it’s a statement,” said Oppenheim. “You walk by this ugly plot every day, you don’t notice it. Then one day you wake up and notice something beautiful that came here overnight.”

Charlotte Briggs, a.k.a. GenkiTango375, talked about guerrilla gardening’s fun factor. After discovering Reynolds’ book last year, Briggs, an academic administrator, banded together with neighbors Carla Hayden and James Moeler under the name Trowels on the Prowl. Since then, the three have planted on street corners and alleyways all around their neighborhood in the near north suburb of Evanston, announcing upcoming actions and taking credit for strikes under code names online.

“A lot of people who are interested in [guerrilla gardening] haven’t quite caught yet that it doesn’t need to be organized,” said Briggs. “It’s all tongue in cheek. You play it up, it makes it more fun.”

Photo: ecodallaluna

But Trowels on the Prowl’s actions do have a serious side. Briggs, Hayden, and Moeler practice guerrilla gardening as a type of community activism, planting in broad daylight in hopes of inspiring local residents to take ownership of their community by taking action. According to Moeler, as the trio continued to garden together, they began to realize that more passersby had started picking up litter in spots where the group had planted.

“If you look at an urban wasteland, it’s almost like the beer cans belong there,” said Moeler. “If you’ve taken the step of beautifying it, people go ‘Oh, that plastic bag, I should pick that up’.”

Last year, Briggs, Hayden, and Moeler discovered what has since become their biggest battlefield, a vacant lot on the corner of Chicago and Main in Evanston. The lot was originally planned for development, the future site of a luxury condominium and retail complex.

Late last summer, however, Cole Taylor Bank foreclosed on the land and stopped construction, leaving a bare field surrounded by a tall chain link fence. When Briggs and Hayden found out, they decided that the lot would be the perfect place to do some gardening.

To get past the problem of the fence, they turned to one of the signature weapons of the guerrilla gardener: the seed bomb, a meatball-sized ball of compost, seeds, clay powder, and water that gardeners can throw over walls, fences, or other obstacles, enabling them to sow seeds in otherwise off-limits areas.

In September, Trowels on the Prowl held a public workshop at Brothers K coffee house in Evanston, where community members helped to make over 700 seed bombs using donated seeds and scavenged flower heads. The following weekend, they met at Brothers K again before marching together to the lot and hurling the seed bombs over the fence using lacrosse sticks and slingshots. By spring, the lot was speckled with daisies, black-eyed Susans, Queen Anne’s lace and other wildflowers.

When Briggs returned to photograph the lot this June, she found it freshly mowed. The flowers were gone, stripped out with the grass.

Then, a few days later, a word appeared on the fence, the letters woven through the chain links in red and green ribbon: “Park.” For Briggs, it was a sign of a community mobilizing for action.

“People are unhappy about the sight of that lot, but they’re also starting to look at all the things that it could be,” she said. “They’re all talking about, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have some benches there? or ‘It would be really fun to have community gardens’.”

As far as Trowels on the Prowl is concerned, the mowing was nothing more than a temporary setback. On July 8, the trio struck back, seed bombing the lot again and posting signs with anti-mowing messages like ‘Who’s killing the flowers?’ and ‘Let the prairie grow!’.

With the group’s actions now garnering more attention, formerly uninterested Evanston officials have begun to speak up. On July 20, Evanston Alderwoman Melissa Wynne, who represents the ward containing the lot, told the Chicago Tribune that she thinks the guerrilla gardeners’ goals may be “unrealistic.” “I really don’t want to say, ‘Don’t mow the lot,’ because I don’t want it to look neglected,” Wynne told the paper.

For her part, Briggs refuses to admit the possibility of defeat.

“I think that when we see areas with dirt and weeds, it’s a healthy impulse that we have, that we’re disturbed by that,” said Briggs. “I think we must be hard-wired to care.”

Community Connection:

You don’t have to be a guerrilla gardener to beautify your own patch of the city. Check out Ted Scott’s “Four Easy Apartment Garden Projects.”

Photos courtesy of author.

The Spot

“3 Miles of Golden Sands!” reads the sign as you enter the town of Hayle, in Cornwall. And the beach is spectacular, with the artistic haven of St. Ives at one end of the bay and Godrevy lighthouse (the inspiration for Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse) at the other.

As you look along the length of the bay, the only interruption is the broad mouth of the River Hayle as it leaves the town and breaks away into the Atlantic Ocean. This geographic feature makes the Victorian port such a special place for kitesurfers: at the right state of tide, the estuary provides a vast expanse of flat water and offers a haven for kiters to escape the chop of the open sea and glide unimpeded across the glassy estuary.

If any proof were needed that “The Bluff” (as it is known, on account of the pub overlooking the spot) is a world-class kitesurfing spot, then how about the fact that five-time kiteboarding world champion Aaron Hadlow cut his teeth here? Hadlow, acknowledged to be the most innovative and progressive rider the sport has ever seen, took his first shaky forays into the world of kitesurfing at The Bluff.

The Ban

Sounds idyllic? Well, it was. Until Dutch insurance giant ING bought much of the docklands in the town and began to plan a new residential and business development, including a marina.

For reasons that confound logic, ING decreed that kitesurfing would be likely to “impede the safe passage of vessels entering [the estuary]”, and banned kitesurfing within the jurisdiction of the harbour, which also extends out into the sea (how a vast financial institution can lay claim to a postcard-perfect estuary is another question entirely).

Although there may have been a case for a ban if these concerns were in any way legitimate, they do not stand up to any kind of scrutiny:

The entrance to the harbour is only navigable by shipping at high-tide. At high-tide there is no beach, so kitesurfers cannot launch their kites. The estuary is generally never suitable for both kitesurfing and shipping.

Hayle is not a busy harbour. ING’s own assessment declares that, “only a handful of… commercial [boats] use the harbour in the winter months as prevailing winds are onto the north coast and conditions over the Hayle bar at the harbour entrance prevent safe navigation.”

There have never been any accidents involving kitesurfers in the estuary or elsewhere in the Bay.

Local kitesurfers are further infuriated by ING’s policy of stonewalling and scaremongering. ING and their agents continually put off meetings and offer contradictory reasons for the ban. They have also threatened the British Kitesurfing Association with legal action for not making it clear on their website that kitesurfing is banned at the The Bluff.

The area is now patrolled by harbour officials on jet skis who send you on your way if you stray into the area and may follow you back to your vehicle and make a note of your details to pass on to the police. It all seems a bit heavy-handed doesn’t it?

Anecdotally, comparable waterways in southwest England have no problem with kitesurfers sharing the water with other vessels. The markedly busier and smaller harbours of Padstow and Exmouth are both bustling commercial ports (used throughout the tide), and have a harmonious relationship with the kitesurfing community.

And so Hayle’s “3 Miles of Golden Sands!” are now more famed for their reflection of how big business can whimsically flex its muscles to devastating effect rather than for the perfect golden playground that used to attract kitesurfers. Maybe next time you’re weighing up insurance options and ING pops up, you could spare a thought for the ex-kitesurfers of The Bluff and glide on by….

More Information

An anti-ban group has been set up on Facebook, and can be found here.

Kernow’s (Cornwall’s) Kitesurf Club provides general information about kitesurfing in the Cornwall area, as well as updates about the ban. Check out their website here.

Community Connection:

Have you discovered Matador’s newest blog, Matador Sports? Our resident adventurers and Sports editors are sharing how-to guides for getting started in a variety of sports and profiling some of the most on-the-edge athletes out there!

Photo: Phillie Casablanca

Throughout its history, South America has been the “X” on the map of the metal mining industry. Multi-national corporations have extracted copper in Chile, iron in Brazil, gold in Ecuador, and other precious metals across the continent, causing intense controversy about environmental and human impacts of the practice.

In recent years, though, mining has been nationalized by various Latin American countries whose political and business leaders recognize that the lucrative practice could help them achieve greater economic autonomy. Decisions to nationalize mining are hardly conflict-free, however. It’s as much the practice of mining as who’s doing it that has caused communities to mobilize in support of anti-mining initiatives, such as El Salvador’s recent nation-wide ban on gold mining.

According to this recent article from the Americas Society, Bolivia is the latest country to be confronting the conflict between the economic lure of and the potential political mire that mining represents. The Americas Society indicated that approximately 5.4 million tons of lithium are buried under Bolivia’s salt desert, representing almost half of the world’s entire lithium reserves.

Lithium is an important ingredient in batteries, and is considered a more attractive metal for battery manufacturing than zinc due to its higher voltage.

Bolivian president Evo Morales has been praised for warding off salivating foreign investors from mining his country’s lithium. He’s also been praised for his long-term plans for the lithium: turning the metal into a usable resource for electric car batteries.

But his plans to nationalize lithium extraction have failed to gain widespread support.

As this BBC report indicates, the salt desert is a pristine landscape; mining would likely have profoundly negative environmental effects on “one of the world’s most unspoiled” places. Lithium mining on the salt flats would also be likely to detract from tourism, a significant part of Bolivia’s economy.

So how does Bolivia negotiate two seemingly competing needs: the need to become economically autonomous, on the one hand, and the need to preserve a pristine place on the other? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Community Connection:

Matador Nights’ editor Tom Gates went to Chile to learn more about the mining industry there. Read about what he learned–and didn’t learn–in “The Battle for Pascua Lama.”

Bolivia’s salt flats topped our list of the world’s most alien landscapes. Check out the photo essay here.

The greenhouse gas clock is located next to Madison Square Garden. Photo by Francisco Collazo

The U.S. national debt clock?

That’s so last year.

On June 18, a 70-foot tall greenhouse gas clock was unveiled by Deutsche Bank on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 34th Street in New York City. The company, which has a branch that advises business clients about the economic and environmental benefits of being green, erected the clock to raise the public’s awareness about greenhouse gas emissions.

Fast Company calls the counter a “scary…scare tactic” and predicts that it may quickly become a “sign of hopelessness.”

Let’s just hope that we’re not as cynical as Fast Company, which wonders “how a single person could make a difference [in reducing emissions]“… and let’s hope that the greenhouse gas clock doesn’t meet the same fate as the debt clock… which ran out of digits last October.

Community Connection:

Not sure how one person can make a difference? Check out “The Lazy Environmentalist’s Guide” here.

Photo: mattman23

1. Over 1.5 billion people do not have access to clean, safe water.

Photo: ePi.Longo

2. Almost 4 million people die each year from water related diseases.

Photo: Julien Harneis

3. 43% of water related deaths are due to diarrhea.

4. 98% of water related deaths occur in the developing world.

5. Unsafe water is the biggest killer of children under five; around 90% of all diarrheal deaths are in this age group.

6. In Sub-Saharan Africa women spend on average 16 hours a week collecting water.

7. A typical individual in the United States uses 500 litres of water each day.

8. The recommended daily water requirement for sanitation, bathing, cooking and consumption is approximately 50 litres per person per day.

9. Over 1 billion people use less than 6 litres of water per day.

Photo: laihiu

10. A typical individual in Gambia uses just 4.5 litres of water a day.

11. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation has claimed more lives through disease than any war through guns.

12. The average toilet uses 8 litres of clean water in a single flush.

13. At any one time, more than half the world’s poor are ill due to inadequate sanitation, water or hygiene.

14. It takes over 11,000 litres of water to produce a pound of coffee.

15. Half the world’s schools do not have access to clean water, nor adequate sanitation.

16. It takes about 300 litres of water to make the paper for just one Sunday newspaper.

17. Agriculture is responsible for about 70% of the world’s water usage. Industry uses a further 22%.

18. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water related illness.

19. On average, women in Africa and Asia have to walk 3.7 miles to collect water.

Photo: rachelmolenda

20. The average dishwasher uses over 100 litres per cycle.

21. It takes up to 5000 litres of water to produce 1kg of rice.

22. 80% of all illness in the developing world comes from water born diseases.

Photo: Sacca

23. Drilling a fresh water well can cost anything from a few hundred dollars to over $40,000.

24. Over 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation.

25. 90% of wastewater in developing countries is discharged into rivers or streams without any treatment.

26. About 1.8 million child deaths a year are due to diarrhea.

Photo: Sacca

27. An 18 litre can of water weighs 20 kilos.

28. About half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by someone with a water related illness.

29. A five minute shower in an American household will use more water than a person living in a developing world slum will use in a whole day.

30. A third of the people without access to clean water live on less than a dollar a day. More than two thirds live on less than two dollars a day.

31. Water consumption in a US household is eight times that of an Indian household.

32. In India alone, water born diseases cost the economy 73 million working days per year.

33. In sub-Saharan Africa a child’s chance of dying from diarrhea is over 500 times greater than in Europe.

34. Approximately 2.5 billion people lack access to appropriate sanitation facilities.

35. About 1.2 billion people have absolutely no access to a sanitation facility.

36. In a typical year in Africa 5–10 times the number of people die from diarrhea than from war.

Photo: Julien Harneis

37. Simply washing hands can decrease the chance of diarrhea by around 35%.

38. Global sales of bottled water account for over $60-$80 billion each year.

39. A child dies of water born diseases about every 15 seconds (that’s about 12 children just since you started reading this article). By this time tomorrow, another 2,500 will be dead.

40. As little as one dollar can provide clean water for a child in the developing world for an entire year.

Community Connection:

Want to help? www.charitywater.org, thewaterproject.org, www.water.org, and www.onedollarwater.com are just three of the hundreds of charities trying to bring clean water to the developing world.

Want to know how much water you’re using? Calculate your water footprint.

Photo: Azfar Hakim

Last week, Matador reported breaking news in the Wiwa v. Shell case, explaining that the case 15 years in the making had first been rescheduled and then postponed indefinitely. In that article, we wrote:

“Initial unsubstantiated rumors indicated that Shell may have agreed to settle the case out of court by offering financial reparations without ever actually admitting, much less accepting, any responsibility for its role in the deaths of the activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others, as well as other human rights and environmental violations.”

Turns out those rumors–which we’d first heard from reputable sources with close ties to the case–were true.

This afternoon, Riptide Communications issued a press release stating that Shell settled with the plaintiffs in the Wiwa v. Shell case for a total of $15.5 million USD.

That amount will be distributed amongst 10 plaintiffs, will cover some of the legal costs they incurred, AND establish a trust fund for the Ogoni people whose communities have been decimated by Shell’s actions in the Ogoniland region of Nigeria.

Now I’m not too good with numbers, but $15 million (about a million for every year the plaintiffs have been fighting for justice) seems a pretty pitiful sum when Shell’s most recently reported profits exceeded $31 billion USD for the past fiscal year alone. And while this figure represented a decline in the company’s profit margins compared to past years, its profit, when calculated by the hour, exceeded $4 million USD.

Yep.

$4 million every hour.

Shame on you, Shell.

While attorneys for the plaintiffs acknowledge–and rightfully so–that the settlement is a meaningful sign of the company’s acknowledgment of the human rights abuses it has perpetrated, $15 million hardly seems adequate apology.

Photo: irene.

When I was watching Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s address to the California legislature last week, I wasn’t sure I could believe my eyes or ears: The Terminator, er, Governator, almost sounded emotional as he talked about “seeing the faces behind those [budget] cuts,” which he’d made with his executive power.

“It’s an awful feeling,” Governor Schwarzenegger said, describing the sound of protesters outside the Capitol building and recounting the tales of civil servants, Alzheimer’s patients, and children who will be affected directly by cuts to the state’s three largest areas of spending: education, health care, and the prison system.

In addition to critical services, the governor announced that he plans to shut down 220 state parks as a cash-saving measure to help correct the $24 billion budget deficit.

Acknowledging that legislators’ decisions about the budget will likely be the most difficult choices they’ve ever faced, Schwarzenegger said that the state will run out of money if they don’t make those tough calls by June 15.

He’s right, of course– the only way the budget can be reined in is by making hard choices. But closing state parks doesn’t just affect people’s ability to enjoy California’s abundant natural resources; it will also affect their health and quality of life. As The Gaia Conservancy noted, state parks may actually help bail out the foundering economy. When local tourism is promoted, money goes directly to the state.

You can view the full speech in the video below:

Community Connection:

Want to take action? The Gaia Conservancy is sponsoring an online petition, which you can sign here. You can also view other resources and calls to action on the California State Parks Foundation’s Facebook account, which is here.

And if all your efforts don’t prevent California’s state parks from being closed, check out Matador contributor William Moss Wilson’s article about California’s best treks… some of the urban options may surprise you!

As Matador reported on May 6, the case Wiwa v. Shell was scheduled to be heard in a New York City federal court on May 27. The case–almost 15 years in the making–involved Nigerian plaintiffs who suffered human rights and environmental abuses at the hands of Royal Dutch Shell, the mega-oil magnate extracting crude in the Nigerian Ogoniland.

But on May 27, the case was dismissed, rescheduled for today, June 3:

Document from Riptide Communications

And then, this afternoon, Judge Kimba Wood decided the trial would be adjourned indefinitely:

Document from Riptide Communications

What do these documents mean?

Initial unsubstantiated rumors indicated that Shell may have agreed to settle the case out of court by offering financial reparations without ever actually admitting, much less accepting, any responsibility for its role in the deaths of the activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others, as well as other human rights and environmental violations.

But as of 5:30 PM EST this afternoon, Riptide Communications circulated a press release explaining that Judge Wood actually:

“…overturned [a 2008] District Court decision dismissing the Wiwa v. Shell plaintiffs’ claims against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Ltd. (Shell Nigeria), [which will] permit the plaintiffs to seek further information to establish Shell Nigeria’s connections to the United States.”

Attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights declared the decision a victory for the Nigerian plaintiffs, but one has to wonder if the plaintiffs themselves see it that way. Regardless of the information they obtain to add to the mountain of evidence that already exists to prove Shell’s misdeeds, the fact that no future trial date has been scheduled seems to signify not a victory, but rather another disappointing delay in the long wait for justice.

“That’s one biiiiggg sand trap.” Photo: bedoika

Matador’s long been interested in the big picture impact of Dubai’s hyperdevelopment on human communities and the environment.

But since we’re more likely to be found surfing on Spain’s North Coast, boating Big Sky country in Montana, or trekking in Bhutan, we’re a bit out of the loop when it comes to golfing in Dubai.

Fortunately, the folks over at the GreenBiz blog have been keeping tabs on the topic. In a recent article, “Desert Golf Courses Symptomatic of Arab Region’s Larger Water Problems,” writer Tilde Herrera indicated that the Arab region’s 16 golf courses–at least three of which are in Dubai–may be successful attracting a certain group of tourists, but are likely to generate a poor long-term return on investment.

The reason?

Each of the golf courses uses an average of 1.16 million cubic meters of water annually, enough water to meet the daily needs of 15,000 local residents.

As an arid, desert region, Dubai and its neighbors already face considerable challenges related to water. But with the plan to expand the total number of golf courses to 40 in the coming years, the water problems the region faces are likely to grow exponentially.

Given the tendency toward short-term planning rather than a long-term cost-benefits analysis, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development, cited by Herrera, signals that the region is at a critical turning point with respect to the environment and sustainability.

The news also poses challenges to conscientious travelers: How do our recreational activities affect local environments and local people?

Community Connection:

Live in Dubai? Matador’s looking for a local correspondent! You can read about the details here.

And speaking of sports, we’ll soon be launching MatadorSports! Keep coming back to MatadorNetwork for guides to outdoor activities that have low environmental impact!

Photo: David Gilbert, Amazon Watch

How many activists does it take to shut down the main entrance to the headquarters of the 2nd largest U.S. oil corporation?

Six.

Well, six, plus dozens of supporters and organizers of an international campaign called The True Cost of Chevron.

The purpose was to draw attention to Chevron’s environmental and human rights abuses from Richmond, California– the location of one of its largest refineries– to Ecuador, where a judge is set to decide this fall on the long-standing lawsuit that seeks damages of $27 billion for toxic environmental pollution in the Amazon rainforest and its communities.

The setting was Chevron’s annual shareholders’ meeting in affluent San Ramon, California, about 30 miles from its second largest refinery in Richmond. It was too close for me not to miss.

Photo by author

Blocking the entrance was not the goal of the demonstration. Rather, it set the stage for two events that marked the day: First, proxy shareholders came from the many countries around the world where Chevron operates to share the stories and concerns of their respective communities with the Board and Chevron CEO David J. O’Reilly (the 15th highest paid U.S. oil CEO).

Second, the announcement and discussion of “An Alternative Annual Report” entitled “The True Cost of Chevron” that is in striking contrast to Chevron’s own 2008 Annual Shareholder Report, which highlights its remarkable financial success, boasting nearly $24 billion in profits last year. “What Chevron’s annual report does not tell its shareholders is the true cost paid for those financial returns, or the global movement gaining voice and strength against Chevron’s abuses,” reads the alternative report.

Organized by a broad coalition of organizations, including Amazon Watch, Global Exchange, Justice in Nigeria Now, CorpWatch, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Rainforest Action Network, and Crude Accountability, the Alternative Report chronicles abuses in Nigeria, the Philippines, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Burma, Canada, and the USA.

It covers everything from Chevron’s successful lobbying of high-level political connections to air pollution, toxic spills, industrial accidents, discriminatory labor practices, human rights abuses, and environmental and health devastation. Its demands to Chevron are clear and simple: clean up your mess, clean up your act, stop aligning yourself with dictatorships and militaries, pay your fair share, and be transparent.

I was among several dozen activists who accompanied the proxy shareholders to the security gate, where they were sent off with good cheer and warm solidarity. Soon after the shareholders went in, six local activists from Unconventional Action if the Bay Area and Rising Tide locked down the main entrance lane by locking their arms in PVC tubes painted yellow with the words “Chevron kills.”

Photo by author

They were soon joined by myself and dozens of others lined up behind them, claiming a space for speakers to explain why we were there. Chevron security forces and San Ramon police did not attempt to remove us. Perhaps they decided not to take action in order not to draw more negative media attention than Chevron is already getting.

The coalition of organizers also produced a clever subvertisement campaign called “Chevwrong” that mirrored and mocked Chevron’s latest “Human Energy” ad campaign. Images of representatives of communities around the world are shown with a quote, such as “I will try not to breathe polluted air” along with a factoid highlighting a particular abuse in a specific region.

The week prior to the meeting, the San Francisco Bay Area saw the appearance of these images wheat-pasted on billboards and poles around town. CBS Outdoor had refused to sell ad space on its billboards. When contacted, the CBS spokesperson said that it was against policy to have attack ads that were negative in character.

Alongside this was a form of subvertisement theater organized in large part by long-time activist David Solnit, author of Army of None. The alternative campaign is meant to speak the truth about the real effects of Chevron’s actions behind the fancy rhetoric of Chevron’s greenwashing campaign. Instead, Chevron’s “Human Energy” becomes “Inhumane Energy” and the subvertisement images read, “I will expose greenwashing,” and “I will expose toxic pollution.” Activists held the ads up to frame their faces behind the subversive words and chanted in unison, “I will expose–green washing! Will you join me? Yes, I will!”

Photo by author

While the shareholder meeting was taking place, speakers from Amazon Watch, National Lawyers Guild, and individuals like Antonia Juhasz–lead organizer and editor of the Alternative Report–and Rebecca Solnit, author of the much-praised Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, highlighted the grievances against Chevron and the need to keep putting pressure on the big oil giants. One member of Iraq Veterans Against the War told about how he was reassigned from his communications/intelligence duties in Iraq to protect oil pipelines.

At about 10:30, the shareholders came out and shared what occurred in the meeting. It was reported that Chevron’s CEO David O’Reilly told them that the campaign’s Alternative Report, which he claimed he had seen, along with their grievances “are an insult to Chevron employees, and should be thrown in the trash.”

Speakers ranged from the Mayor of Richmond, Gayle McLaughlin, who reported that “Chevron’s response is emblematic of its approach to local communities—a systemic disregard and mockery of the communities in which it operates,” to Christine Cordero of Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, who said:

“While our communities suffer from Chevron’s toxic emissions, catastrophic spills, leakages, and explosions, David O’Reilly speaks of his hurt feelings. This is about the health of communities and, ultimately, the long term of health of O’Reilly’s corporation if he continues to choose to do nothing and ignore the costs of Chevron’s operations in the Philippines.”

Paul Donowitz of EarthRights International added that “Chevron chose to turn a deaf ear to the communities who bear the crippling consequences of its operations. Chevron’s complicity in human rights abuses in Burma, the billions in project revenues flowing to the brutal Burmese military junta who use these profits to oppress their own people are more evidence that this is a company that cares for only one thing – its bottom line.” A dozen or so people from the Burmese community, including a robed monk, were there to oppose Chevron’s actions in their country.

After the speakers finished their reports, the rally was concluded with the chant “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!”—echoing Ecuador representative Mr. Criollo’s promise that “we’ll keep fighting until the end.”

1. People of all ages…

2. People from all walks of life…

3. People from different tribes…

4. People from different countries…

5. brought together by the same sense of resolve…

6. brought together by the desire to take action.

7. They stood and they sat…

8. and they said, “We won’t be silent.”

Photos 1-5: David Gilbert, Amazon Watch

Photos 6-8: Thomas Cavanagh, Amazon Watch

Community Connection:

To read about the outcome of the Shareholder Meeting, click here. And to get the back story on Chevron, be sure to review Matador’s coverage, which you can access by clicking on “Related Posts” below.

Emergildo Criollo

Avujathse gi ke’ima chiga’bian puiyi’ccu EE.UU suma.

Ja’nu gi va San Francisco kanjen tui gi cundaseya mingae amazonia’su a’indeccu Chevron tson’jen’chune.

I send a cordial greeting to the citizens of the United States in my native language.

My name is Emergildo Criollo, and I am a representative of Cofan village. Today, I am in San Francisco [California] to participate in the annual meeting of Chevron, where I will let the public know the truth about what has happened in my territory since Texaco initiated its operations in the Ecuadorean Amazon, as well as the history-making lawsuit that we are leading in pursuit of justice after 15 years.

The village of Cofan is located along the banks of the Aguarico River. When I was a boy, we drank clean water and hunted animals in the forest. We fished in the river, which was uncontaminated. Before, we lived free of pollution. We had enough food for our families, and enough natural medicine from the forest. With these medicines, we cured illnesses as we’d always done, according to our traditions. But with the arrival of Texaco in 1964, we could no longer use these medicines because new illnesses began to appear as a result of contamination.

It was in 1969 when I saw an oil spill for the first time, which soon flowed into the Aguarico River. Seeing this, we–the members of the Cofan–could no longer live there because there was no place to source clean water. So we moved further into the forest, establishing what is known today as the community of Cofan Dureno.

But the company pushed farther and farther into the forest, drilling more oil wells. We even had a well, Dureno 1, which was inside our own community. That well affected our people tremendously. There were spills and massive water accumulations. The flames of refinery towers were visible day and night. Animals abandoned the forest and fish disappeared from the river.

My two sons died drinking contaminated water. My aunt died of mouth cancer. She also drank contaminated water.

The company is to blame for all of the contamination. They must take responsibility for their actions and begin to clean up the contamination that still exists.

The five nationalities–Siona, Secoya, Kichwa, Huaorani, y Cofán– have organized.

Even now, the people from each of these groups continue dying from cancer. It’s for this reason that I write this letter- so you know how Texaco (now Chevron) affects people with its petroleum operations.

The company entered the Amazon without anyone’s permission, destroying the forest and leaving contamination and unknown illnesses in their wake. Today, the company is hiding the truth, saying that oil spills haven’t caused contamination and that they’re not cancer-causing agents. But I know that’s not true because this illness was never in our community before. And I know that my two sons and my aunt would still be alive today.

Chevron must take responsibility for cleaning up the open pools and sediments in the ground water supply so that my children can drink clean water and breathe clean air. Chevron took natural resources from the Ecuadorean rain forest, but those of us who live here have only received contamination, sickness, and death.

Everything the company says is totally false. I know because I’ve seen and experienced the effects of their actions first-hand. Texaco, now Chevron, wants to maintain a clean image. But for me, the image of this company is stained with oil.

I invite all of you to visit the Amazon where Texaco operated. You can see for yourself. You can see firsthand the contamination. You can say so to Chevron and demand that they accept responsibility.

Today, I’ll be entering Chevron’s headquarters to attend the annual meeting of the company’s shareholders. I’m going to talk face-to-face with the company. I’m going to defend my village and demand justice.

I ask the citizens of the United States to join with the 30,000 residents of the Ecuadorean Amazon in solidarity.

We have been fighting for more than 15 years for the company to clean up the damage it’s done to the environment.

And we’ll keep fighting until the end.

Translated from the Spanish by Julie Schwietert Collazo. To read the original version of this letter in Spanish, click here.

Community Connection:

To learn more about what’s going on with big oil this week, check out this article. And to learn how Chevron’s putting responsibility on consumers (and not the company), read about the company’s most recent greenwashing ad campaign. Finally–and most importantly–to learn how YOU can take action, please visit ChevronToxico.

Image courtesy of True Cost of Chevron

Big oil realizes it’s in big trouble.

The world’s big oil companies are in a tough position: they source and sell one of the most in-demand products in a world where consumers are increasingly sensitive to the environmental and human rights impacts of oil production and consumption.

Yet the Chevrons and Shells of the world are responding to market demand and making enormous profits, so there’s little incentive to stop oil drilling.

The oil companies and the consumer public share the responsibility for the consequences of oil dependence on human and physical environments, but big oil is directly on the hot seat. In order to draw attention away from the catastrophes caused by its activities, big oil has been rolling out new advertising and marketing strategies in an effort to change the public’s perception of oil companies AND to put the onus of environmental responsibility on consumers.

Chevron’s recent ad campaign, which revolves around the question, “Will you join us?”, features diverse people in television and print ads making firm, declarative commitments to reducing their own oil dependence:

“I will leave the car at home more.”

“I will finally get a programmable thermostat.”

“I will replace 3 light bulbs with CFLs.”

And so on.

But critics charge that Chevron’s empowering, “I can do it” campaign is little more than the company’s most recent–and boldest–attempt to greenwash its own activities.

In recent weeks, 11 organizations came together to launch the website, True Cost of Chevron. In addition to producing the “Alternative Annual Report,” the activist groups designed their own ad campaign.

Modeled after Chevron’s “Will you join us?” campaign, the True Cost of Chevron ads also feature individuals from around the world, making aspirational statements of an entirely different sort:

Burma:

Chevron has refused to acknowledge both the widespread human rights abuses caused by its Yadana project and the destructive effects that revenue from the project has had in Burma.

Canada:

In Canada, the toxic burden on communities near the tar sands is already enormous. In addition to direct human exposure, oil contamination in the local watershed has led to arsenic in moose meat – a dietary staple for First Nations peoples – up to 33 times acceptable levels. Drinking water has also been contaminated.

Ecuador:

While drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon from 1964 to 1990, Texaco – which merged with Chevron in 2001 – deliberately dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater, spilled roughly 17 million gallons of crude oil, and left hazardous waste in hundreds of open pits dug out of the forest floor.

Nigeria:

Chevron continues to employ and pay the notoriously brutal Nigerian military to provide it with security services.

Iraq:

In 2007, Chevron paid $30 million to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had paid illegal kickbacks to the Hussein regime to win its Iraqi marketing contracts, after it was revealed that Hussein had established a worldwide network of oil companies and countries that secretly helped Iraq generate about $11 billion in illegal income from oil sales.

Kazakhstan:

The surrounding populations began to suffer greatly from an unprecedented variety of illnesses upon development of the [oil] fields, including respiratory illnesses, blood illnesses, cardiovascular illnesses, and high levels of stillborn babies, all of which medical specialists have determined to be directly related to the oil industry.

Amazon Watch, one of the organizations in the coalition behind True Cost of Chevron, tried to sell the ads to CBS, which rejected the offer. Within 24 hours, visitors to the True Cost of Chevron site had downloaded the ads and pasted them around San Francisco.

Community Connection:

Want to make sure your money is supporting truly green companies? Check out “10 Brands That Don’t Deserve to Declare Themselves Green” and “10 Tested and True Green Companies.”

All True Cost of Chevron ads courtesy of True Cost of Chevron.

Image courtesy of truecostofchevron.com

It won’t be a fun week for oil company bigwigs.

As Matador reported previously, Wiwa v. Shell–a case almost 15 years in the making–will open this week in a New York City courtroom. The case brings Royal Dutch Shell to court and holds the oil company accountable for the deaths of Ken Saro-Wiwa and fellow activists in 1995, as well as other environmental and human rights violations.

Jury selection begins on Wednesday, May 27, and opening statements are expected to be delivered the following day, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. If you’re in the New York City area and are interested in attending the trial, it will be open to the public. The Center for Constitutional Rights is also seeking NYC-area volunteers to provide logistical support to Nigerian plaintiffs; more information about that can be found here.

If you’re not in New York City, but wish to support the case against Shell, the Center for Constitutional Rights offers opportunities to host screenings of the documentary “Delta Force” or to help publicize the case via the Internet. Read more about those opportunities here.

Over on the West Coast, another oil company will be on the hot seat.

Chevron’s annual shareholders’ meeting is also scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, and will be held at Chevron’s headquarters in San Ramon, California.

The meeting promises to be dramatic: the company is currently embroiled in its own lawsuit, which was filed in New York in 1993 and was later moved to Ecuador at Chevron’s request. The class action suit is believed to be the largest environmental case in history, representing 30,000 plaintiffs in Ecuador, who charge Chevron of gross environmental and human rights abuses.

Shareholders may be happy with the company’s profits, but many have expressed concern about Chevron’s handling of the court case. New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recently opened a probe of Chevron to determine if it is misleading shareholders, so passions are likely to be high at Wednesday’s meeting.

Environmental and human rights advocates are expected to stage a protest outside Chevron’s headquarters the day of the meeting, and members of indigenous and farming communities from Ecuador’s Amazon will be present to address Chevron’s management directly.

You can read background on the case and follow what unfolds this week here. And if you’d like to send Chevron your own message, visit this site.

Community Connection:

Keep coming back this week to learn more about the developments in both cases, and to read first-hand accounts of people affected directly by Chevron’s actions in Ecuador’s Amazon.

Photo: oxfam international

If you don’t know Majora Carter, you will soon.

Carter, founder of the New York City-based Sustainable South Bronx, is a leader in the urban environmentalism movement. She’s a MacArthur Fellow and frequently appears on who’s who and “most influential” lists, widely admired for her ability to engage disparate interest groups to work together on a single cause.

Carter’s work, first as the founder and director of Sustainable South Bronx, and more recently as the president of the Majora Carter Group (a consulting outfit), as a policy advocate, and as a TV and radio show host, has raised urban awareness about environmental issues.

But her accomplishments notwithstanding, Carter’s vision of environmentalism may end up dividing more people than it unites.

In a recent interview with Newsweek, Carter was asked “How do you make green matter in the ghetto?”. She replied:

“If you’re speaking to someone whose first priority is survival, no one is going to give a crap about the polar bears—nor should they.”

The question was intended to invite conversation about environmentalism as an elitist movement, which has been confined, as the interviewer put it, “to the latte-sipping set.” True, as is the case with so many “movements.”

But the framing of the question and the response it elicited from Carter are troublesome because they imply that environmentalism forces a choice between polar bears and people, between latte-sippers and instant-coffee-from-corner-bodega drinkers.

I agree with Carter’s claim that the environmental movement has, to its detriment, overlooked urban communities and poor people. And I agree that the environmental movement needs to make its arguments and calls to action less theoretical and more tangible, relevant to people’s own daily lives.

But choosing between polar bears and people? It’s a false opposition, Majora. A true environmental movement can–and should–work on saving both.

Community Connection:

It’s true that cities could form the core of a dynamic environmental movement. Check out Six Reasons Why Cities Can Be Sustainable Places and join the conversation.

Feature photo by Oran Viriyincy. Photo above by Claire L. Evans

The average person in the US receives nearly 11 pieces of junk mail each week, or 560 pieces a year. This amounts to 4.5 million tons of junk mail yearly, of which 44% goes straight to the landfill unopened and unread.

Here are some more facts:

100 million trees are cut down each year to produce junk mail.

1 million trees offset 48,000,000 pounds of carbon emissions.

Eliminating junk mail in the US would offset 480,000 cars.

Conclusions

These numbers only reflect the amount of carbon emissions offset by the raw materials alone. They do not take into account all of the carbon emissions created in transporting the trees from the forest to the pulp mills, much less the emissions generated in manufacturing the paper. Nor do they take into account the carbon emissions created in distributing the junk mail via mail-trucks, planes, and cars nationwide.

It’s safe to say that were we to include those factors in our equation, the actual emissions created through junk mail would easily be in the millions of cars, perhaps in the tens of millions. Anyone want to work on that formula?

How to Stop Receiving Junk Mail

For a quick and easy guide to stop receiving junk mail, please visit the Native Forest Network.

Photo: striatic

Ten years ago, environmental themes were only seen on public television specials, explored in dry documentaries by male narrators with ponderous voices.

Today–who would’ve thought?– almost every network has at least one popular show built around ecology or environmentalism.

Here are some of the best we’ve seen:

Exiled:

Most Matador readers know that travel changes lives. Getting out of our home environments and seeing how other people live can make us more empathic, more grateful for our own opportunities, and more interested in taking responsibility for the global community. And the earlier this happens in our lives, the more permanent and profound such change is likely to be.

That’s the idea–sorta–behind Exiled, MTV’s reality show about spoiled American teens whose parents send them to other parts of the world for a reality check.

In their sprawling pre-fab American homes, the girls are preoccupied with hairspray, make-up, convertible cars, and very conspicuous consumption. But in Kenya, they learn how some rural homes are built of cow dung. In Mongolia, they learn how families live off the land. They get a taste of what it’s like to be subjected to the elements (nature, not the chemicals in the can of hairspray), and they experience the distinct differences between living in community and living for the individual.

While the changes they undergo may not be as meaningful or as long-lasting as the parents (or the viewer) may hope, one’s left with the impression that they might, at the very least, be more aware of people who don’t live with the kind of largess they’ve enjoyed for all of their young lives.

Though Exiled is no longer being aired, you can watch clips here.

EcoTrip:

Don’t roll your eyes when you learn that the Sundance Channel’s EcoTrip is hosted by David De Rothschild, a handsome 30 year old with a degree in natural medicine who just happens to be an heir of THE Rothschilds of England banking fame and fortune.

The guy has some brilliant ideas about how to make people more interested in environmental issues.

When he’s not busy hosting the show–a 30 minute exploration of the life cycle of common objects like napkins, light bulbs, a chocolate bar, bottled water, and cell phones– he’s trying out all sorts of DIY eco projects… like sailing a boat made entirely of recycled bottles from San Francisco to Sydney. Or reclaiming waste from the Pacific Garbage Patch (you know, that floating morass out in the middle of the ocean) and working with artists around the world to turn trash into public art.

There are just three more episodes of EcoTrip: May 17, 19, and 26. Check listing times here. You can also watch past episodes here. Here’s a clip from the chocolate episode:

Green Porno:

Yep. You read that right: Green Porno.

Another Sundance Channel series, Green Porno is part of the network’s “The Green”– a batch of eco/enviro shows intended to engage a new generation of audiences by playing on the good looks and quirky characteristics of show hosts while delivering solid information that can be understood by even the most science-naive viewer.

In Green Porno, Isabella Rossellini explores the sex lives of different animals, from small creatures like starfish to massive mammals, like whales. The show is funky, creative, and conceptual… a radical 21st century version of the Wild Kingdom shows I used to watch as a kid.

Green Porno may be gimmicky, but it’s also good. And hey, if it gets people interested in the environment, then I’m all for it:

Community Connection:

What are your favorite “green” shows? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Feature photo: The Sundance Channel

There are a lot of lifestyle changes I’ve made for the sake of the planet.

Photo: “thoR

I recycle. I got rid of my car a few years back and walk or use public transportation. I carry reusable bags so I don’t need plastic bags from the grocery store. I turn off the lights when I leave a room, unplug appliances that aren’t in use, take quick showers though I prefer long ones, use rechargeable batteries rather than disposables, and try to remember to carry a travel mug.

And that’s just the daily stuff.

But am I about to confront the limits of my environmental friendliness?

A recent article in the New Scientist reviewed research on the impact of computer and Internet use… and the results aren’t encouraging.

First: “the energy used by all… computers and peripherals…could be responsible for as much as 2 per cent of all human-made CO2 emissions, putting [computers] on a par with the aviation industry.”

And we gripe about the massive carbon footprint of air travel.

But that’s not all:

“According to Google, the production of the electricity needed for a single internet search generates 200 milligrams of CO2. This may not sound much, but it adds up: 1000 searches produce the same CO2 emissions as an average European car travelling 1 kilometre. Worse, internet traffic is currently growing at around 50 per cent each year. According to the international environmental coalition The Climate Group, total emissions from computers will increase by 280 per cent, to the equivalent of 1.4 gigatonnes of CO2, by 2020.”

Yikes.

I don’t know about you, but my computer is a pretty important part of my life. As a full time writer, editor, and researcher, I spend hours on my computer every day; it’s how I make a living.

So if the news about the negative environmental impact of computers and the Internet is true, what’s a girl like me– or you– to do? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Community Connection:

Beyond your daily computer use, do you travel with your laptop? If you’re considering a laptop-free trip, check out these tips in “Laptop Travel: To Bring or Not to Bring.

The author takes a nap in her favorite New York City park. Photo: Francisco Collazo

When I was a kid, my parents planted a garden every year–okra, peas, beans, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, spinach, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more–and I woke up at sunrise many summer mornings to go do the picking. I’d grumble and whine about it, but in retrospect, I loved knowing where our food came from and how it tasted when I ate it raw, still warm from the vine.

My mom would can some of the vegetables and freeze the rest.

We’d eat from the garden’s harvest for most of the year, along with the venison and trout my dad hunted and fished.

I picked blackberries off wild vines running along the driveway, and visited farms not five miles away to pick peaches whose juice was so sweet it would almost make you cry as it ran down your chin because it was that good.

Half of my life was lived there, so I know the value and sustainability of country living.

But I’ve lived the other half of my life in cities–Atlanta, New York City, Mexico City, San Juan, Puerto Rico– so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to experiment with sustainability both in rural areas and in urban ones.

While I’m the last person to advocate a mass exodus from the country to the city (the worldwide urbanization trend poses some serious problems, especially in developing countries), I do agree with the Ford Foundation’s recent observation: cities are leaders when it comes to pioneering effective, far-reaching sustainability practices.

Photo: Julie Schwietert

Here are six reasons why cities can be sustainable spaces:

1. Cities tend to have better public transportation than non-urban areas.

If you asked 10 people in my hometown whether there’s a public transportation system, 9 would probably say “No.” And all 10 would be unlikely to have ever stepped on a public bus, which has limited operating hours and routes. To get anywhere from my home, my family had to drive. But in all the cities where I’ve lived–including Atlanta, whose public transportation system is widely criticized–I’ve been able to get everywhere I needed without a car.

2. Cities tend to be more bike-friendly.

Growing up, I never saw anyone biking the country roads that led to my home. Doing so would have been suicidal– there were no signals, few speed limit signs, or even traffic lines painted on the road, and most drivers operated vehicles according to their own loose interpretation of the law.

In Atlanta and New York, bike paths and lanes are abundant, though hard core cyclists would likely argue that both cities need more. While no one expects Mexico City’s car to bike ratio to shift dramatically in favor of cyclists anytime soon, the Sunday closure of Avenida Reforma–one of the city’s main avenues–for bikers and roller bladers only, as well as an expanding free bike rental program, are encouraging signs that the city government is committed to more sustainable transportation.

3. Cities tend to use space better.

If you drive the “town” part of Spartanburg, South Carolina from one end to the other, you’ll notice how much land has been wasted by building big box stores that developers insist are in demand… and which close just a few years later. These massive buildings sit unused for years, as developers seeking tax credits just move to another part of town and break new ground to open the next big box.

My hometown isn’t unique in this regard; it’s much the same in rural areas and suburbs around the US.

Cities use space better. Though the current economic crisis has seen lots of NYC businesses go under, you can bet these retail spaces won’t sit vacant for too long… and they won’t be abandoned in favor of another parcel of land. Developers and land/building owners in cities come up with creative ideas to make money off spaces in temporary limbo. While they wait for long-term tenants, NYC storefront owners make a fast buck by renting out their spaces for temporary art exhibits or other creative short-term uses.

4. Cities have more green roof potential.

Green roofs improve air quality, reduce urban “heat island” effect, improve insulation efficacy, and can be used to trap and reuse rainwater. And these are just some of their environmental benefits.

Green roofs also offer cost benefits, health benefits, and aesthetic advantages.

While it’s possible to have a green roof in a rural area, cities offer some serious green roof potential that rural areas just can’t match.

More square footage = more space for green roofs.

Greater population density = more hands (and wallets) to help set up and tend green roofs.

One of the biggest urban leaders in green roofing is Chicago. To learn more about Chicago’s green roof initiatives, check out this article.

5. Cities’ food-related carbon footprints often aren’t as big as some people think.

Here in New York, I can subscribe to a Community Supported Agriculture plan and receive weekly boxes of vegetables and fruit from farms less than 100 miles away in the Hudson River Valley. I can buy cheese, milk, and ice cream direct from dairy farmers who live, work, and farm less than two hours away.

In Mexico City, I walked five minutes to my local fruit and vegetable market, which stocked agricultural goodness grown completely in-country– and most, within a 100 mile radius.

Market in Mexico City. Photo: Francisco Collazo

Try walking through the produce section of my hometown Publix. You’re likely to find more countries represented there than in your passport: grapes from Chile. Watermelon, jalapenos, and cilantro from Mexico. Bananas from Costa Rica. Lychees all the way from China. Potatoes from Idaho. And that peach farm I mentioned? Well, it closed a few years ago.

6. Cities offer more opportunities and resources for community building and social change.

Sustainability isn’t just about the physical environment; it’s about the human environment, too.

It was long distance to call my next door neighbor growing up and I didn’t live in a neighborhood, per se. If we wanted to see anyone, volunteer, or participate in the life of the community, we had to get in a car and drive at least 15 minutes to do so.

Photo: Julie Schwietert

There’s lots of talk about the close-knitness of rural communities and the anonymity of city living, but my experience is the opposite. I’ve never felt more anonymous and disconnected from community than when I lived in the country. And I’ve never felt more invested in my neighbors, more hopeful about change, and more clear about how we could work on a common cause, than when I’ve lived in cities.

Community Connection:

What other attributes make cities sustainable? Or would you take a different position? Contribute to the conversation by leaving a comment.

Photo: JOE M500 / Feature photo: The Truth About…

It’s ironic that I was thinking of this topic the very moment a driver opened his door just as I was approaching. I yelled out “Jesus! What the…”, as I swerved around, but he didn’t even give a second look.

As the cycling movement gains momentum, and as Matador publishes more pieces like Bike Touring Montana: Classic Big Sky Rides, The World’s 15 Most Bike Friendly Cities, and 6 Reasons To Go By Bike, now is a good time to freshen up on some basic considerations for drivers AND cyclists as we share the road.

The following tips are hardly new revelations; they are common sense. Although, based on direct evidence, I could be wrong. These have all been repeated time and again in any number of magazine articles, television shows and driving courses.

But as long as drivers and cyclists are behaving badly, it can’t be said enough.

Editor’s note: The cyclist in the image above was killed when a car door was opened in his path. He was thrown into traffic and struck by another motorist.

6 Tips For Drivers

Cyclists are here to stay. Year after year, more people — perhaps frustrated by traffic, petrol prices, or climate change — are making the swap to self-powered transportation. It’s a growing trend.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when cyclists are around:

1. Take your foot off the gas pedal

You won’t save any time by speeding dangerously around a bike rider. Trust me. You’ll get stopped 100 meters up the road by the traffic light. At which point the cyclist will pass you to get to the front, and then you’ll start the exercise again.

Be patient. Pass only when safe and pass slowly. You’ll still be on time for your meeting if you drop it down 20 km/h for a few minutes.

Don’t do this / Photo: tvol

2. Shoulder check

Yes, a given. But you’d be surprised how many times I see someone making a turn without checking their inside lane. Or, maybe you wouldn’t.

3. Respect the bike lanes

Think of bike lanes as another car lane. You wouldn’t block other cars, so don’t block cyclists. Don’t park in ‘em, don’t idle in ‘em, and pay extra attention around them.

4. Don’t speed up to make a turn

If you’re making a right turn (or, left in some countries), and a cyclist is between you and the intersection, allow her to get past it. Don’t gun it to 80 to pass, and then cut her off as you slow down to make the turn. Again, you will not get where you’re going faster.

Homemade bumper sticker / Photo: Tina Keller

5. Watch those doors

As alluded to in the intro, when you park and are about to get out of your ride, check your mirrors and look over your shoulder for any oncoming bikers.

6. Put the mobile phone down

‘Nuff said.

The overriding message: Slow down and pay attention. I know it’s difficult in today’s hyperspeed society, but it’s important. Just think, this could be your wife, son, mother, grandpa on that bike. If you hit a cyclist, how would that impact your life? Not really worth the risk, is it?

6 Tips For Cyclists

We need to accept that we also have a part to play to ensure that not only are we safe on the road, but everyone else too.

1. Be a sore thumb

It’s in your best interests to be seen under any circumstance, so stick out. Wearing bright, reflective clothing and using lights (preferably flashing) at night is the best way to be seen. Another way to make sure you’re seen is to always make eye contact with the driver when you’re in a dodgy situation. Never assume anything.

Photo: richardmasoner

2. Show your intentions

Be obvious when you’re about to make a move. Use hand signals. In those hesitant situations where driver and cyclist aren’t sure what the other will do, I find it best to wave them on, unless you’re clear on their intentions.

3. Obey the road rules

You’ll just piss off motorists to no end if you’re constantly weaving around, running red lights, and getting in their way. While it can be said that drivers won’t save time by speeding, the same is true for riders. The difference is, they’re in a big hunk o’ metal and you’re not. Which brings me to my next point…

4. You will always lose in cyclist vs. motorist

Regardless of who is in the right, the laws of physics rule. If you have to be inconvenienced because you have to slow down or make a stop due to the moves of some airhead driver, don’t hesitate, just do it. Sure, some hapless souls have been richly compensated after being hit, but I’m sure if you ask them, they’d rather it never happened in the first place.

Single file would be better / Photo: f_mafra

5. Keep your cool

I know, I know. It can get maddening out there sometimes. But keep your cool and turn the other cheek, lest you end up in a court bind and broken finger like this guy.

6. Put the iPod away

I’ll admit, I listened to music while riding only until recently. One day a fellow cyclist said to me, “that’s very dangerous, mate” (of course, I had to take out an earphone to hear him) while stopped at a red light. At the time it angered me, and I even wrote a nasty post about it.

But in the end I knew he was right. And the thought of that voice running through my head for the rest of my life if I ever did have an accident while listening to my iPod clinched it for me. Time to put it away.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Do you have more tips for drivers or cyclists? Can we all just get along? Any stories from the road that you’d like to share?

Please comment below!

And don’t forget, May is National Bike Month in the US.

Photo: Tomas Fano

The Concourse, restored and renovated between 1996 and 1998, is probably one of the city’s most visited places, included on walking tour itineraries because of its spectacular representation of the Beaux Arts style.

In addition to the stunning ceiling, there’s the four-sided opal-inlaid clock estimated to be worth $10-$20 million dollars that sits atop the information booth in the center of the Concourse, serving as a popular meet-up spot, and 10 gold chandeliers that light the Concourse. They’re 96 years old.

This week, the chandeliers were lowered to the floor so workers could replace the 110 bulbs that keep each chandelier blazingly bright with the compact flourescent bulbs considered to be environmentally friendly.

In addition to being better for the environment, the bulb-work came as the city continued looking for ways to trim its budget. Though the bulbs for each chandelier cost $1,100, the projected cost savings per year will be $200,000.

Read the full story about the greening of Grand Central’s chandeliers here.

The Matador team is fired up by biking.

Not only is traveling on two wheels better for the environment than almost any other form of transportation, it’s an activity that creates almost instant communities, as the bike documentary, “VEER,” makes evident:

Matador has dozens of cycling articles in its archives. There’s advice about how to choose a bike and gear up for the road, as well as expert insight about which cities are friendliest to cyclers.

Here are some other favorites:

6 Reasons to Go By Bike

8 Steps for Successful Self-Supported Bicycle Tours

Cycling guides for destinations as distant as Montana and Vietnam’s Highway 1.

If you’re in the US, check out local meet-ups and other Bike Month events in these cities:

New York City

Philadelphia

Washington, D.C.

Minneapolis/St. Paul

San Francisco and Bay Area

Portland, OR

Photo: Luxerta

I was listening to the radio as I was driving home from work. When I parked in front of my apartment building, I couldn’t get out of the car. The host was describing Saro Wiwa, a writer and an intellectual who had devoted his life to activism when oil giant Royal Dutch Shell began impinging upon environmental and human rights in Nigeria’s Ogoniland. His vision was to engage RDS through a peaceful, non-violent movement.

That movement attracted enough support and international attention to make RDS and the Nigerian government uncomfortable. In 1995, after having been arrested with eight other activists on unfounded allegations of murder, Saro Wiwa was brought to trial and sentenced to death by hanging. As if the execution was not enough, Saro Wiwa’s body was burned with acid and dumped in an unmarked grave.

No individual or group ever took responsibility for the torture and execution of Saro Wiwa and the other activists, as well as the exile of Wiwa family members that occurred after the murder.

Royal Dutch Shell, of course, carried on with business as usual.

The story of Saro Wiwa’s life and death was compelling, and I made a note to stop by the library the following day so I could read some of his work and learn more about him.

And then, September 11 happened.
*
I thought about that broadcast this weekend, when I attended PEN World Voices Festival’s panel discussion between Ken Saro Wiwa’s son, the journalist and government adviser Ken Wiwa, and the American novelist Richard North Patterson, whose most recent novel is based loosely on Saro Wiwa’s life and death. The two men convened, along with moderator Okey Ndibe, a Nigerian novelist, to talk about Saro Wiwa’s legacy.

Ndibe started the conversation by sharing his own recollections of Saro Wiwa. He was “ebullient” Ndibe said of Saro Wiwa, and he “always carried a book” and his signature smoking pipe. Ndibe recalled a man full of life and passion, even in the midst of struggle.

Photo of Ken Wiwa by Francisco Collazo

Wiwa acknowledged Ndibe’s vision of Saro Wiwa, but added that he believed his father also carried a weight of sadness, which came from the sense that he hadn’t achieved enough in the struggle, or that the efforts of the movement were not making progress quickly enough.

Over the course of the conversation, the three men agreed that the ambitious agenda of social, environmental, and economic justice advocated by Saro Wiwa was, if seemingly solitary for Saro Wiwa himself, also profoundly visionary. Today, climate change, desertification, land rights, and the effects of corporatocracies on communities might well be considered the core issues of our time. Saro Wiwa was largely responsible for putting them on the world’s radar screen.

In his final statement before the military tribunal, Saro Wiwa said:

I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey.

The legacy Saro Wiwa left for us all, agreed Ndibe, Wiwa, and Patterson, was to always keep trying, to stay true to one’s ideals and goals even when no progress or support seems imminent, to stay engaged in the struggle.

It’s a message that’s a meaningful reminder for anyone engaged in social justice work, and one that had particular resonance on the day of the panel discussion. After more than 12 years, the Center for Constitutional Rights recently announced that Wiwa v. Shell will open in a federal court in Manhattan on May 26, 2009. After jury selection, the trial is expected to take 4 to 6 weeks.

To stay current with developments in the case, visit the CCR’s Wiwa v. Shell website.

And to learn more about the background of the case, take a few minutes to watch this video:

But mainstream media outlets are finally starting to take big oil to task, exposing its corporate social responsibility mantras as little more than hot air.

Chevron, according to a “60 Minutes” report that aired last night, is the third largest company in the United States, with oil interests all over the world. Drilling far from home, the company has responded to the U.S.’s unquenchable thirst for oil. While reaping a tidy profit–despite the economic downturn, Chevron managed to increase revenues by 25% (to $263 billion USD) in 2008 — Chevron has consistently engaged in business and environmental practices that have had very real and devastating consequences for communities and ecosystems in South America, Africa, and on other continents.

Photo: Kayana Szymczak, via chevrontoxico.com

Chevron’s dirty work has been especially damaging in Ecuador, where the world’s largest environmental lawsuit in history–with more than 30,000 litigants–is getting underway. Chevron, which started oil prospecting in Ecuador in the 1960s, took the money and ran, leaving a trail of environmental hazards–including leaching waste wells–in its wake.

To learn more about the situation, check out “60 Minutes’” full report in this video:

Watch CBS Videos Online

And to learn more about what you can do to hold big oil accountable for its environmental and human atrocities, check out Amazon Watch’s action alerts.

Photo: Tempo No Tempo

Maybe you read our Earth Day article earlier this week and rolled your eyes with a sense of exasperation and self-satisfaction.

“I already use rechargeable batteries and carry a reusable bag and a travel mug. None of my appliances are plugged in unless they’re being used.”

Maybe you even have a window garden.

Good for you.

But are you the greenest person on the planet?

That’s what National Geographic and the other sponsors of the Greenest Person on the Planet Competition want to know.

If the answer is yes, you’ll win an iPod or an iPhone, as well as some environmentally conscious prizes: 10 trees planted on your behalf and an animal adopted in your name by the Defenders of Wildlife.

But you’ll have to prove you’ve got what it takes to be the greenest person on the planet.

For all the details about how to enter the contest, visit the competition’s website here.

Photo: woodleywonderworks

Today is the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, founded in the US in 1970 and widely recognized as the birth date of the modern environmental movement.

While environmental consciousness, both in the US and abroad, is arguably more widespread today than it was back then, our environmental problems are also more profound.

The call for each person to play his or her part to live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle has never been more urgent.

Yet many of us (myself included), ignore the call or respond to it selectively, reluctant to make a bigger commitment to environmentalism.

Here are six easy ways you can celebrate Earth Day today and start moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle:

1. Buy rechargeable batteries.

We’ve known for years that disposable batteries are a serious threat to the environment. When disposed in landfills, dead batteries leach toxic metals into the soil, often creeping into groundwater supplies… and, eventually, into the water you drink.

Rechargeable batteries, though not without their environmental hazards, do offer a more environmentally friendly option than conventional batteries. Rechargeables can be used up to 1,000 times, meaning that you’ll need to buy fewer batteries and fewer will end up in landfills. You’ll spend less money on batteries over the long run, too.

Rechargeable batteries–and even their chargers–are sold practically everywhere: drug stores, grocery stores, and even convenience stores.

And if you insist on buying disposables, consider recycling them after they die. If you’re in the US, visit this website and plug in your zip code to find the recycling facility closest to you.

2. Unplug the appliances you’re not using.

I just did a quick walk through my apartment to check the number of items I currently have plugged into outlets.

Photo: tomsaint11

The report, I’m sad to say, isn’t pretty. There’s the cell phone charger, two laptops, a shredder (which I use about once a week), a clock, a stereo, two lamps, a blender, a coffee maker, and a toaster oven (I don’t even remember the last time I used this).

If I unplugged the items that don’t see daily use, I’d be eliminating what scientists and environmentalists refer to as “standby” energy waste. Besides being better for the environment, a 2001 study by Berkeley researchers indicated that I might save as much as 25% on my monthly energy bill.

3. Carry a canvas or reusable bag.

Fortunately, it seems that many of you live in areas where plastic bags have been banned or where their use is increasingly limited. If you don’t, try to remember to carry a canvas or other reusable bag on your trips to the grocery store and for other purchases. There’s an economic incentive here, too– many stores, such as Whole Foods, deduct a small percentage from your total bill for bagging your goods with a reusable bag.

4. Use your coffee travel mug or your Nalgene bottle.

Photo: Ants4Pets

You’ve heard this a million times. You have a collection of reusable mugs and bottles. And you still leave them at home every time you go out.

I know- me too. This is quite possibly the easiest step I could take to reduce waste, and yet I never quite seem to commit to it. Today’s the day to break the disposable cup/bottle habit.

5. Plant a window garden.

Feeling really ambitious? If these other actions seem like baby steps and you’re ready to graduate to something bigger, test your green thumb by planting a window garden. Don’t be deterred if you live in a small apartment in the middle of a city. Matador contributor Theodore Scott has given step-by-step directions for four easy apartment garden projects, which you can find here.

6. Get outside.

Photo: atreeisnice

It’s easy to forget how much you love the land and how important it is to you if you’re always inside. So get out. Plan a picnic, go for a walk, or try a new outdoor activity you keep putting off… but just get outside!

Community Connection:

What are you doing for Earth Day? How can you take a simple step to be a better steward of the environment? Share your opinions below.

Photo: joehastings

“But we are in Thailand; of course we are planning to ride an elephant. It’s what you do here,” she said. It was a few weeks later and I was talking to a girl in the hostel’s common room in Chiang Mai. I had just been telling her about my experience working at a wildlife centre south of Bangkok. I told her about Pai Lin, the elephant I had fallen in love with, and my hope to deter people from supporting elephant tourism.

Pai Lin’s story is similar to that of many domesticated elephants in Thailand, used for trekking and begging on the streets. This 60 year old elephant used to carry up to six people on her back. Seats made of a heavy wood are placed directly on their spine, thanks to which Pai Lin had a deformed back. She arrived at the centre a few years ago, malnourished, ill, and having spent many years on the streets. She’s a gentle elephant who enjoys splashing around in the water and eating pineapples or banana trees, but more than anything, enjoys the peaceful, quiet life.

If you see an elephant in Thailand and it looks okay, don’t be fooled. Domesticated elephants go through abusive training called phajan when they are young; the training makes them docile enough to be close to people and it’s called “breaking their spirit.” The elephants are often malnourished and don’t get enough water or shade. Elephants begging on the streets are often drugged to keep them going for long hours.

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about responsible travel, but without education or knowledge, someone might just not know any better. A lot of people I met in Thailand often felt uncomfortable after riding the elephants or while watching them do tricks to entertain tourists.

Photo: caspermoller

The appeal remains, however; visitors coming to Thailand want to see an elephant. It doesn’t have to be on their backs, though. There are other options. Watching elephants being elephants is an amazing thing on its own. So if you want to go to Thailand and see an elephant, here are some options for you to do so:

Recommended Volunteer Programs and Places to Visit:

Elephant Nature Park: Volunteer for a day and see elephants being elephants. You get to feed and bathe the amazing creatures and witness them in a natural environment. Located just outside Chiang Mai. A great alternative to trekking.

Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary: The sanctuary was started by a woman from London after becoming involved in the story of a baby elephant called Boon Lott. Her dedication to the baby and to the other elephants led her to open the sanctuary that now seven elephants.

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand: Although they only have six elephants at the moment, there are a lot of other animals at the WFFT. Go for a visit and ask to be shown around. The volunteers can take you to see the elephants and tell you personal stories of the animals at the wildlife centre. Or spend a week volunteering with the elephants and get to know the amazing personalities of these animals.

Community Connection:

Thailand isn’t the only place where elephants are a tourist attraction. Read one Matador member’s tale about riding an elephant and reflecting on the experience in this blog. And if you’re looking for other volunteer opportunities that will put you in contact with elephants, check out this post in our community forum.

So much so, in fact, that women lined up for hours in Hong Kong just to buy this bag:

Photo: diongillard

Created by popular handbag designer Anya Hindmarch, the “I’m not a plastic bag” bag was also in demand in Los Angeles and London, where it sold out. At one New York City store, 3,000 bags were reported to have been snatched up by eager consumers in just 29 minutes.

Women who carried the bag earned instant eco-cred, and were the envy of friends who’d never entertained the thought of carrying a reusable shopping bag.

Fortunately, in many parts of the world, using canvas bags for shopping instead of plastic bags is becoming a trend that may stick around, thanks to both voluntary plastic bag bans and legislation criminalizing the use of plastic bags for shopping in some jurisdictions.

Photo: Sam Felder

In January of this year, the local government in Delhi, India passed a law banning the use of plastic bags. The city had become littered with bags, which in addition to creating land waste concerns, were also clogging the sewage and water systems. Politicians decided the only way to control use of bags was to ban them completely and impose stiff fines (100,000 rupees) and/or a five-year maximum jail sentence.

Plastic bags have also been banned in Bangladesh, South Africa, Taiwan. Other countries, including Ireland, tax customers who request their goods be bagged in plastic.

The United States has been slower to adopt legislation to decrease the use of plastic bags, but it appears that bans may be coming soon to a city near you. Environmental advocates are pushing for a total plastic bag ban in Portland, Oregon and Ann Arbor, Michigan, among other cities, though bag ban supporters in Baltimore, Maryland, Colorado and Virginia have been disappointed by stalled or vetoed bills.

What’s happening with plastic bags where you live? Have you replaced plastic with canvas or some other reusable bag?

Community Connection:

To learn about other products you can buy to reduce your negative environmental impact, check out Lola Akinmade’s article, Improving Your Goodprint.

Paul McCartney sings with Bono at Live 8, Photo: The Admiralty

Paul McCartney has an impressive list of philanthropic and charitable credits.

From breast cancer research to animal rights and endangered species protection, McCartney has donated millions of dollars to support the issues he cares about.

He has hosted or participated in concerts to raise funds for causes as diverse as the US Campaign for Burma and the September 11 recovery effort.

And he has supported a number of charities: Adopt-a-Minefield, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Keep a Child Alive, Make Poverty History, PETA, Paralympics Great Britain, and War Child, to name just a few.

But when recently asked by New York Magazine if his lifestyle is excessive, McCartney demurred– “I must say I’m not that excessive.” Nonetheless, he admitted, “[O]ccasionally, I will do something that’s a bit of a splurge, like hire a private plane if it’s necessary.”

While private jets may be smaller than commercial airliners, their carbon emission rate may be as damaging–if not more so–than jumbo jets because of the passenger ratio.

Is there an inconsistency between McCartney’s talk and McCartney’s walk? Should McCartney and other celebrities who are frequent flyers on their own planes change their traveling habits? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo: nestor galina

The global hunt for oil is on. From western Uganda to northern Greece, from the shores of Cuba to the coast of Ghana, multinational firms and state corporations are drilling test wells in hopes of striking black gold.

It’s easy to understand why.

Photo: NIOSH

The world is hooked on oil; in recent years, we’ve been consuming more than 80 million barrels of the stuff per day. It’s a staggering amount and, setting the recession aside, it has been trending upwards for the past two decades.

Oil sales earned exporters more than a trillion dollars (US) last year, a vast transfer of wealth from those countries that need oil to those countries that have it.

Who wouldn’t want a piece of that action?

Look at the list of major oil exporters, however, and you will find Angola, Iran, Algeria and many other countries beset with major social and economic problems.

This points to a sad truth: despite (or sometimes because of) the enormous income it generates, oil production can bring a host of problems.

Every country’s experience is different, but we can identify some common problems petroleum exporters have faced.

1. Corruption:

In 2004, a US Senate investigation determined that $35 million had been siphoned out of the bank account in which Equatorial Guinea’s oil revenues were paid.

Then it was announced that the central African country’s president had bought a $35 million mansion in Malibu.

Photo: annia316

Mystery solved.

That’s how it goes in Equatorial Guinea, which joins fellow oil exporters Iraq, Sudan, and Chad in the bottom 10 of Transparency International’s corruption rankings.

Maybe it’s due to the irresistible lure of the big dollars, the generosity of the big oil companies, or the fact that oil profits accrue directly to the government, but government officials in petroleum exporting countries can’t seem to keep from dipping into their countries’ piggy banks.

2. Environmental Degradation:

Oil extraction is a messy business, especially in developing countries with lax environmental regulations and little ability to police polluters.

This has certainly been the case in Ecuador, which is blessed with large oil reserves but cursed by those reserves’ location beneath virgin Amazonian rain forest.

Photo: fishbone1

The result has been environmental catastrophe. The region’s indigenous people have gone to court seeking financial compensation from the oil companies, but the damage has been done.

3. Dictatorship:

The rallying cry of American rebels was, “No taxation without representation.” That reflects the bargain most governments have struck with their citizens; if you pay taxes, you get a say in government.

What happens when citizens don’t have to pay taxes, though?

You get Saudi Arabia. Flush with oil revenue, the government gives more money to its citizens in subsidies than it collects from them in taxes. As a result, there has been little pressure on the government to introduce democracy. Saudi citizens get subsidized fuel, education and food; in return, the House of Saud has gotten to rule for 77 years.

4. Debt:

This year, you may have noticed how volatile oil prices are. It’s not only consumers who struggle with these fluctuations, but also economic planners.

In the 1970s, oil prices skyrocketed and many oil-producing countries went on sprees, spending liberally on luxury items and making huge investments in infrastructure. One such country was Mexico, but when oil flooded the market in 1981 and prices fell, Mexico was left with debt it could not afford. In 1982, it defaulted on its loans, marking the beginning of the global “debt crisis.”

5. Dutch Disease:

In the 1960s, the Netherlands began extracting oil from a large field located in its portion of the North Sea. It should have been a boon to the Dutch economy.

However, foreign demand for Dutch oil dramatically raised the value of the guilder, increasing the cost of Dutch goods abroad and reducing the cost of imports in the Netherlands. Dutch industry was crippled, and instead of a boon, the Netherlands got high unemployment, a stagnant economy, and a new economic phenomenon named after it.

6. Civil Conflict:

Oil is a huge source of wealth, so it’s not surprising many people want to control it. Some of them will launch wars to do it.

Photo: TURKAIRO

The war in South Sudan was cataclysmic, and while there were a number of causes, the desire of both the South Sudanese and the central government in Khartoum to control the region’s vast oil reserves was one of the most important of them.

7. Foreign Invasion:

It is not only groups within a country that seek to control oil, but foreign governments as well.

We are not here to discuss the motivation for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, but even if it was a desire to seize the country’s oil, Saddam Hussein would have had little ground on which to complain. Iraq’s invasions of both Iran and Kuwait were, in large part, designed to secure lucrative oil fields in those countries.

This follows a long tradition of wars fought over oil, stretching as far back as Paraguay’s and Bolivia’s 1932-1935 war over the Chaco region.

Community Connection:

Do you own a car? Are you concerned about oil dependence? Check out this popular article from the Matador archives to learn how you can stop paying for gas and run your car on vegetable oil. Learn about the ways oil dependence affects developed countries, too, by checking out this interview with the filmmakers of the documentary, “Crude Independence.”

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