Polluters Protecting our Planet from Polluters

by Neil Woodburn on

We try to avoid straying into politics here in the travel world at Gadling, but occasionally politics strays into travel in a very inconvenient manner.

For those Americans in the crowd, this has occurred most alarmingly in the field of environmental protection. And yes, I’m pointing my finger at the Bush Administration.

Actually, I’m going to let Vanity Fair point the finger. Their Green Issue this month contains the following article: The Bush Administration: Texas Chainsaw Management. The article, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tackles the irony of Bush appointing “more than 100 top environmental posts to representatives of polluting industries.” The idea here is that Bush has appointed the fox to guard the hen house.

The most poignant example provided by Kennedy is Mark Rey, the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment who oversees the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Before landing his position, Rey was a former timber-industry lobbyist who served as Vice President of Forest Resources for the American Forest and Paper Association from 1992-1994. The goal of this organization can be summed up rather succinctly; less trees, more paper. To see more of Rey’s shocking anti-environmental resume, click here.

And then there is the case of Phillip Cooney, who was a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute before becoming Bush’s chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Yikes. After “resigning” when it was discovered by the New York Times that he was editing government documents to downplay the oil industries impact on Global Warming, Cooney accepted a job at, big surprise here, Exxon Mobil.

Kennedy goes on to describe a dozen other cases throughout the Bush administration, each as equally frightening as the two mentioned above and equally as detrimental upon our planet.

So, the next time you decide to go for a walk in the woods, and can’t seem to find any, you’ll know where to point the finger.

Eco Luxury Tours

by Neil Woodburn on

Eco Luxury is a relatively new term that has transformed what used to be a rather unattractive lifestyle into one that can be very chic and sexy.

It wasn’t so long ago that “environmentally conscious” meant scratchy hemp clothing and unshaved armpits. Times have changed, however. A handful of architects and designers are now crafting eco-friendly products that don’t sacrifice fashion and comfort for the sake of the planet. This means we can be stylish and save the world while doing so.

Hybrid Living is a rather cool website which highlights designers who are doing just that. The site is split into two sections. Profiles covers individual designers who are embracing this new challenge. Hybrid Tours, however, is the section that will be more interesting to Gadling readers. It provides examples of “sustainable living” in Seattle, Washington DC, Phoenix, Miami, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

Each city page features a dozen or so restaurants, residences, and retail outlets which embrace the eco-luxury theme. A handy map pinpoints the locations and also provides a detailed write-up for each place featured. Personally, I was drawn more to the eco-luxury architecture presented on the site, such as the Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica.

In addition, there are also a series of self-guided Hybrid Living Tour podcasts available for eco-conscious tourists to download. Simply plug in and learn all about the chic, eco-luxuries in which to indulge during your next trip to any one of these cities.

Pamper yourself, pamper your planet. Not a bad way to live.

Environmentalist Greats Tour

by Jamie Rhein on

Since Earth Day is only once a year, but environmentalism is a year-round venture, here’s a way to travel the earth in the footprints of good company. The Ecology Hall of Fame is not an actual place, but a Web site that lists various people instrumental in the environmental movement. Some of those listed do have places you might pass by in your travels or head to as a destination.

Here is a sampling of what I’m dubbing an “Environmentalist Greats of the East Coast” Tour. There are several others, but here’s four to start you off.

1. Edward Abbey –Most famous for his books the Monkey Wrench Gang and Desert Solitaire, Abbey was a true environment champion meshing politics and the environment with philosophy and literature. You can see the historic marker dedicated to him near the Home Township marker on State Route 119 in Pennsylvania.

2. Theodore Roosevelt– The first American president to throw himself into environmental causes. He increased the National Forest service by 400% and established the National Park and the National Monuments System. Visit his home Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.

3. Rachel Carson – Author of Silent Spring, the book that pointed out science is not always used for the good. The balance between chemical use and food production is imperative for a healthy planet was Carson’s way of thinking. You can visit the Rachel Carson Homestead where she was born and grew up in Springdale, Pennsylvania and the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge in Maine that was named after her to enjoy the essence of Carson’s life.

4. Rosalie Barrow Edge– First woman to hold any position of prominence in the environmental movement. Her big thing was birds, particularly raptors. Her love led to her creation of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Today, it is still a haven for hawks, eagles, falcons and warblers.

Earth Day

by Neil Woodburn on

It must be Earth Day.

I knew it was coming up a few weeks ago when I kept finding “Green Issues” in my mailbox. First it was Outside Magazine and then Vanity Fair that game with bold headlines proclaiming that the issue in my hands, despite being printed on dead trees, was celebrating environmentalism.

This is, of course, a good thing. We here at Gadling support Earth Day and other environment concerns for the simple fact that we are travelers, our passion is exploring this great planet and all it has to offer. When parts of our favorite green/blue orb become polluted, deforested, irradiated, inhospitable, or otherwise raped by the heavy hand of mankind, it impacts the very thing we all hold dear.

So spend a moment to check out today’s posts, dedicated to lessening our impact on the planet before we break it like some Christmas morning toy. Because, as the Tick once said; “Earth, that’s where I keep all my stuff!”

Climbing Redwoods

by Neil Woodburn on

If you’ve never traveled to California to view the coastal redwoods, you’ve never properly lived.

Coastal redwoods are the granddaddy of all trees; they are the tallest (up to 350 feet) the widest (20+ feet) and some of the oldest (up to 2,000 years old). And, they are simply remarkable. I’ve been fortunate enough to have stood at the base of these monsters, as well as some of their mountain cousins.

Something I haven’t done, however, is to actually climb one.

Climbing a redwood, as you might imagine, is no easy task. A great article in The New Yorker a few months ago (only partially online here) detailed a small group of hardcore enthusiasts scaling redwoods in search of the world’s tallest. Climbing one involved all sorts of ropes and pulleys and harnesses; this ain’t the backyard apple tree after all! Most fascinating, was the thriving canopy at the highest levels of the trees that are teeming with life and their own miniature ecosystem.

The Wild Trees by Richard Preston focuses on a similar group of tree-lovers who have bid farewell to the concrete world and ensconced themselves in the redwood groves of California.

A recent review of the book by Thomas Curwen paints a alluring vision of the redwoods in an almost lusty manner: “Once you’ve trunk-walked, branch-walked and sky-walked your way some 35 stories above the ground like Spider-Man gone grunge, you can wrap your arms completely around the trunk, interlock fingertips, drink in the moist, spongy, lemony-fragrant wood and secretly consummate your desire.”

Wow. Don’t go looking for some local company to start hoisting tourists up to these upper branches, however. The upper canopies and the treasures they hide 35 stories above ground are only for the serious environmentalist or adventurer who knows his way around the fickle branches and soft furry bark of a 2,000 year old tree.