You don’t always need to leave the country to connect with others from around the world. The MeetingLife Journal, a leather-bound book full of stories from people all over the world, began in Rome, Italy, on November 11, 2011. For the past three months, it has traveled to 11 countries, being sent to various YouTube personalities who have been writing their stories down in the book, as well as creating video responses to let others know where the journal is. Nobody is sure when the process will stop, or if it ever will.
After making its way through Europe, the journal is set to travel the United States. Who receives the notebook next is not pre-determined, so those who do are always surprised. While at the basic level it’s an art project – with Post-it notes, drawings and text – though on a grander scale the journal is a tool that connects people and cultures from all over the world.
Want to be a part of the project? Write a blog post or upload a video on the MeetingLife blog, for a chance to be voted for by the blog’s followers. To get a better idea of the project, check out the video above.
It was only a matter of time before someone made a snazzy infographic on the wastefulness of the hotel industry. This one comes from blog Hotel.info, with information sourced from the U.S. Green Building Council, American Hotel & Lodging Association, NFL, U.S. Energy Information Association, Energy Star, Environmental Protection Agency, Siemens and Forbes.com.
The graphic features plenty of interesting information nuggets and analogies, like:
Hotels create 1.9 billion pounds of waste each year, enough to fill 37 million suitcases.
They also use 84.7 billion kwh of energy per year, enough to power 64.5 million television sets.
If one person took a shower non-stop for 277 years, it would be equivalent to the amount of water used by hotels each year.
Hotels also produce 60 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to that generated by 10.6 million cars and 12 coal-fired power plants.
Earth Day is upon us, and even if you’re not planning to celebrate our planet’s making it through another year (what global warming?), there are still some simple measures you can take to show your gratitude. Love your Mother, you know?
Whether you’re on the road or at home, the following are smart rules to implement every day of the year:
Do laundry at night, after peak electricity usage hours and only wash full loads.
Use a travel mug when you purchase your morning coffee and carry a reusble water bottle.
Today is Earth Day, an annual event that is meant to remind us of how fragile our planet’s natural environment is and the importance of protecting it. All across the globe millions of people are taking part in events designed to celebrate this amazing rock we call home, while simultaneously looking for ways to preserve it for the generations that will follow.
At the heart of this year’s Earth Day celebration is the “Billion Acts of Green” initiative in which organizers of the event have asked participants to pledge to take steps to lead a more “green” lifestyle. Those pledges can include something as simple as taking reusable bags to the grocery store or signing a petition to protect the Amazon, or as big as installing solar panels in your home and buying a hybrid car. The thought is that if we all vow to make small changes in our lives to help the environment, our collective efforts will have a lasting impact on the planet. To make your own pledge to the cause simply click here.
Additionally, a host of Earth Day events are taking place across the world today that will give us the opportunity to have a positive impact on the communities we live in. Those events include things like cooperative efforts to clean up local parks or organized recycling drives. There is even a rally scheduled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. For a complete list of events or to find one in your area, click here.
As travelers, I believe that we understand the importance of protecting the environment as well as anyone. But I also happen to believe that we need to take a more active role in protecting it. After all, we are the ones who are jetting off to visit the far-flung corners of the globe on a regular basis. The next time you take a trip, remember to have a heightened respect for the place you are visiting; take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints. That way those destinations that we love so much will be there for future travelers to enjoy too.
The Pacific Ocean has been an active topic here at Gadling lately.
First there was the “Ghost Ship” found adrift off of Canada, then Dave Seminara’s brilliant April Fool’s Day report on the island of Nauru, and last week I waxed philosophical in Vagabond Tales about plastic bottles and what they mean for the people who inhabit the Pacific islands.
Now, to follow up on this topic, I was very pleased to be able to sit down with a woman about to head out on an incredible journey into the heart of the Western Pacific Garbage Patch. Her name is Cynthia Matzke, and starting on May 1 she and a team of researchers are going to sail across the western Pacific to document the marine debris situation. They will also maintain a constant lookout for rogue debris, which may have drifted off course from the Japan tsunami. While sifting through one of the world’s largest aquatic landfills may not seem like your dream vacation, for people like Cynthia and myself who relish traveling into some of the stranger places on the planet, this is kind of a big deal.
As part of an expedition led by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the 5 Gyres Institute and Pangaea Explorations, Cynthia is going to be sailing where few humans have ventured before. It’s a place with no passport control, no customs and immigration – just a lot of water and trash.
In a word, this is fascinating.
So Cynthia, first off, who are you? Why have you been chosen to head into the Gyre?
I was recommended by the Mayor’s office here on the island of Maui to take part in the expedition. Over the last 14 years on Maui, I have been involved with such projects as the Great Whale Entanglement Response Network and research related to stranded green turtles. I’ve worked as an underwater videographer documenting coral reef disease as well as the head of Trilogy Expedition’s monthly Blue ‘Aina reef clean up campaign. I also was once embedded for nine months with the Makah tribe in the state of Washington as an environmental liaison during the aboriginal whaling issue of 1999.Whoa. So you’re kind of an environmental badass?
Ha. Something like that.
Ok, so tell me what you’re going to be doing
Well, in conjunction with all the organizations above we are going to be collecting and analyzing samples of plastics and marine debris found in the Western Pacific Gyre. This area hasn’t been properly studied in 25 years and very little is known about the size and density of the debris that’s out there. We’re also going to be looking for any debris from the Japan tsunami, which may have drifted off of its projected course, and providing data on the scope and contents of the drift.
Once we get to Japan, I am going to be presenting at the Symposium on Plastic Pollution and the Marine Environment to show footage from the journey and discuss the latest findings. I am so unbelievably excited.
Is radiation a concern?
There is some very mild concern that some of the debris may have traces of radiation, but not enough to keep anyone from going. I still may try to borrow a Geiger counter though. I think testing radiation levels of debris could be a way of either confirming or dispelling people’s beliefs or what you may have heard about it.
According to this NOAA fact sheet, there could still be 1.5 million tons of debris floating out there. I’ve heard reports of perfectly good sailboats, which are adrift and unclaimed. Anything you secretly hope to find?
Not particularly. There may be a lot of sensitivity that’s needed because what is found in the tsunami debris might range from the personal to the gruesome. There’s a lot of cultural sensitivity which could revolve around this issue.
Hmm. Good point. Well, now I feel like a jerk. What type of a boat are you doing this on anyway?
Fourteen of us are going to be sailing from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands to Japan on a 72-foot sailboat named the Sea Dragon. I’ll be at sea for three weeks sleeping in bunks that are four people high and sharing a kitchen only meant to accommodate eight. This isn’t exactly what I’d call a ‘pleasure cruise.’
A sailboat huh? So you know how to sail?
I guess that was one of the factors in my being chosen. I work on a sailboat here in Maui and am expected to take part in full sailing duties.
Do you head back home to Hawaii after Japan?
Actually, after the symposium in Japan, if I raise enough funds I’m going to be traveling to Seoul, South Korea, to talk about my findings and show the footage from the garbage patch. Korea is one of the world’s largest producers of plastics and my hope is to convince businesspeople that there is money to be made in biodegradable and compostable materials. As consumers we really are able to vote with our dollars and speak to what is important.
You said if you raise enough money. What does a trip like this run, even as a researcher?
It’s about $9500/person, so I’m in the middle of a mass fundraising effort as well. Silent auctions, corporate sponsorships – that sort of thing. The boat company I work for in Hawaii (Trilogy Excursions) has thrown down some money, provided me with a huge amount of fundraising support, and they are currently the largest corporate sponsor of my seat on the expedition. As much of a challenge as fundraising can be it really is the most effective way of raising awareness and spreading the word about your message. During the fundraising effort I spoke to a group of fourth grade students on the island of Lana’i (population: 3,300) and I was introduced to a video they made which was inspired by this very expedition.
So they wrote that song themselves? That’s awesome.
Yeah, everything about this is really inspiring and the trip hasn’t even started yet.
Would you call it the trip of a lifetime?
Let’s just say that everything in my life has been building up, in some way, to this very moment right here.