Catching bats in Costa Rica

by Jerry Guo on

The photo on the right is of my hand–and more interestingly, of a bona-fide vampire bat. I’m sure our resident health-blogger Erik’s head just exploded right about now.

Handling bats, let alone vampire bats, are a huge no-no since they are one of the animals most likely to carry rabies. By no means was I even close to being a badass here; before going to Costa Rica to catch bats, I put down $500 for a series of rabies vaccines and oh, wore two pairs of leather gloves to handle this particular bat.

Catching bats was an unbelievable experience–honestly, how many people in the world have had the chance to do that? It also really made me appreciate an animal that’s gotten a really bad rap. Anyways, below is a gallery of my two-week bat-catching trip to Costa Rica.

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The best of the Galapagos

by Jerry Guo on

This week, the New York Times travel section started a series on sustainable traveling. The inaugural column, headlined “Can Darwin’s Lab Survive Success,” is probably the quintessential case for illustrating the pros and cons of eco-tourism.

A couple summers ago, I spent a month camping in the Galapagos Islands, working as both a journalist reporting on the island’s problems with invasive species (partly due to the booming tourism industry), and as a research assistant for a National Geographic-funded study on the archipelago’s famous giant tortoises. The Yale lab that I was working with have been doing some truly amazing stuff on these animals–for instance, finding a long-lost relative of Lonesome George, the rarest species in the world (population of 1).

The story I ended up writing for Science Magazine about invasive species can be found here. And below are two galleries of exclusive photos from our fieldwork on Santa Cruz, as well as some fun little side-trips to Isabela (where I horse-backed to its biggest volcano) and around Santa Cruz.
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Mardi Gras the green way: Think recycle

by Jamie Rhein on

When buying up those Mardi Gras beads and trinkets to feel festive with the best of them, look for beads that have been recycled. Every year beads by the bushels (lots and lots and lots of beads) are tossed into the crowd who watch the parade. These cheap plastic baubles from China (see post about bead safety) may be great around a person’s neck but not in a landfill.

The Sierra Club and Arc of Greater New Orleans have a joint effort going to get people to buy recycled beads from them. Not only are you helping the environment, but you’re helping these two organizations that are working towards rebuilding New Orleans. The thing is, the beads are sold in 30 pound bags. That’s a lot of beads. They also have other recycled Mardi Gras goods.

To find out how to get these recycle beads and other Mardi Gras trinkets, head to the Sierra Club Delta Chapter Web site. The phone number and email are listed there. While you’re at the site, check out the other efforts being made to help New Orleans ecologically rebuild. The Greater Arc of New Orleans is located at 925 S. Labarre Road. This is an organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities. You can also turn in beads for recycling here. There are two other locations. Call 504/837-5105 for information.

To buy artsy and interesting products made from recycled beads, check out Unique Products. There is a wide selection of night lights like the one pictured. The money from these purchases also goes to aid New Orleans. You can buy on-line.

Intelligent Traveler hosts Geotourism Challenge

by Grant Martin on

Got a favorite green tour operator or event? National Geographic’s Intelligent Traveler blog wants to know. They’ve partnered up with Ashoka Changemakers, an open-source community dedicated to social change to sponsor The Geotourism Challenge.

Readers are invited to nominate a type of tourism that “sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place: its environment, heritage, culture, aesthetics, and the well-being of its residents.” And if you post a brief story on how or why you believe in your nominee, you’ll be entered in a drawing for a free week of travel to anywhere that whl.travel, a contest partner, operates. And I know what you’re thinking, yes, they do offer trips to Swaziland. Count me in.

Even if you don’t get the chance to submit a green topic, you should check out Ashoka’s website. It’s a pretty sweet initiative and deserves a read from all of us.

American Airlines announces in-flight wi-fi costs

by Justin Glow on

Our sister site Engadget is reporting that, when American Airlines debuts in-flight Wi-Fi, it will cost $10 for three hours or less, or $12.95 for longer flights. “Rollout,” they say, “will begin this summer on AA’s 767-200 jets before rolling out across its entire fleet.”

So what do you think?

Personally, I don’t think it’s too bad, as long as the connection is reliable. What I’d be worried about it is a slow, overcrowded link, where I’m paying $10 to browse the Internet at dial-up-or-less speeds. But if it’s fast, I can’t think of a better way to spend my time on a boring flight — and $10 really isn’t bad. I would have figured that the price would have been higher for a service specifically geared towards business travelers.

Speaking of business travelers, it would make sense if they offered some sort of monthly plan, where frequent fliers pay $100 a month to get them unlimited access on all of their flights. I don’t fly enough to take advantage of something like that, but if I did, I’d pay it.