Rock climbers don’t give a hoot; they pollute

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s easy to think that rock climbing has no impact on the environment. Enthusiasts climb up a rock face, rappel back down, and then go home without leaving a trace of their existence. Right?

Wrong.

According to a recent AP article, the rise in popularity of rock climbing has resulted in an increase of trash and environmental damage at many of the more commonly used routes in Yosemite National Park.

The biggest irritant to me has always been the chalk marks left behind. I usually make it out to Joshua Tree National Park about once a year and it’s always sad to see a beautiful rock face tagged with chalk buildup (on the other hand, it’s also amazing when the chalk marks are like a connect-the-dots climbing route that seems impossible to scale).

Chalk isn’t the only problem, however. The AP article mentions a volunteer clean-up crew that hauled out 900 pounds of “abandoned rope, snack wrappers and toilet paper” from Yosemite’s rock climbing areas last September. In addition, the trails to these spots are getting overused and nearby foliage routinely trampled.

Man, I had always thought rock climbers were one with nature! I guess I was wrong.

Detroit airport hotel exceeds expectations

by Neil Woodburn on

Airports generally suck.

And that’s why I found myself overwhelmingly surprised last week when I traveled to Detroit for a quick meeting and thoroughly enjoyed myself without actually leaving the airport.

I flew in the night before and booked a room at the Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The hotel is actually located in the McNamara Terminal just across from Gate A36 and next to McDonald’s. Guests walk through a simple doorway and suddenly leave behind the garishly lit terminal and that annoying, angst-ridden atmosphere found in most every airport. In just a few steps I found myself in the middle of a gorgeous, high-ceilinged lobby with fountains, pleasant music, and all the amenities of a high-end hotel. It was like traveling through some type of portal to a world of comfort completely opposite of anything normally found within an airport.

But wait, it gets better. The rooms are great (Heavenly Beds), the bar is relaxing and the restaurant is tasty, albeit expensive. I can confidently say it was the best food I’ve ever had in an airport.

In addition, when leaving the next day, I was able to get my boarding ticket from a kiosk in the lobby and then pass through Westin’s own, private security line back into the airport. If I really wanted to push it, I could have climbed out of my bed ten minutes before my flight started boarding and still made it in time.

Man, I wish all airports had such facilities. Hats off to Westin for really nailing it (although they really need to do something about the cost of those $15 hamburgers).

Robin Hood’s forest of mighty oaks needs saving by the rich–or the poor–or a miracle

by Jamie Rhein on

With half my roots in Southeastern Kentucky where coal mining has decimated great swatches of mountain tops, I’m easy to hook into environmental stories. Such was the case when I read about Sherwood Forest made famous by Robin Hood’s work of robbing the rich to pay the poor. As you know, that’s where he and his merry men hung out. There really is such a place in Nottinghamshire County, England, although the forest is becoming smaller and the mighty oaks are falling. See, here’s the problem. Oaks only live for 900 years. That’s a lot you might say. Time does fly, and it’s passing.

Since the landscape has been changed to accommodate more people over the centuries, trees have been cut down for buildings and fields to grow food. So, there is less space for the forest to rejuvenate itself. Plus, there’s the effects of global warming. The trees that are left sound like they have osteoporosis or something. A strong wind can knock them down. The solution is a reforestation project which costs money. Sherwood Forest is in the running for some grant money to plant thousands more. Here’s the thing where I see it might take some convincing of folks that this money will make a more wonderous world for their great, great, great, great, great, (surely that’s enough greats) grandchildren is that it takes 300 years for an oak to grow to its massive size. That’s a bit of delayed gratification for you. “I paid what for that dinky thing?”

Kate Shuman’s AP article where I found out about this forest woe is accompanied by some wonderful photos of movie scenes that have helped make Sherwood Forest famous.

India to put an end to public defecating

by Catherine Bodry on

If you travel through India there’s a couple of bodily-function issues you might notice (outside your own, that is). One is that there’s a large poor population that doesn’t have access to any form of plumbing. Railroad tracks tend to become the local slum toilet — at least that’s what I noticed while traveling by rail. The other is that areas where public toilets are in place, the stench is often overwhelming (I’m thinking back to some roadside urinals I constantly passed en route to my guesthouse in Delhi).

The World Health Organization estimates that 2.6 million people live without access to a proper toilet, and more than half that number live in India. It’s difficult to imagine a solution to a problem that huge, but India is working on it. The government aims to eradicate “open-air defecating” by 2012, promised Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad at the World Toilet Summit.

Only problem is, he didn’t say how.

Read the report here.

Where on Earth: Week 30 – San Blas Islands, Panama

by Brett Atkinson on

Well done to Beverly Blass for identifying these kids as coming from the Kuna people who inhabit the San Blas Islands off the northern coast of Panama. This shot was taken on Achutupu Island, just a short boat ride from a great eco-friendly place called Dolphin Lodge. The fabric is a mola, one of the finely appliqued textiles which the Kuna are renowned for.