Green Options

The recent rhino poaching incidents in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary have prompted officials to discontinue its popular elephant safaris.

In an effort to protect greater one-horned rhino in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, elephant safaris - booked months in advance by tourists - have reportedly been halted.

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has told his cabinet members to get ready for an underwater cabinet meeting later this month.

Maldives is a collection of islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean that is less than 2 meters above sea level. Therefore, it is the first country expected to go underwater due to climate change.

Current laws in Thailand make it easy for live elephants - including infant elephants stolen from their mothers in the wild - to be traded unscrupulously for “entertainment” purposes.

For many people, thoughts of Thailand conjure up romantic notions of being transported to various tourist attractions on the back of an elephant. But tragically, many of the captive elephants used for the Thai tourist trade, and as zoo and circus exports, are the victims of an insidious, illegal market that threatens the survival of endangered Asian elephants, and is responsible for widespread exploitation and abuse of these intelligent and sensitive mammals.

Thankfully, a recent report published by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia exposes the loopholes and reporting inaccuracies that have been providing a smokescreen for Thailand’s illegal trade in endangered, wild-caught Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).

The Central Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) in India has launched a plan to sterilize over 8 million dogs over the next ten years. The mission: to eradicate rabies from India as quickly as possible. It is estimated that each year over 20,000 people die of rabies in India while at the same time over four billion rupees (close to 80m USD) worth of vaccines against rabies are being imported by the country every year.

The move, which has so far received a good response from society as well as animal welfare organizations is indeed a right step and a better option than the mass-slaughter practice currently used in neighboring China.

It’s rare that a city sets out to create a new tourist attraction and is able to do so with terrific success– but Lima, Peru has done it.

The Magical Fountain amazes visitors with its rapid changes and height.

While Lima is generally trashed by Peru guidebooks as the place everyone must dreadfully pass through on their way to other destinations like Machu Picchu, in the past few years great strides have been made to improve the city’s offerings, such as “The Magic Circuit of Water” in Lima’s Parque de la Reserva.

The last time you visited an aquarium, you probably saw one. With their zebra-like stripes, multiple spines, and elaborate fins, they’re quite beautiful and incredibly distinctive. But red lionfish are also voracious carnivores that breed like rabbits and are poisonous to boot. And they’re invading the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Good news from Afghanistan this week: the country declared its first internationally recognized national park today, called Band-e-Amir, which includes a striking series of six deep blue lakes in one of the country’s best-known natural areas.

The area of Band-e-Amir is near the Bamyan Valley, where 1,500-year-old giant Buddha statues once stood before being destroyed by the Taliban.

At the same time as Botswana bans hunting close to its reserves and Kenya uses Maasai hunters to protect its lions, Uganda introduces commercial hunting into its Pian-Upe wildlife reserve in Uganda hoping to improve conservation.

Hunting to Conserve in Uganda

Edyau Echodu, the warden of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Pian-Upe wildlife reserve, introduced the hunting plan. He said that hunting would help get rid of old animals that attack human settlements, killing and injuring people and damaging crops. He acknowledged that it was also aimed at increasing earnings from tourists.

The global economic downturn has caused a large paper and pulp mill on Lake Baikal in Russia to halt operation.

Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill started running in 1966.  For 43 years, despite the efforts of environmentalists, it dumped enormous quantities of toxin-laced wastewater into the pristine lake.

Showcasing the most environmentally-friendly hotels in the world, Eco Hotels of the World is a leading global online guide for the ultimate in green travel accommodations, from sustainably designed new hotels or resorts to once-in-a-lifetime ecotravel experiences like staying in an igloo in Switzerland.  Each accommodation is evaluated based on a five star rating system that examines energy, water, waste disposal, eco-activity (communication), and ecological protection.

Based in England, Eco Hotels of the World searches the globe for leading examples of hotels that appeal to the eco-adventurer in us all.  Who doesn’t want to bivouac in style on the Dark Continent with elephants passing near by at a safe distance — and where the money paid to the hotel helps conserve the habitat, support the local community, and protect the elephants?  There’s a dizzying range of size, scope and degree of comforts and amenities for hotels included in Eco Hotels of the World, so you’re not just getting a listing of the ultra-swank-eco-hotels that will break your bank (even if some of the funds do, in fact, go to helping preserve the environment or benefits the local community).  It’s all about choice with a conscience, and Eco Hotels of the World is a great place to plan your green getaway.

The 131 hotels now featured in Eco Hotels of the World have been personally selected by the website’s editors to ensure that they meet the standards required to be considered an eco-friendly hotel, including stewardship of the natural environment, ecological sustainability, proven contribution to conservation, provision of environmental training programs, incorporation of cultural considerations and provision of an economic return to the local community.   A departure from most other eco-hotel review processes, hotels cannot pay for inclusion in the listing, nor does Eco Hotels of the World accept commissions on bookings in order to remain independent and objective.

Another video from the 2009 ASI tradeshow in Dallas. This is the Rand McNally Green edition road atlas.

Most folks don’t know that Rand McNally has a promotional products division that basically allows companies and organizations to brand Rand McNally products with their own contact information and logos. I think this Green edition road atlas is a no-brainer for green travel agencies, B&Bs, tour companies, garages, etc.