Green Daily

Many politicians are touting for a gas tax holiday lately, where we as consumers would reap the luxurious benefits of saving money at the pump by the hands of our incredibly generous government. Just imagine what we could spend that money on. Why, we could afford to drive more if the gas was cheaper, am I right?

For some reason, this gas tax holiday is a "solution" that many politicians are pushing for, including John McCain and Hilary Clinton. Wave a few dollars in the tax-paying-public's eyes, and they'll love you forever (or at least until you get enough votes to win the election). But as any economist or environmentalist could tell you, this will only make our gas crisis worse, which will in-turn harm our environment even more through pollution, drilling, etc. By decreasing the price paid for fuel (especially following an extended period of high prices), gas usage will go up dramatically, driving down supply. This only increases the vicious cycle that got us into this addiction to oil in the first place.

Have you ever heard stories from your parents or grandparents about how they'd take a dip in a local pond, or grab an inner tube and float down the river for hours without a care in the world? That's almost unheard of these days. Sure, you could still do it, but you had better make sure you've had all your shots.

To showcase the improving state of natural waterways in the UK, photographer and travel writer Daniel Start recently released a new photo-guide book entitled "Wild Swimming: 150 Hidden Dips in the Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls of Britain". In this book he explores the freshest of the freshwater "wild swimming" spots across the country. In a time when we hear more and more about the contamination of our water, it's nice to hear some good news for once.

Sharks aren't doing too well. Humans have been using them for food and cosmetics (or just accidentally killing them) for far too long, which has left over 200 shark species in danger of extinction. Even if you're not a big fan of large, scary-looking sea monsters that can slice you open with their teeth, it's important to remember that sharks are a vital part of the ocean's fragile eco-system (not to mention that they make for really awesome nature documentaries!).

So, any attempt to bring attention to this endangered animal is commendable.

However, I'm not sure that's what this guy had in mind. The above video shows some lunatic surfer as he first baits a shark with raw , bleeding meat, and then proceeds to take a ride on his surfboard -- pulled by the flesh-eating fish.

Wow. Just. Wow.

[via VideoSift]

I hate it when I go to a take-out restaurant or I'm grabbing a bite in the airport (where I seem to be frequently these days) and I have nothing else to use but plastic silverware. Fortunately, while reading FitYoga magazine today I came across something portable and most likely airport friendly. To-Go Ware Bamboo Utensil set includes a fork, knife, spoon, and chopsticks for your eating pleasure without the guilt over the waste of plastic. It comes in a fold-and-wrap cotton holder which is handmade by a women's cooperative on the Thai-Burma border. There are some other great reusable products from To-Go Ware, featured in the gallery below, which makes eating on the run much more green!

As exciting as a new donut at the Kwik E Mart, as thrilling as Lisa's new science project, and as tantalizing as a steak from Ned Flanders' grill, behold: The Simpsons Ride.

No kidding, it's finally happened. Universal Studios is opening a Simpsons Ride, in which riders will sit in a vehicle and be pitched and titled in sync with a video featuring all-new Simpsons animation, complete with the original character voices.

It will also feature new green technologies, and Universal claims that the ride will be illuminated by 2,582 LED lights, and save over 55,233 watts per hour and 662,796 per day, compared to similar simulation rides. The ride's energy usage will also be strictly controlled, making it as energy-efficient as possible.

As Homer would say, Woohoo! It's nice to see a theme park at least taking small steps toward greening their ways. Normally, amusement parks are incredibly wasteful, from the food and paper waste to the water and electrical usage to power the rides and run the A.C. But can a huge, energy-sucking ride really be considered green? Doubtful, though it doesn't make me love Homer, Marge, Bart and the rest of the gang any less.

via [grist]

We've heard that if you drive more slowly in your car, it will help you to save fuel. The idea is to accelerate gently and keep your speed lower to reduce wasted gas. Recently, this idea has carried over to the airlines, who are currently suffering one of the worst financial crises since 1945.

Southwest Airlines learned that they will save $42 million in fuel this year by adding one to three minutes to each flight. Northwest Airlines cut their speed 10 MPH on a flight from Minneapolis to Paris and saved $535 in fuel, adding only 8 minutes. It's unfortunate that these cost-cutting measures won't trickle down to the people most inconvenienced by these changes, but the savings in fuel, and potentially the environment, is certainly a positive step.

You'd think that at a meeting held by a group called the Pacific Asia Travel Association, most of the delegates would be from, you know, Asia. However, AFP reports that at a recent conference held by PATA to discuss greening up the travel business, Asian airlines and tourism companies were woefully underrepresented.

Officials from PATA, who declined to be named, said they had invited more Asian companies, but faced overwhelming disinterest. The impression that they had was that many Asian businesses don't have climate change or other environmental issues on their radar screen yet.

Air travel is thought to account for between 2 and 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The article speculates that Asian airlines and other travel businesses will probably become more eco-conscious as they come under pressure from overseas partners, and also as they become influenced by the next generation of kids who've learned about climate change in school. And if that doesn't do the trick, the increasing frequency of massive typhoons, floods, and sandstorms in various places around the continent might attract their attention.

Camping season is almost upon us, and with it comes the staple of any successful night in the wilderness: the campfire. I know how much I enjoyed roasting hot dogs or marshmellows over the fire as a child, while my father threw in anything remotely flammable to keep that fire blazing. Well, these days we realize that burning anything man-made is highly toxic to ourselves and the environment. Not only that, burning some forms of wood is also highly toxic as well, especially wet wood, treated woods or particle board.

So what is safe to burn? Well, if you burn clean, dry wood with plenty of oxygen, you're doing alright. Most modern wood-burning stoves are designed to be most efficient with lowered smoke emissions and increased oxygen intake. Of course you can't haul your hefty wood-burning stove on a camping trip, but just be aware that burning anything man-made, or wood that is wet can cause more harm than you might expect.

The last time I was in India, back when I was an easily annoyed, totally westernized 14 year-old, I appreciated the amazing things I saw but secretly longed for a Big Mac, any less-than-spicy food, American television, and a North American toilet. The train toilets, especially, were often nothing more than a smelly room with a toilet cut into the floor allowing you to see the tracks zipping by (seriously not fun after eating spicy food!).

Well, times have changed since that trip in '87. Now, I love everything spicy, I swore off McDonald's, and new bio-toilets are being tried out on Indian Railways.

A number of experimental bio-toilets are being installed in different trains across India, a country that is bustling with a lot of people that use trains (and being human, have biological necessities). With two million Indian passengers using train toilets daily, Indian Railways plans to have every one of its 9000 trains equipped with cleaner commodes by 2001-13.

Here are two fun business section facts: Tourism is one of the world's largest growth industries and ecotourism, specifically, is growing three times faster than the industry in general.

Before you grab your snorkeling gear and celebrate you may want to read this report from ClimateChangeCorp.com.

Turns out, while sustainable tourism can help with things like conservation and helping out local populations, the reality of this type of green-friendly traveling is not close to where it needs to be. What makes things even worse is that the tourism industry is not ready for climate change even though they will get hit very hard by it - more hurricanes and rising seas make daiquiris on the beach so much less enjoyable.

The report quotes the United Nations Environmental Program by pointing to tourists who pollute way more than the locals and are rarely required to pay anything to offset ecosystem damage when they visit that sandy beach (maritime tourism is singled out as being especially hit). And what about helping the locals? Popular all-inclusive resorts are often isolated from local populations and the benefits of tourism are not always felt by those living beyond the security fence past the seafood beach buffet.

While I'm a little tired of the current trend towards slapping the prefix "eco" in front of everything ("Eco-coal-fired power, now with more eco-mercury!"), the EcoCabs coming to Toronto on May 1 seem to actually fit the bill.

The new vehicles, which are already cruising the streets of a number of cities around the world, seat two people plus a driver and operate principally on human pedal-power. However, they also feature a small, rechargeable electric motor for hills or just chilling'.

EcoCabs normally travel at a leisurely 6 km/h, but in a pinch ("my wife is having a baby, get us to the hospital - stat!") can race along at up to 12 km/h.

The EcoCabs will be offering rides to the weary and the lazy all summer at Toronto events and hotspots, and rides will be free, thanks to corporate sponsorship. Presumably that means there's soft drink ads on the sides of the cab, not that the driver is going to try and sell you a timeshare.

Will carbon-neutral air travel be a possibility in the near future? A group of aircraft manufacturers, airlines, air-traffic controllers, and airports agreed today to take the industry in that direction. Over the last year, the airline industry has been beat up in the media for being unresponsive to global warming. While some of the criticism might have singled out the airlines a little bit unfairly, the pressure seems to have really got to them. It looks like now the airlines industry in Europe is prepared to take some evasive maneuvers when it comes to climate change.

If you were to dive into an underwater crater caused by the largest nuclear device that the US has ever detonated, what would you expect to see? An deathly quiet and lifeless landscape that resembles pictures taken by the Mars Rover maybe? Some deformed fish? Two-head sea-snakes?

Anyway, what you probably wouldn't expect to see is a thriving coral reef ecosystem bustling with life, but that's the scene that greeted a team of international scientists when they paddled down into the mile wide Bravo crater in the Marshall Islands. Bikini Atoll, as the site is known, is unfit for human inhabitation above the water, but underneath it's actually not much different than any other coral reef in the area.

The run up to this year's games in Beijing has already been overflowing with controversy. Whether it's human rights violations in Tibet, the Chinese government's ties to Darfur, or just the fact that Beijing has a nasty smog problem -- it's been one black eye after another for China's reputation on the world stage.

Chinese officials may look the other way when it comes to issues like Tibet or Darfur, but when it comes to the smog problem they have a plan that they hope will turn it all around. China will shut down the heaviest polluting industries during the Olympics (July 20th - September 20th). That ought to work, right?

If you fly, you know that business class is the place to be for comfort, but not the good of the planet. After all, the more square footage you give each Armani-wearing champagne-swiller in the sleeper-seat section, the fewer people you can move for each pound of carbon emitted by the plane .

However, road warriors are starting to find their environmental conscience.

Speakers at a conference sponsored by the National Business Travel Association in Toronto this week said that more and more organizations are looking for green credentials from their travel suppliers. Michelle White, Director of Environmental Affairs for Fairmont Hotels (who have lately been greening up their act considerably) says that around 20% of the enquiries they receive for business travel agreements ask questions about what the hotel chain is doing to reduce their carbon footprint.

The downside is that the trend is still in its infancy, and while many travel companies talk the green talk, specific plans and hard numbers are often hard to come by.

The other challenge is that many people traveling on behalf of employers are expected to watch costs, so if a hybrid car rental or an eco-friendly hotel comes at a premium, the accounting department might give you a hard time. But hey, it they question your expense report, just show them a picture of a baby seal and start to cry. It always works for me.