Green travel ideas from two environmentally conscious travelers

Water conservation by itself doesn’t make for an eco-friendly golf course. Ever wonder how many golf balls must be soaking at the bottoms in the water hazards in golf courses?

Hint - it takes between 100 to 1000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally, and around 300 million golf balls are lost each year in the US alone.

But now there’s a solution - EcoBioBall aka biodegradable golf balls. Not only do these balls dissolve when dunked into the water, but they’re also made of fish food. So every time you hit a ball into a water hazard, you have an excuse - you’re feeding the fish.

The concept behind Albus Golf’s EcoBioBall is neat and simple. Once it hits the water, the outer layer (made of recyclable plastic polymer) dissolves within 48 hours, releasing the fish-food inside.

Albert Buscato, CEO of Albus Golf, tells CNN that since it is a single-use ball, the cost will be considerably lower than the average golf ball and Buscato is confident this means the “goldfish-friendly” option will be a hit with buyers.

Of course, its going to be a while before something like this makes its way into championship golf. But it is good for practise, when you’re trying to get past the water hazards. It is also perfect for cruises, where you no longer need to be afraid of losing the ball or polluting the oceans.

More details here - www.albusgolf.com/

When the World Monuments Fund (WMF) announced its 2010 Watch list of endangered monuments, no one batted an eyelid. After all, monuments which are older than your great great grandpa are supposed to start cracking up.

But closer inspection reveals that 15 out of 93 monuments are actually from the 20th century.

Wiener Werkbundsiedlung - Vienna, Austria (1920s–1930s)
Sanatorium Joseph Lemaire - Overijse, Belgium (1937–1987)
New Gourna - Kurna, Egypt (1945)
Las Pozas - Xilitla, Mexico (1944)
Corozal Cemetery - Panama City, Panama (1914)
Tecton Buildings - Dudley Zoological Gardens, UK (1937)
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library - Atlanta, US (1980)
Miami Marine Stadium - Miami, US (1963)
Cultural Landscape - Hadley, US (1959)
Phillis Wheatley School - New Orleans, US (1954)
Taliesin - Spring Green, US (1911)
Taliesin West - Scotssdale, US (1937)
Merritt Parkway Bridges - Connecticut, US (1940)
Parque del Este - Caracas, Venezuela (1958)
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Central University of Venezuela - Caracas, Venezuela (1950s)

These places are too new to be on the WMF endangered monuments list. Also note that 11 out of the 15 belong to the Americas and 7 - almost half, are in the US.

Photos public domain - Source (1, 2)

As re-reported by Bnet.com, Oklahoma has unveiled a series - seven, to be exact - of sustainable travel programs designed to meet the growing needs of consumers interested in sustainable and eco-friendly lodging and travel options. I found this article to be interesting on a number of fronts, including this statistic:

“…U.S. Travel Association research shows that 51 percent of consumers would continue to patronize sustainable travel service suppliers regardless of an economic downturn, and 48 percent said continued support of sustainable travel is a necessity.”

51% is an astonishingly high number to me, and it’s encouraging.

The article highlights the potential partnership between Oklahoma’s Colcord Hotel and Clean the World,   non-profit which provides third-world countries with “gently used” hygiene products like soap and shampoo from hotels around the world.

It appears as though a major push to increase recycling will be the first component of these sustainable travel programs. This is a good first step, and it will be interesting to see what the next steps will be. We’ll have to wait for feedback from the programs to determine how these efforts are being received and what new efforts will be made in the future.

Photo: Serge Melki

According to this article from Environmental Leader, Atlanta is in the process of constructing a sustainable, two-mile long racetrack for car and racing aficionados. It will be called the Atlanta Motorsports Park, and it will be (an incredibly expensive) private club - $100,000 to join. What’s attractive about this park, though, is that it will be very environmentally friendly, an idea which, in the past, has not necessarily go hand in hand with a racing track.

Check out the future park’s green attributes:

- waterless urinals

- tank-less water heaters

- using reclaimed water for all irrigation

- recycling all the garbage and oil

- high efficiency HVAC systems and lighting

- thermal resistant windows

It’s wonderful to see such an environmentally responsible project being built in an industry which is known for nasty emissions and waste products.  Hopefully this is the start of a new green trend in this arena.

The White House is going green, and we’re not talking about St. Patrick’s Day green. President Obama is aiming for LEED certification for the White House from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and president of USGBC, which has offered to help advise the White House on the process, told National Geographic that “LEED certification of the White House is absolutely possible and viable.”

However, Fedrizzi noted, it will not be easy because of the building’s historic status and the security required to protect the President and his family. 

The Obama greening effort will make changes in procurement, energy and water systems, and waste.

Next stop  - Congress. If President Obama manages to turn the White House green, it could shame the wastrels on Capitol Hill into making a greater effort towards conservation.

Photo: Public domain photo, work of the United States Federal Government, taken by Lawrence Jackson.

The Eco Ironman Jon Alexander (http://ecoironman.blogspot.com/) has taken on a Mission Impossible - he is competing in Challenge Barcelona’s Ironman-distance triathlon, and striving to keep his carbon footprint for the effort to near-zero.

The Challenge Barcelona triathlon on October 4, 2009 includes a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike, and a marathon (42.2km).

Jon Alexander went vegetarian a year ago, and says he feels he’s actually gained an edge and feels more ‘lean and mean.’

He wears shoes made of recycled fibre which are lighter than other sports shoes he used to wear - which again gives him an edge. And for the swim, he’ll be wearing an eco-friendly wetsuit made of limestone.

Why is he doing this? Well, one reason is that he’s raising money for the Wilderness Foundation. On his blog, Jon Alexander says that “it’s becoming increasingly about discovering and celebrating the inventiveness that some people and companies are showing in response to the global crises we find ourselves in. The idea to make bikes out of bamboo, and to use your company’s profits to help other people learn to do the same; the bravery to jump ship from a major TNC powerhouse and make shoes the way you believe they should be made… it’s really powerful stuff.”

Even more impressive  - it’s not not just about the triathlon, but it seems to have turned into a way of life. Instead of using a gym, he works out in the outdoors in Hyde Park, and he evens runs to work and back. He won’t take a plane. Instead, he travels by train. 

Jon hopes that his success at balancing competitive athletics with a green lifestyle will provide inspiration to others to do the same. He admits that ”I’m a pretty extreme example, but if I can fit in enough running, cycling and swimming in the London area’s wilder places to do an Ironman, and do a fairly full-on job at the same time, I think I’m hoping to provide some inspiration that anyone can get out and find their version.”

Photo from The Eco Ironman Blog

If you have not yet heard, Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize today!

Well, he happened to be in the SF Bay area at the time and a few Kangos got special access to his press conference today:

True to his cause he arrived in a sedan powered by bio diesel. The Conference was held at the Alliance for Climate Protection offices in Palo Alto.

First his wife Tipper Gore spoke saying that Al would be coming into the room 2 minutes to give a brief statement and also that he would not be answering questions; when he arrived he was greeted by 100+ news-people.

Then the former vice president thanked the Nobel Prize committee for selecting him the (shared) winner and he stated that he would donate the prize to green efforts; he also said that he was going to go to Europe to accept the prize in person.

Then he spoke briefly about the continuing effects of global warming on the polar ice caps: “polar scientists are now warning that at current rates the polar ice caps will be completely gone within only 27 years” (or language very similar, our Kango blogger was relying only on his memory)

Then Gore spoke passionately delivering a call in the form of an African proverb.

Gore said: “There is an old African proverb, If you want to go fast; go alone, if you want to go far; go together, we need to act both quickly and together to put an end to the climate crisis” (Again this quote is from memory)

With that, he concluded the press conference and thanked everyone for coming.

As he walked out of the room he was met with shouts from the press “Mr. Vice President Do you plan to run for president after winning this award?… Mr Vice President!”

With that; he left the room and he went to a private meeting with members of the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Gore’s Message is a one that is loud and clear: we need to act as one in the same direction if we want to go far and protect our planet.

This message starts with making simple green choices; while these changes can be very simple:

• Selecting an environmentally friendly hotel
• Flying greener
• And walking the walk

…but can collectively make a huge difference.

Gore: keep up the good work, we need you.