Save Eco Destinations

by Healthcare Professionals - click to ENLARGE

A lot of us maybe read and write about climate change, pollution, and green living and a lot of us advocate making a difference. That’s super.

But how many of us actually take concrete steps toward a greener Earth?

Listen, I know it can be hard. It can be a pain the bum to get used to new things, to change your habits and your shopping list, learn new stuff. I mean, hopefully we’ll just get over it – and quick – but a lot of us are still blasting our AC in the summer, the heat in the winter, and leaving the water running while brushing our teeth (tsk tsk).

Sometimes we just need a little inspiration. So here goes one idea (this one’s for people in the U.S. – but if you find that a similar situation is going on in your country, you can apply it):

univ health care

Support the health care reform bill

Ok, Obama’s cool and all, but he’s not following up on all of his promises, or at least not yet. We can help by doing what we can to stimulate the government into “walking the talk.”

Here’s something you can do: support the health care reform bill. Obama and Congress have stated that this bill is #1 on their to-do list, so the sooner we get this one out of the way, the faster we’ll get to #2, which is the climate/energy bill (woohoo!).

To support decent and affordable health care, speak up by calling your Senator or Representative. Doing it today would be awesome. Just sayin’. Think of how much fun it will be! And if you’re nervous about calling (for whatever reason), you could tell someone else to do it for you and what to say. Why not? Whatever works for you.

And then what?

• Go badger your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, random pedestrians, etc. into following your lead
• You can even download and print out materials to hand out and put a badge on your website
• Donate 10 bucks to the campaign
• Find a local group and join it
• Add them on Twitter, Facebook, etc. to stay updated (visit website for links)

And if you’re against it because it doesn’t apply to you and/or you don’t need it, then you might want to acknowledge your situation of extreme priviledge and empathize with those less fortunate who do need it.

It is ridiculous that the U.S. doesn’t have public universal health care.

Yeah, you heard me.

Even some third-world countries have it. A friend of mine lives in Argentina. She got appendicitis and had to go to the hospital. She tells me they were wonderful. They kept her there for 3 days and then gave her the antibiotics she should take at home. All for free. Yet the U.S. refuses to do such a thing. And that is elitist, classist, and sexist (as most of the poor – worldwide – are women and children).

Plug & Play Energy Bikes by Global Inheritance power your holiday decorations, iphone or TV

Southern California-dwellers can now take their kids – and themselves – to a non-corporate, non-monopolizing, and GREEN theme park. It’s called Environmentaland – and it kicks ass. (Pardon my French.)

It’s the first such venture in the globe. It runs weekly events as well as permanent exhibits and, as far as I can tell, there are no exhaustingly-long lines preceding every “ride.” Nice.

Said “rides” include the Energy Playground, Recycled Paper Plane Takeoff, Mini-Bin Exhibit and Designing Station, Alternative Energy Golf Carts, The Planetarium, and Desert Mini Golf.

Ride at Environmentaland

There will be:

• Movie nights every Wednesday
• A film screening of the new documentary “Earth Days” followed by a Q&A with the director, Robert Stone (whoa!)
• Butthugger Fashion Week (really, that’s what it’s called), a 48-hr design contest in which designers can only use fabrics from clothes donated through a clothing drive to be held prior to the main event
• A solar-powered musical performance preceded by a fashion show displaying the creations of major LA and Orange County artists.

Now that’s entertainment! See more upcoming events here.

Sweet toys, I mean rides, at the theme park.

The theme park is currently in its “soft launch phase,” but you can check out this link for information on the aforementioned events going on this month.

Environmentaland is run by Global Inheritance, which describes itself as follows:

Global inheritance is an organization working to reinvent activism for today’s young generations. Our initiatives focus on the power of creativity to communicate and push for progressive social change while rejecting conflict.

Sounds fantastic to me!

They also – of course – encourage riding your bike there rather than driving and other lovely eco stuff.

Visit their website for links to follow them on Facebook and Twitter and get in touch if you want to participate or volunteer. This is a rad undertaking!

Alam Sari Keliki Hotel, the boutique eco-hotel in the hills in Keliki, north of Ubud in Bali

Oy. I read that some hotels tout themselves as eco solely because they offer their guests the opportunity to not wash their laundry daily. Ridiculous? Indeed!

To help remedy the situation and separate the farce from the truth, there are now as many as 100 green travel certifications all over the world, all of which help potential guests learn whether a hotel’s eco claims are for real. Sixty of these are in Europe, and only 7 are global, including Green Globe and ECOTEL; some countries have their own particular certification program.

[Right now most certifications only apply to hotels and lodges, but increasingly others are cropping up to deal with tour operators, beaches, parks, golf courses (a green golf course?!), and boats.]

The certification measures health and safety standards (whether they are legally required or not), quality and service, and sustainability – which sometimes but not always considers the environmental and social impact of the hotel and its programs on the community.

Green Globe looks at the traditional tourism market. Its certifications reward the cutting down of electricity and water use. They do not set standards on performance (only intent – hello problem!). This one looks at the non-human environment, largely, as social and cultural issues are not addressed. (If you ask me, the environment entails all of us – are we not part of it? Is it not part of us?) P.S. Their user interface is not very intuitive. Good luck surfing their website!

So Green Globe focuses on intent as opposed to performance. Conversely, performance-based achievement certifications set clear environmental and social requirements, such as a specific percentage of local sourcing of employees or food.

ECOTEL is performance-based and more thorough than Green Globe. ECOTEL looks at five inspections:

• Environmental commitment
• Solid waste management
• Energy efficiency
• Water conservation
• Employee education and community involvement

Each of these 5 inspections has a 3-tiered Numerical Scoring System for the meeting of criteria. And all hotels have to satisfy ECOTEL’s primary criteria before even applying for the certification. Sweet. That tells me the certified hotels give a damn. Read more here.

See the ECOTEL-certified hotels here to plan ahead for your next trip!

Not many hotels – or even countries – are listed. Hopefully the eco certification industry will soon burgeon and make it easier for all of us to make ethical choices for our trips and vacations.

And I like STEP: Sustainable Travel International –

STEP is the world’s first and only global sustainable tourism eco-certification program offered by a non-profit organization. […] Due to its comprehensive nature, STEP was recognized as the most comprehensive of any sustainable tourism certification initiative in an independent research analysis commissioned by the United Nations Foundation, helping to establish STEP as the “Gold Standard” in sustainable tourism certification.

Although STEP is globally relevant, it is designed to address unique regional social, cultural, environmental and economic attributes.

STEP offers another advantage: because it is non-profit, it costs less to acquire its label – when you have to pay high prices for certification, it can get complicated no matter how green you already are. Especially if you’re just starting out or if you’re in Mexico, say, and the swine flu has kicked your business in the bum and left you struggling to stay afloat.

So to check out destinations certified by STEP, click here.

Enjoy!