Save Eco Destinations

Check it out, it's George W. Bush! Wiki Commons doesn't have many cool Halloween photos.

This post was supposed to be part two of an October celebrations series, but it turns out all the fun days came early this month – except for Halloween and one other day, so I’m going to skip the other October celebrations and focus on these two.

It turns out that you can take a National Tour of Solar Homes every October throughout the United States. Not as fun as Halloween, but it’s a start! Click here to find a tour near you, U.S. denizens!

Now, on to the fun stuff. I’m a fat kid at heart, so anything related to candy rocks in my eyes. Of course, I pretty much stick to vegan candy these days, so it’s not so easy to a) eat everything I steal from trick-or-treaters, or b) raid the candy shelves at Walgreens and CVS on November 1^st. Really, if it weren’t for costumes and alcohol, Halloween would suck for adults.

So scary. Where's the pumpkin vodka?

I’ll leave the alcohol to you. Meanwhile, here are some eco costume ideas so you can get ready to party with stuff you can find in your own home, borrow, and/or buy for very cheap:

• Murder victim: wear a white shirt with ketchup or corn syrup dyed red. Smear red on your face, wear your hair messy hair, and have your kid put grey makeup on your eyes and lips and white or pale powder on face.
• Static Cling: Wear one single color from head to toe. Use safety pins to pin socks, underwear, bounce sheets, etc., to your clothes. Optional: spray your hair straight up in the air.
• Black-eyed Pea: This one’s to encourage healthy eating. Paint one of your eyes black (as if you’d gotten punched in the face) and paint a big “P” on your shirt (or cut it out of construction paper and pin it to your shirt).
• Laundry basket – full of clean or dirty clothes: Wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt or perhaps tights and a turtleneck depending on the weather/where you’ll be. Cut a hole in the bottom of a thin plastic laundry basket that you can fit through. Cut the hole small enough so it will rest on your hips after you pull it over your head. Fill the basket with laundry (clean? Dirty? Clean and dirty? There are so many choices!) and use safety pins to pin a few dryer softener sheets to your shirt.
• Partly cloudy with a chance of showers: Wear sky blue clothes (maybe snag some surgical scrubs from a thrift store), glue cotton to yourself in patches and carry a squirt gun filled with pumpkin vodka. Okay, I’ve never seen pumpkin vodka but I would totally drink it if it existed. Pumpkin vodka!!
• Grapes: Dress in all green or with green pants and a brown top. Blow up purple balloons and pin them to yourself.

For more ideas, check out Eco Fabulous. They even tell you about a nifty black cat flashlight that’s useful when trick-or-treating!

Also, if a costume swap sounds cool to you, go here!

Even if the vampire is sexy, you need to kill her or him to save money.

Going green is cheap and it can even save you money. (So even if you don’t care about the environment, you have some robust motivation to get you going!)

One way to go green is to kill all your electricity vampires. Just wear necklaces made from raw garlic. All day.

All right, I’m only kidding — there are certainly more efficient ways to fend off vampires!

Vampire power, and how to pound a stake through its heart

You see those little red lights flashing after you turn your TV, cell phone, computer, etc., off? That’s electricity being used up! This is called “standby power” or “vampire power” and it sucks up a yearly 5% of household electricity use in the U.S. (read: $10 billion) and 10-15% in Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to the EPA. A real – and fully preventable! – shame.

Turn off and unplug all electronics when not in use. To simplify this task, you can plug all cords into a switchable power strip and turn it off to get all appliances in one go.

Track your energy vampires:

• Power supplies and transformers
• VCR/DVD players and certain audio systems
• Some home video game consoles
• TVs and set-top boxes
• Microwaves
• Computers, digital monitors, fax machines, and printers
• Remote-operated AC systems
• Devices featuring “instant on” functions
• Devices with a stand-by light or clock, e.g., alarms you have to plug into the wall (you might only want to unplug these when you’re going away for a few days)
• Power adapters/battery chargers, regardless of whether they are powering a device (used for digital cameras, cell phones, etc. – always unplug them when you’re finished charging your device!)

Read more about which appliances suck up power here.

When available, always do your best to replace energy suckers such as dishwashers, electric ovens, AC, and water heaters with energy efficient alternatives.

And don’t be fooled by computer screen savers – they aren’t saving you any power!

Bikes aplenty in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Apart from the ubiquitous bikers spotted across the city, Amsterdam may not appear to be one of the greenest cities of tomorrow (or today). But it is quickly becoming increasingly energy-efficient.

Dutch energy company Nuon, IBM and Cisco last year jointly launched a pioneering energy management scheme in 500 households that is reducing their energy usage by 14% and CO2 emissions considerably.

Thus far, also, certain Dutch banks have given money to some 700 household to purchase energy-saving appliances ranging from light bulbs to roof insulation. The city plans to lower its CO2 emissions by a hefty 40% by 2025.

Another factor making Amsterdam one of the greenest cities of tomorrow is its intent to install several hundred power hookups within the next few years to allow electric car drivers to recharge their vehicles, and to set up solar panels on townhouses. EUR 100 million will be spent each year during the next 6 years to upgrade the electric networks to smart grids that will cut energy use.

Victoria Harbor, BC, Canada

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Victoria is boosting its efforts toward green public transport and building, energy-cutting developments, recycling and decreasing overall waste. It has also set a goal to go carbon neutral by 2012! Swift action’s where it’s at—don’t give me 2025, folks, because 15 years isn’t nearly soon enough…

Insofar as city planning, it supports the creation of a Civic Green Building Policy, which will mandate that the building of all new civic facilities meet the LEED Silver standard. In other words, they must lower energy use by 31% and water use by 22%.

In terms of waste reduction, Victoria has been implementing a program for several years destined to lower and recycle organic materials on a mass scale.

More reasons why Victoria is one of the greenest cities of tomorrow:  it has introduced the first hybrid double-decker buses in all of North America. Plus, the city is covered with so many bike routes it has become known as the “Cycling Capital of Canada.”

More: Victoria’s traffic lights are now energy-saving light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and the lighting in its buildings now feature more energy efficient lights.

Other greenest cities of tomorrow:

Malmö, Sweden
Gothenberg, Sweden
Vancouver, Canada
Reykjavík, Iceland
Portland, OR, USA

Closed off "Turtle nesting site" in the ruins of Tulum

This is a double post! (Are you excited? Woooo, you should be!)

Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. This is one of those times. Whether you consider yourself an eco expert or a newbie, skim this list in case there’s something new in there for you! And please feel free to add to it in the comments section.

• Stick to the rules that ask you to refrain from tresspassing into spots such as sea turtle nesting areas. The ruins in Tulum, for example, display a few signs with this message.
• Go ahead and pick up some trash and toss it in the garbage bin when other people have been inconsiderate. Help undo the harm with your kindness and compassion for life and the environment.
• Bring your own aluminum bottle to refill rather than wasting money and resource to buy and toss glass and plastic drinking bottles and cans (even if you can afterward recycle them, it’s better to reduce your use of resources to begin with :)). Why aluminum? Because plastic is toxic – and its carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, chemicals leech into water and food and enter your body (here is a plastic buying guide). Stay safe by recycling your water and nalgene bottles and switching to aluminum. Be sure to check whether the tap water in your area is safe to drink! The water in Tulum, for example, is not.
• Rent and ride a bike/walk/rollerblade/etc rather than drive when possible.
• Remain quiet in biodiversity areas – even the beach! And especially at night, when many animals venture out to nest, spawn, feed, and so on. Even whispering and small amounts of light have been found to disrupt the mating and normal behavior of wild birds and other animals.
• Do not feed birds, reptiles, and other wild animals.
• Be kind to the stray dogs that dot the areas where you’re spending your time – they’ve done nothing wrong. Consider buying them some food, at least giving them your leftovers, and setting out a bowl with water for them, particularly in hot weather. We all just want love and have the same basic needs, including food and water.
• Do not remove coral, rock, etc. when diving, snorkeling, and so on. Any removals can upset ecosystem balance – no matter how much you want that object as a souvenir!
• Support eco establishments and products!
• And speaking of eco products… remember that all toiletries and cleaners can be toxic (and usually are). For example, sodium laureth sulfate, which is in everything, has been found to cause cancer. Look it up here. Try switching to mindful brands for your body and the planet. Yes – they can be expensive. Cheap alternatives include using baking soda as shampoo and toothpaste, baking soda or cornstarch as deodorant, coconut oil to style your hair and as personal lubricant,honey or organic cold-pressed oils to cleanse your skin (this is excellent even for acne-prone skin), and so on. Find a deodorant recipe here plus more ideas here and here.

This planet is yours, mine, and everyone else’s – this includes non-human animals. It is not anyone’s to tras. It is our home. Let’s humbly bow and thank our Mother Earth for sustaining us, and offer our efforts to be sustainable in return. Join in the cycle of life, not destruction.

A 35-acre cay off the island of Eleuthera is preparing to become private, completely eco-friendly digs to be called S.T.A.R., as in Sustainable Terrain and Resources.

The developers claim commitment “to making Star Island sustainable and earth-friendly at every level.” All energy to power the bungalows, residences, and the hotel will be harnessed from wind, sun, and water.

The cay, in its pre-S.T.A.R. existence, is currently an uncivilized (read: perfect) slab of land that developer David Sklar and a fellow developer friend decided they ought to buy and transform into a luxurious hub of ecotourism – for those who can afford it. The first building will supposedly be launched this year.

photo from NYT

All waste will be recycled, composted, and used as fertilizer; rain water will be harvested and heated via solar power; mini wind turbines will harness energy; geothermal heat pumps will produce heating and cooling capabilities “by tapping into the stability of underground temperatures that average between 65 to 70 degrees”; and lots more. Read about the island’s green technology here.

The website’s Products page remains under construction. I wonder what will go there. Will it feature the biodegradable products they will use to upkeep the development? Organic cotton bed sheets? Maybe organic marihuana. Just kidding. Hmm. The Green Activities page also remains a mystery, but the model on the page’s photo appears to be longline fishing. Well, I guess that’s sustainable, although not eating fish at all would be the best option, of course.

Other ridiculously rich folk, such as CEOs Sir Richard Branson and Alan Worden and Leonardo DiCaprio, are also keeping busy with similar projects. You might read about them in future posts.

And, you know, I think this is really cool. The Bahamas + no pollution = awesome, right? Gorgeous. Clean. Absolutely dreamy.

Well, hang tight because soon I will post regarding why this whole deal really grinds my gears.

Bicyclists and a bike counter in Malmo - photo by 2headedturtle

What a surprise – we’re again looking at Scandinavia! This post focuses on Malmö, the home of almost 300,000 Swedes in the southern province of Skane, Sweden.

Oh, Malmö, let me count the ways that you are green:

• Between 2008 and 2012, you are cutting your CO2 emissions by 25% (!), essentially giving the Kyoto Protocol the finger as you obscenely surpass the Protocol’s meager 5% goal
• You lead the way in green electricity practices
• You consist of eco-friendly neighborhoods that contain hundreds of smart energy homes!
• Western Harbour runs on 100% renewable energy (solar, wind, hydropower, and biofuels from organic waste)
• Your buildings are energy-efficient and were built with sustainable, recyclable materials
• Your streets encourage walking and cycling instead of driving – and it works: about 35% of the population travels by bike
• The restoration of Sege Park will power the neighborhood with solar (photovoltaics*), wind, and biofuels power
• Malmö, you renovate shipyards and industrial areas, transforming them into green residential communities
• Your district known as Augustenborg uses green roofing that reduces runoff and insulates buildings
• Augustenborg has the first-ever emissions-free electric steel trains (swank!)
• Another one for Augustenborg: more than a dozen recycling houses process 70% of collected waste

Brilliant.

The largest photovoltaic project in Scandinavia in Malmö's Sege Park

Malmö, oh, Malmö – your vibrant dedication, your grass-stained fingers, your cool, clean breath, your practical ingenuity – you are so wonderful I would give up certain sweets for you.

Oh, Malmö, with your canals, beaches, parks, and your harbor you remind me of the aesthetics of the Middle Ages and the distant future in spirit.

My love, oh, Malmö, is yours.

And I’m not the only one raving about this city: check out this BBC article on Sweden’s eco-awesomeness.

* What the hell are photovoltaics? I’m glad you asked. Why, they’re a solar energy technology. Photovoltaics cells transform solar light directly into electricity. Learn more here.

The gorgeous prefabricated WeberHaus Passive House

This is one of the most amazing things I have ever known about – if you live in Germany or Scandinavia, you could be living in a house that keeps you comfortable without heat or AC, no matter the temperature. You’d be saving more energy (and money) than you’d know what to do with!

Passive houses, as they are called, adjust to temperature. These homes use one-twentieth the heating energy of typical German homes. While architects outside of Germany and Scandinavia are working to achieve something similarly spectacular, barely any passive houses have been built in other countries. So far, these houses cost just 5-7% more to build than typical ones. This system is also being implemented in Frankfurt schools. I am swooning.

The key to the amazingness of passive houses is ultra-thick insulation and doors and windows with complex airtight mechanisms that keep cold and heat from entering and exiting the structure. The house heats up via sunlight, the use of appliances, and bodies! The central ventilation system keeps mold and stagnant air out.

Passive house in Ireland

“The European Commission is promoting passive-house building, and the European Parliament has proposed that new buildings meet passive-house standards by 2011,” the New York Times reports.

Sweet. And the U.S. Army might build passive house barracks. Who would’ve thought the army would be this progressive? Not me, that’s for sure.

Hey, Obama! Turn the White House into a passive house!

More:

Passive Houses FAQ

Check out passive houses resources and builders around the world

The Passive House Institute US

Promotion of European Passive Houses

Passive House (Passivhaus) Standard for Energy Efficient Design

How to design a passive house in a specific climate

Photos of beautiful passive houses!

More photos (Weberhaus)!!

And more still!

Renewable energy sources are harvested within the city and markets are omnipresent

The Swedish are taking another amazing step toward green living and sustainability.

Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects have come up with the Super Sustainable City. The plan is to turn the Swedish city of Gothenburg into an ecotopia.

It would be dense and interconnected, an urban land where less space is necessary and more is done with it: people have to travel less, fewer materials are needed for building homes, and more people can be placed in smaller spaces. Rooftops hold lush gardens for internal climate control and to serve as a local food source, wind turbines and solar panels (even as art!) abound, and roadways harvest energy! All this while preserving the city’s architectural heritage-it will feature yellow bricks, granite pavements, and myriad canals and markets.

Once they realized that by 2020 Gothenburg will be growing at a rate of 8000 new residents per year, they decided that the city’s lateral sprawl can’t go on, and it is time for a new architectural paradigm, so to speak.

The Super Sustainable City’s new design will house about a third of the city’s population until 2020 while simultaneously strengthening the link between the banks of the site’s river.

The aforementioned farmed rooftops will be energy-efficient, reducing the need to lower and up living quarters’ temperature. Many roofs will even contain small-scale wind turbines! Gosh, I wish my building had some of those! At least my apartment!

Further, sustainable transportation will consist of an emission-free personal rapid transit system and bike-friendlier roads and highways. Said paths will also serve to collect rainwater and solar energy. Hooooly JeZeus.

Now all that’s left for me to do is take Swedish lessons and save money to move over there within the next few years. Who’s with me?

Rape has been used as a weapon of war in both the First Congo War and Second Congo War. (Picture by USAID/Leah Werchick, 2001)

In the ecotourism microcosm and the green world in general, we speak a lot of green transportation, greener choices, polluting less, and so on. Switch to a hybrid, offset the carbon footprint of your flights when going on vacation, and so on and so forth.

We’re lazy.

Honestly, some of the best things you can do are:

(a)    Stay home!

(b)   Walk

(c)    Ride a bike, rollerblade, skateboard, and so on

(d)   Swim-and always leave the motorboats and jet skis in the store (think of the coral reefs, sea turtles, etc., whose populations are diminished yearly by these machines)

(e)    Did I mention stay home?

Think of what would happen if we actually stuck to these principles. Because, you know, it’s we who are polluting and ruining the planet. We-privileged, middle-to-upper class people with access to the internet and enough education and spare time to inform and educate ourselves about ecological issues. We are the ones with enough money to travel and the resources that allow us to choose how and when we will do it.

Not indigenous tribes in Venezuela, in the Amazon Forest, the sort of people who coexist harmoniously with their green surroundings. And we can’t ask the poor women in South Jordan to switch to energy-saving light bulbs, the raped women refugees in eastern Congo to implement low-flush toilets, or those left homeless in Tartagal to incorporate solar panels into their homes when if they get to rebuild them.

But we can ask our friends to be more conscientious in their choices-because they have choices-when they shop, travel, use electricity, eat, discard, and even when they vote if we spread the word about key bills and laws and work together to support or protest against them.

Pick up trash if you see it in the street and take it home to recycle or at least toss it in a trash can. Reuse containers instead of throwing them away and buying new ones. Cut down and eventually abolish meat and animal products from your diet. Get your lighting fixtures taken care of if they don’t take energy-saving bulbs. Stop buying Cif and bleach and switch to vinegar, baking soda, and alcohol for all your home cleaning needs. Turn off and unplug all appliances when not in use.

And on and on.

If you, who gets to choose and make changes, don’t, then you can’t complain when, several years from now, you find yourself having to move out of Florida and into a home farther from the coast and higher and higher than sea level. And don’t even start about how first class has gotten more expensive-focus on what’s important. Green travel is no travel unless it’s on foot, bike, or by other ecological means.

Let’s help people walk the talk.

Your life will be cleaner, greener, simpler, cheaper, healthier, and better.

Read a compelling article about this at Worldchanging.

What tips do you have?

What do YOU think?