Save Eco Destinations

Could it be? A truly eco-friendly jungle haven for those who can afford it you can live in without ruining the local ecosystem? Holy cow.

Selva de Aluxes is 300 acres between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Currently in the works, lots are going at pre-sale prices. These lots are meant to have houses built on them.

And (do you hear the music?) they claim that officials are respecting “eco-friendly restrictions as a way of preserving the environment and natural habitat.” For fresh water, they are drilling into the earth to install a well, which is a lot better than trucking fresh water in every day like other establishments (even “eco” ones) do. Right on the homepage, it reads:

“We are dedicated to preserving the ecosystem with infrastructure standards that include the use of windmill turbines, solar panels, air generators and a host of other environmentally friendly techniques.”

There will be a community center with art shows and live music—ahem, noise and light pollution! (Remember their effects on the endangered sea turtles, anyone?) Well, its impact on the ecosystem would depend on location, noise level, and other factors. I’m still skeptical. And you know why you should be too? Because there will be a landing strip for small aircrafts. Really, it’s right on the homepage.

Sounds like these people have good intentions but they’re not very smart. Or they really don’t care about preserving the tranquility of nature for the benefit of the local ecosystem—and they’re bad at hiding it.

Apart from that, there aren’t many details yet. The wind and solar energy factor is comforting, however. And the drilling of the well instead of bringing in water.

Well, then, I’m hopeful. It is, in any case, some kind of step forward.

But, you know: it’s like all these eco retreats and activities and developments right in the midst of nature—if you were really eco, you’d leave it alone, right? That’s how I feel.

I mean, sure, it’s great to be in nature. I go to my local ecological reserve to paint, read, hang out by the water and hear the river’s soothing sounds calm me. But I’m not going to build a home there, even if my excrement was to exit my super excellent eco sewage treatment system smelling of wheatgrass. I just go, enjoy myself, pick up any trash I see, and go back home without causing any destruction.

But, hey, what are you gonna do? It’s not like we can shoot down everyone who walks all over nature. For now.

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.

photo by AE Creations

I first started finding out about Vancouver because that’s where one of my favorite fiction authors, Douglas Coupland, resides.  But that’s besides the point.

Point: Vancouver’s so green it beats Reykjavík! Very impressive.

Here’s how Vancouver does it: 90% of its energy is currently renewable-mainly hydroelectric-and “feeds” its population of over half a million peeps. This makes it the global leader in hydroelectric energy.

It has a 100-year plan that aims to use emerging energy-efficient technologies for everything. (Note 1: Yeah, we’ll be dead by then, but if you’re into kids, think about them! They’ll benefit! Note 2: why 100 years? 2050′s far enough into the future! Not to mention the Maldives’ 2020 vow.)

Okay. More about its 100-year plan: It’s going for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to levels 20% lower than what it’d planned at the initial Kyoto Protocol agreements in 1990 (which it’d better, since now the outlook is grimmer-let’s hope others follow suit).

photo by Getty Images

You thought Portland was cool for its solar-powered parking meters? Well, it is. But Vancouver’s got solar-powered trash compactors! These babies hold 5 times the waste of regular trashcans, reducing the use of garbage trucks.

The Economist magazine named Vancouver the most livable city in the world, and evidently it is also a model, not just for Canada but for the world, for using renewable and clean energy sources for its power.

Next up: solar, wind, wave, and tidal-powered energy. Surf’s up!

Our first stop is Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital. It is the smallest of all the green cities, hosting just about 115,000 people (almost half the country’s population!).

As previously mentioned, not only Reykjavík but also the entirety of Iceland is going 100% fossil-fuel free by 2050, aiming to become a hydrogen economy.

People swimming outside a geothermal plant in Iceland

For a long time now, Iceland has been running largely off hydropower and geothermal resources thanks to its many volcanoes and hot springs. These are completely renewable, greenhouse-gas-emissions-free resources. Thus far, a few of Reykjavík’s buses run on hydrogen and hopefully more will be joining them very soon.

Fabulous, dah-ling.

In fact, it is Iceland’s very renewable energy resources that many people hope will pull the country out of its sunken economy.  It is cheap and ridiculously convenient for Iceland to obtain all the green megawatts it needs from [yet untapped!] geothermal power sources within the ground. (Its other resource is its fishing industry, whose further tapping is not an appealing choice given the hydropower dams needed to extract additional quantities of fish from national waters.)

Already back in 2003, Reykjavík became the home of the very first Shell-branded hydrogen station. (It was built by Shell Hydrogen, a global business of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies.)

75% of the world’s energy is consumed by urban areas, so any cleansing choices in terms of energy sources, such as substituting pollutants for renewable, clean energy, is the absolutely 100% awesome way to go. Note: I don’t know how Iceland would fit in here, since 54% of the geothermal energy generated in 2006 was used for space heating and everywhere in Iceland is cold enough to require space heating!

So if you’re thinking about going somewhere spectacular on the cheap, consider Reykjavík! (Need some coaxing? Read this blog post.)

Horse in countryside

Last time I touted Kalmar, Sweden as an ideal ecotourism destination because it’s going green fast-plus it’s beautiful, of course. Today I will tout Iceland! (Sure, you think “brrr this blogger is friggin nuts!!” now because it’s probably winter where you live, but come summer you may start fantasizing about traveling somewhere fresh, clean, and COLD!)

I would say Iceland should change its name to Greenland, but that would cause trouble. In any case, Iceland is proving to be one of the most progressive (it did breed Bjork, after all, heheh) and green-friendly countries in the world. So despite their recent economic meltdown, Iceland has gotten its ass in gear and is relying mostly on its own energy!

Here’s a brief on Iceland’s progress:

-         1970s: Iceland relies on imported coal for 75% of its energy

-         2007:  more than 82% of its energy comes from geothermal and hydropower! Oil makes up just 16% of its energy source and is reserved for cars and fishing fleets.

-         2009: 99+% of Iceland’s electricity comes from hydropower and geothermal energy!

-         By 2050: the country’s goal is to be energy-independent

“It’s our goal to be a carbon-free and oil-free country by 2050,” asserts Össur Skarphédinsson, Iceland’s minister of industry and energy.

Take a bath!

Imagine this: frequent earthquakes (last May it was a 6.3) that cause intense geothermic activity-Iceland has 200+ volcanoes, 600+ hot springs, and 20+ scalding steam fields. They have no coal, petroleum, or even trees-can you even imagine that? Tundra city all the way. And all this has led them to become practical, harnessing their geothermic activity for heat for many centuries.

I’ve always been intrigued by places so close to the poles-how do they handle it? What are their secrets? How does their culture significantly differ from that of warmer climates (does it?). What do their landscapes look like up close? What does their air smell like? What does it feel like to have hours of sunlight per day, or 14?!

Now (okay, supposing I could afford the trip and all) I could find the answers to those questions while at the same time knowing I would be supporting a laudable effort by honorable people to make the world a better place.

Read more about Iceland’s progress here.