Green Postcards

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Jun 13, 2008 6:46:38 AM | Discussion, Hiking Vacation, News

June 12, 2008

Eco-Travel Discussion: Good Magazine compares guidebooks

For our recent trip to LA to celebrate my husband's birthday, I knew I didn't need a guidebook. I had my friend Linda. Linda grew up in LA, worked in the film industry in LA, became a catering chef in LA, had two babies in LA, and (for some reason we still don't understand but are grateful for nonetheless), decided to leave LA to come to work at our fab day job location in the Midwest. (At night while I'm blogging, Linda is blogging AND writing screenplays -- she just sold her second! Congrats, my friend!)

Linda prepped me with a thorough list. Thanks to her, my food-critical hubby ate at restaurants he actually enjoyed the entire weekend. But we don't always have a Linda, a reliable local who is willing to spend hours tutoring you on where to go. Fortunately, as Good Magazine proclaims, we now have City Secrets, a travel guide series written by serious local experts ("the world's foremost artists, writers, architects, curators"). In a comparison with four other guidebook series, Good puts City Secrets on top:

It may not be great for hotels, but City Secrets is the future of guidebooks, because it's all written by the people who know the city best.

Now for the bad news: So far, City Secrets only covers New York, Rome, London, and "the towns of Italy," including Florence and Venice. (City Secrets, call Linda when you get ready to roll out your LA edition.)

Where Good gives a concise (and playfully snarky) review, Laura and Terry, full-time travel and guidebook writers blogging at Cool Travel Guide, have been writing thoughtful and thorough posts about the guidebook industry for quite a while now. Check out their stuff for a more in-depth discussion.

As eco-travel connoisseurs, what kind of information are you looking for in a guidebook?

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Jun 12, 2008 4:00:00 AM | Discussion

June 11, 2008

Eco-travel suggestion: Taking a few tips from Chateau Marmont

Yesterday, we talked about three simple ways the glamorous LA luxury hotel, Chateau Marmont, could increase its green score. Today, I want to suggest a few Chateau touches affordable eco-travel hotels can steal to make their guests feel like stars:

1. A handwritten welcome note. When we stepped into the cottage, a note sat on the coffee table. It was a simple two sentences welcoming us to the hotel and signed by the hotel's general manager, but it made us feel like a million bucks. Worried about killing trees? Try reusable mini chalkboards or tree-free stationery.

2. Complimentary treats. The Chateau had a tray full of organic chocolates and other goodies. This is a common practice, but socially aware destinations can take it to a new level: Stock it with local, organic produce guests can't get anywhere else. Think outside the basket -- what else would environmentally conscious guests would appreciate? TerraPasses? CFLs to take home?

3. Turn down service. Each night, the Chateau would turn down the sheets, put bottled water on each night stand, and light a candle in the bedroom. Eco-hotels could adopt the practice with a sneaky ulterior motive: Keep energy costs down by lighting candles for your guests at night to encourage them to keep the electricity off.

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Jun 11, 2008 4:00:00 AM | California, Discussion, Organic, Splurge, US

June 10, 2008

Eco-travel suggestion: Greening the luxury at Chateau Marmont

Thanks to a night flight back last night, this post is coming to you a few hours late. I spent the weekend treating my husband to a special birthday trip to LA. We stayed at the famous Chateau Marmont
(talk about a splurge!), playground of the stars since 1929. We didn't see any A-listers, but we were definitely treated like Hollywood royalty. Tomorrow, I'll share some of the small, glamorous touches that made our stay special -- and that Green Postcards eco-hotels could adopt. Today, I want to suggest a few easy ways Chateau Marmont could green up its luxury. A few things need no improvements: The accommodations were built in the 1920s and have been maintained in all their golden-age-of-the-screen glory ever since. No new carbon-sucking construction here. Guests could opt in or out of daily cleaning and linen service. Shower amenities were natural. Their menu was also environmentally conscious: organic ingredients, free-range chicken and eggs, etc. There were organic (and socially conscious) treats in our guest cottage, such as Green & Black's organic chocolate and Newman's Own pretzel sticks.

Here's my three-pronged eco-Chateau wishlist:

1. Water conservation fixtures in the bathroom. The original tile was charming; the gushing faucets were not.

2. CFLs. The technology has advanced enough to erase fears of "ugly" light. Plus, the hotel's interior designers are obviously talented enough to work around lighting changes.

3. We were constantly offered bottled water, at the valet, at the nightly turn-down service. We appreciated the hotel's attention to our hydration, but I've got an eco-idea: How about offering guests custom-designed aluminum water bottles? They could be re-filled by staff with filtered water, carried around town as status symbols, and brought back home to continue fighting plastic glamorously.

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Continue reading "GreenTravelHub responds to review with good eco-travel news!" »

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Jun 10, 2008 7:23:01 AM | California, Discussion, Organic, Splurge, US

June 02, 2008

GreenTravelHub responds to review with good eco-travel news!

A week and a half ago I wrote a slightly cranky review of Rezhub.com's new GreenTravelHub. Rezhub.com's marketing director, Melissa Evans, wrote a very gracious comment back this past week. I wanted to post it up front so you could share in some of the good news below. You can probably guess what I'm most excited about -- the hybrid car rental tool Melissa says in coming in the next few weeks. Ask and you shall receive! Well, to their credit, they were working hard on this one before I started complaining about it. So...ask and somebody is probably already working on it! Be patient! Read Melissa's comments below:

I wanted to say thank you very much (from all of us) for taking the time to review our site! We really appreciate the comments and the feedback, and you pointed out some great areas for improvement. I also wanted to let you know that many of the things you mentioned we're already working on.

We are a brand new company (we just launched in September) so some of the things we planned to have in place already are taking longer than we expected. With a staff of 5 sometimes things don't always go as planned. But we will eventually get there. I also did want to address a few things and clear some things up for you (in order of your blog):

First, we actually donate 20% of our profits back each quarter to the customer chosen non-profit group. Thank you for pointing out the vagueness on the site! I have made the proper adjustments. We made the amount clear in blogs/press releases but somehow it escaped the actual site content.

Jun 2, 2008 4:00:00 AM | Discussion

May 30, 2008

Eco-travel suggestion: Sign up for a race. Really.

Today I'm headed to Fish Camp, California, right outside Yosemite. I've never been to the area, and I promise to fill you in on all the details next week. My main reason for going is to run the Shadow of the Giants 50K tomorrow. I love running, and I especially love running in beautiful places I've never been before. I'm beginning to think races are the ultimate eco-travel activity.

Think about it: How else can you get a carbon-free tour of a new area, plenty of friendly and chatty company, refreshments along the way, a t-shirt, and breakfast at the end -- all for a small fee that usually goes to a good cause? There's no better way to get quickly oriented in a new place than seeing it on foot. And runners are a friendly bunch; I'm betting if you put on a big smile, by the end of the race you'll have at least one local offering to show you around town.

Continue reading "Eco-travel suggestion: Sign up for a race. Really." »

May 30, 2008 4:00:00 AM | Discussion, Running Vacation

May 29, 2008

Five travel survival strategies for vegans and vegans-for-a-day

A Carnegie Mellon study has been making the eco-blog rounds thanks to this controversial statement:

Shifting less than one day per week's worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more [green house gas] reduction than buying all locally sourced food.

Yup. You heard that right. Red meat and dairy create a heck of a lot more emissions to produce than "lighter" meats and produce. Buying local is great; it supports your neighborhood farmers and keeps your "food miles" low. But according to this study, travel emissions are only 11 percent of foods' greenhouse gas totals. Actually producing the food? 83 percent.

So let's say you're making a once-a-week veggie commitment to lower your carbon footprint. What do you do when you're out of town or out on the town with friends? I went vegan in January of this year, largely for environmental and health reasons. It's been surprisingly easy -- when cooking for myself at home. Restaurants took a little while to learn how to navigate, especially when on the road. Here are a few tricks I've learned to finding a satisfying and low carbon meal while traveling or going out:

Continue reading "Five travel survival strategies for vegans and vegans-for-a-day" »

May 29, 2008 4:00:00 AM | Cuisine, Discussion

May 28, 2008

Discussion: What green hotel activity should be the next to go industry-wide?

Here at my biz travel home away from home, the Hyatt, I've become so used to the little "conserve" sign in the bathroom I hardly notice it anymore. It's one of the few eco-programs most hotels have put into practice: asking their guests to reuse their towels so the hotel can save water and energy. It's nice to see a simple idea go mainstream, but I'm a little green greedy. I'd like to see a few other environmental habits be de rigueur for the industry. Here are a few on my list: Which do you think are the most important?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

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May 28, 2008 4:00:00 AM | Discussion

May 27, 2008

Camping-induced nature angst

I hope you all had a fabulous Memorial Day! My husband and I went backpacking with our friend Jarrett in the Pecos Wilderness near Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was my first "real" camping experience -- meaning the first time I carried all my gear on my own back and hiked miles away from my car and real bathrooms. I know people do this all the time, but I've never been much of a camper. Thanks to a move last year to a area full of good camping sites and a nearby REI, I'm learning to be one.

Despite my quick realization that I packed way too much food and equipment (35 pounds) for hiking comfort, and despite our late realization that we took the wrong trail, I had an incredible time. The streams were swollen with snow melt and the wildflowers were starting to bloom.

But my moments of nature-bliss were balanced by a nagging sense of modern-woman unease. Does anyone else experience a profound sense of displacement when they venture into deep nature? I found myself acutely aware of how little I understood what was around me. What plant is that? How late in the day is it? Why haven't we seen any fish in the stream? I'm infinitely more at home in the artificial, built environment I live in every day. We may have spent the better part of the last few millennia trying to separate ourselves from the rest of the natural world, but humans were created/evolved (which ever you choose; I happen to believe in both) as part of it. Part of what the purpose of this blog is to promote ways of exploring our world without exploiting it. I'm just starting to realize how little I understand about my own environment and my place in it. How can I keep from exploiting what I don't understand? Has anyone else been humbled by their first forays into the wild? Any advice for starting to fill my unfathomably huge natural knowledge gap?
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May 27, 2008 4:00:00 AM | Discussion

May 02, 2008

Eco-Travel Headlines: Travelers spending less this summer

A new survey says that more than half of Americans say they’ll be spending less on their summer vacations this year. The AOL Travel/Zogby International survey revealed 57 percent of people say they’ve got less moolah for traveling. Surprisingly, even with gas prices sky-rocketing, 69 percent of Americans say that fuel costs won’t play a part in where they decide to go. In fact, 60 percent of travelers are going places at least a six-hour drive away. To help save money, 33 percent say they’re going to stay with friends or family, and 20 percent will share a vacation rental instead of a hotel.

If you’re one of that 57% looking to save some cash, take a look these cheap (under $75 per person, per night), cheaper (under $50), and cheapest (under $25!) eco-friendly options.

And let me know: Are gas prices affecting your travel plans? I know that spinning dial at the pump has me thinking. We’ve been pondering different options – do we trade in our current car for a hybrid? Get an old diesel to convert to run on veggie oil? Let the husband buy a (60 mpg) motorcycle? We’re still undecided. What are you doing?

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