Travel Industry Journal

Here’s a new trend in eco-travel: GoLoco, an online “personal public transportation network” that allows members to seamlessly arrange travel plans, share cars, and split expenses, thus reducing our CO2 emissions and making traveling a lot easier (and fun!).

How it works: Sign up for GoLoco. Once you have an account, post your travel itinerary. Trips can be specific or general (”any Saturday or Sunday, around 1 p.m.”). Then, invite fellow GoLoco friends to go on this trip with you. If you don’t know anyone on GoLoco, you can make new friends by posting so that everyone on GoLoco can see your itinerary. After friends respond to your post, decide who you’d like to travel with, and modify your travel plans if necessary. On your determined travel day, meet up with your fellow travelers and let the adventure begin!

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VANCOUVER - A speedskating ice arena being built for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is helping a Vancouver-based airline become what it says will be the first carbon-neutral airline in North America.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, a floatplane company offering regular and charter flights to and from the Vancouver area to Vancouver Island, says it will be carbon neutral by the end of the year.

As of Oct. 1, Harbour Air tickets included a carbon offset surcharge ranging from 50 cents on a flight from Richmond to Nanaimo to $10 an hour on some charters. By Jan. 1. the company will institute a policy to track, reduce and offset its corporate greenhouse gas emissions.

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It’s that time of year again - when thousands of high school seniors around the country are frantically trying to decide which university they’d like to attend as they start the long, daunting college application process.

And now, thanks to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, we’d like to recommend a few college campuses that recently caught our attention. For students looking for a greener education, AASHE just awarded Campus Sustainability Leadership Awards to six North America campuses.

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As globe-trotters are becoming more aware of the carbon footprint that flying produces, airlines are now vying to create “greener” flight systems to offset the tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere during each flight.

The BBC reported that Air New Zealand has just announced plans to test a 747 that will use biofuel in one of its four engines. Virgin Atlantic countered that it too has designs in the works for an eco-friendly plane, and is hoping to beat Air New Zealand to the tarmac, (though they have released fewer details about what exactly their plans entail). Both hope to have their engines revved up for 2008.
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The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are less than a year away, and while China has been making significant efforts to clean up its notoriously smoggy city, some don’t think the ancient metropolis will be clean enough by the time the torch is relayed in. And some of its organizers are worried about whether certain events will be held at all.

According to the New York Times, the World Health Organization reported that water- and air-related pollutants in China kill about 750,000 people per year. In a recent air-pollution test, Beijing limited the city’s number of drivers for four days, and officials claimed the vehicle limit reduced pollution by 15-20 percent. If this is the case, Beijing will take similar initiatives during the games, but many countries don’t think this is enough. The Australian government recently decided that its athletes will not arrive in Beijing until just before the games begin, in order to limit their exposure to pollutants, the Times reported.

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London’s Elephant & Castle quarter (not to be confused with the popular North American foodie chain) recently unveiled its plan for the Castle House skyscraper, an eco-residential tower project in South London. Castle House is just one part of the district’s Regeneration Program, which aims to improve the overall living and business conditions of the area.� According to Elephant & Castle,

The [regeneration] scheme will be carbon neutral, despite almost tripling the number of homes and businesses in the area, and with a focus on renewable energies including wind and solar power, it will set a new benchmark for green development of the highest eco-standards.

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Many luxury hotels and tour companies are facing a big problem: How can they continue to offer the services their customers desire (helicopter rides and fishing in twin-engine boats), while simultaneously erasing the carbon footprint luxury travel often leaves? Asking guests to make sacrifices in order to “save the planet” can mean losing such guests, as they turn elsewhere for their sumptuous needs. And vice versa: some eco-consious guests are shirking from certain companies, whose practices are potentially earth-damaging. Green travel can be a dilemma for both provider and customer; luckily, some companies are stepping in to help both sides.

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One of IT’s favorite lunch indulgences—the ultra eco-conscious café Java Green—recently nabbed top honors as best vegetarian restaurant in the Washington metro area in VegDC’s first annual contest. A round of celebratory green tea frappés all around, we say!

Just a quick jaunt from IT’s home base in downtown D.C., Java Green serves organic fare on an all-vegetarian and mostly vegan menu. Founded in 2003, the café buys wind power to offset its carbon footprint, brews only fair trade coffee and tea, and provides biodegradable flatware and carry-out bags (made from corn, sugar cane fiber, and potato starch) for those on the run. Plus, Java Green donates part of its profits to sustainability-focused nonprofits.

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IT has a confession: All of this eco-travel research has just made us want to travel more. Lucky for Mother Earth, we can’t afford it. So when it’s pay day and time for a weekend getaway (or a week-long getaway to the Outback), we’ll have to consult our ever-growing (and eco-friendly!) wish list.

Here are a few that have caught our eyes recently:

Mohonk Mountain House

Who would’ve thought that this secluded, green oasis existed just an hour and a half from the Big Apple? The Mohonk Mountain House isn’t your average hotel. In fact, it’s a 265-room castle built on Shawangunk Ridge overlooking Lake Mohonk. Since its unveiling in 1869, the hotel has continued its commitment to environmental initiatives. For instance, a geothermal heating and cooling system using the constant temperature of the earth is used to heat and cool the new 30,000-square-foot spa (plus it’s emission- and noise-free.) The spa also has a green roof which helps insulate the building, reduces energy use and runoff, and provides a habitat for birds and butterflies, as well as a venue for yoga and meditation. The prices are a little steep (the lowest for single occupancy start at $275), but the beautiful setting, sleek accommodations and perks—like a solarium, culinary classes, and a nine-hole golf course—might have you saving your pennies.

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We’re not going to lie: IT loves a bar with a good happy hour. And if the bar is eco-friendly? Well, we’d be fools not to show our support! Last week IT ventured over to Dupont Circle to investigate happy hour at Hotel Palomar’s trendy Urbana Restaurant & Wine Bar. “Reminiscent of a modern-day Tuscan wine cellar,” Urbana is earth-toned, sophisticated, and, last but not least, environmentally conscious.

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