The landscape of the world is always changing. Geological processes like tectonism, denudation and volcanism have shaped the face of Earth as we know it over the course of billions of years. Unfortunately, much of the natural phenomena on the planet today is transforming for the worse due to human encroachment. Whether the effects of global warming, deforestation, urbanization or heavy tourism are to blame, the fact of the matter is that these precious gems are rapidly deteriorating right before our eyes.

The snowfield of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is quickly thawing. Signs point to global warming.

Farming, irrigation and development are draining the water necessary to sustain the Everglades in South Florida. Restoration plans have done little, as this landscape now covers only half of its original territory.

Rising water temperatures, which cause coral bleaching, and increasing acidity levels are gradually killing the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

Scientists estimate that sometime between 2030- 2050, the last glacier in the Swiss Alps will have melted away.

The cypress forests throughout the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana have been decimated to manufacture mulch. Every year, 25 square miles of these stunning wetlands are lost forever to the sea.

Rampant tourism in the Galapagos Islands is causing more disturbance than this fragile setting can long endure.

Due to increased temperatures, the ice shelf of South Georgia Island, a region rich in wildlife, is disintegrating.

Deforestation is the leading threat to the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica. The clouds this region is named after are beginning to dissipate as a result, which will eventually deprive this lush landscape of the moisture it needs to thrive.

Pollution and urbanization imperil Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.

The Mexican Michoacan Mountains are being defaced by illegal deforestation.

Global warming has already claimed over two-thirds of the glaciers within the pristine boundaries of Glacier National Park in Montana.

The Dead Sea in Israel is receding at an alarming rate (approximately three feet every year) because its primary water source, the Jordan River, is being sucked dry by the local populace.

Rising sea levels may spell doom for Australia’s Fraser Island.

The rainforest habitat of the island of Borneo, a territory divided between Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, is endangered by farming and logging.

Since 1978, the glaciers in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park have receded about a half-mile and continue to diminish further with each passing year.

Before you book a plane ticket, keep in mind that claims of eco-tourism can be deceiving and many of these delicate settings are best left untouched. If your heart is set on visiting these spots while you still can, visit the International Ecotourism Society, Conservation International or the Nature Conservancy for tips on how you can experience these wonders without further contributing to their ruin.

Images: wikimedia, minds-eye, Eulinky, dino_olivieri, derekkeats, baxterclaus, gokarna, cmanon, Andrew Kalat, laura padgett, peterjoel1, Chi King, Alaskan Dude

WWOOF! It might sound like a dog barking but it stands for “worldwide opportunities on organic farms”.

For travellers, the WWOOF organisation lets you travel the world and experience local culture on a budget. For hosts, the deal is you provide room and board in exchange for free labour.

You might be working on an organic mushroom farm in Brazil or a Buddhist community on the East Coast of Australia. This is not a jolly day out – you are expected to work hard. Yet many travellers find it very rewarding. For some, the allure is learning about organic gardening, while others are keen to experience local culture from within a family (or other household) environment and practise language skills.

But how do you get the most out of WWOOFING?

I asked my aunt Michele, who runs a permaculture design business called Edible Landscaping and has hosted WWOOFERs for the past five years to work in her permaculture garden and orchard near Cardiff in South Wales. Here are her tips.

For WWOOFERs:

She advises asking a lot of questions before you leave: how many hours you’re expected to work, how isolated the place is, whether you are expected to do housework. In general, she advocates that WWOOFERs should behave like a house guest and contribute a bit to running the house, even if it’s just to help clear up after dinner. Her number one piece of advice is to bring the right clothes – for South Wales that means waterproof outdoor gear like rain jackets and Wellington boots.

For Hosts:

She says it’s important to feed WWOOFERs well, particularly if they are doing hard, physical labour. She advises giving WWOOFERs a structure to work in - for her it’s five days on and two days off – giving them very clear instructions for what you want done and letting them know they can have breaks. Her best investment was buying a caravan for them to sleep in, rather than giving up her study with the sofa bed.

In five years, Michele says that the vast majority of WWOOFERs have been lovely. She finds the work they do in the garden very useful, while her children have had the opportunity to meet young people from all around the world and have benefited from the cultural exchange.

Image: kcbimal

Surf’s up!

As the northern hemisphere heads into summer, what better time than to learn how to surf or practise your technique? Diehard surfers were probably out riding the waves all winter long, but if you are like me, the warm weather is a definite prerequisite.

Surfing is fantastic exercise and many surfers report spiritual as well as physical benefits. Being out in the ocean paying close attention to the waves and your own body within them can’t help but bring you closer to nature. Many surfers are passionate environmentalists because they see firsthand the effect of any sewage or litter on their playground.

Sadly though, the average surfboard is very far from green. Despite numerous attempts over the years to create an eco-friendly surfboard , the majority of surfboards are pretty much made how they always were. That means a urethane foam blank (with a wood stringer), fibreglass and polyester resin. Or in short, non-renewable petrochemicals.

The latest eco-surfboard comes not from Australia or Hawaii but from Cornwall in the southwest of England. Cornwall is both a fabulous place for eco-tourism and the hub for surfing in the UK, so it’s not as surprising as it might sound. Five years in development, the surfboard traces its history back to a fallen balsa tree in the rainforest biome in the Eden Project in Cornwall. It is at least 50% renewable, with some 15-20% of the foam core made from plant-derived material and a resin developed from linseed oil to coat the board.

My dream is that one day all surfboards will be sustainably produced. If consumer demand grows and research delivers continuous improvements to the product and price, this could become a reality sooner rather than later.

The good news is that there are more green-minded consumers than ever before and travel companies are taking note. The bad news in that in the rush to offer eco-tourism, sometimes the eco part gets diluted or even trampled on.

Eco-tourism doesn’t just mean tourism in a wilderness area. If it did, then tourist space flights would qualify – despite the obvious energy cost involved in blasting into orbit.

In my book the number one rule for eco-tourism is to do no harm. Exploring beautiful wilderness areas is fantastic – it restores the soul and raises awareness of our beautiful world – but not if you are actually hurting the places you have come to see.

Many of the big cruises to Antarctica bill themselves as eco-tourism, yet cruise ships are highly polluting and many of the activities – going ashore or taking helicopter flights – can damage an otherwise pristine environment. I’m not saying that Antarctica should be out of bounds altogether but I do think tourism there should be far more restricted than it is.

It’s a similar situation with tourism on the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador – where 19th British naturalist Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution. The islands need tourism to survive but it’s decidedly a mixed blessing.

It’s the same in Peru, where the Incan ruins of Macchu Picchu are straining under the weight of too many tourists.

The latest ‘eco-tourism’ claim to get my goat is the fact that the state of New South Wales in Australia is considering weakening the legal protection for national parks to allow private-sector development within the park boundaries.

The proposed changes would facilitate the building of new ‘eco-resorts’, cabins and semi-permanent camps, and changes to wilderness laws that allow for commercial tours, according to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.

There’s no need for this since the national parks are already extremely popular with visitors – and anyway, their principal purpose is conservation rather than leisure and tourism.

National Park visitor growth will easily exceed the State Plan Target, outperforming all other sectors of the tourist industry. Domestic overnight visitors visiting national parks will increase by 100 per cent by 2016, and the State Plan target is for 20 per cent growth. So why push private development into national parks?

It is inappropriate to remove protection from national parks and to offer sites within them to the tourism industry, in an “˜investor-ready’ condition – these public lands are set aside for nature. And our wilderness areas have been protected from commercial use for over twenty years and there is no need to exploit these wild places for commercial gain. Link

The moral of the story is not to be fooled by greenwash – there are some fantastic green travel initiatives billed as eco-tourism and we should support them, but we should also ask the hard questions and use some common sense.

If you fancy getting involved on the national parks issue, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW does have instructions on whom to email to lobby against the law change.

Image: koala.like.rock

The global economy is tanking. The U.S. and the UK are in full-blown recession. Other countries are heading that way. We’re all going to have to tighten our belts, hold on hard and ride it out.

Grim economic news is never welcome and I sincerely hope the pain for you and your family is minimal. For the environment, the R-word is slightly more mixed news. On the one hand, people are sometimes less willing to pay extra for green supplies – sales of organic food are falling and farmers in the UK are lobbying for a relaxation in the rules for organic certification. On the other hand, decreased economic output is usually coupled with lower consumption and frugality measures such as growing your own food or conserving electricity also benefit the environment.

In the travel world, the good news is that people – when they can afford to take a holiday – are retaining their environmental principles. Despite fears that environmental commitments made in good times were merely pie crust promises, it seems greener travel is still a growing trend. People are even willing to support higher airfares for environmental reasons (though admittedly that last one is based on a survey taken in the good times).

Perhaps that’s why some of the big online travel sites are now trying to tap into the green travel market – though, as others have commented, from the looks of things they’re not trying very hard. Expedia has recently launched a travelers’ guide to going green – this was a rotating link from the bottom corner of the home page of the U.S. site (blink and you’ll miss it), more prominently linked to from the home page of the Canadian site, and as far as I could tell, not at all from the UK or Australian sites. There are only 288 properties worldwide on Expedia’s list of green hotels. Travelocity, another giant in the online travel world, also has recently introduced a green page, but it’s similarly tucked away with no apparent link from the home page. Hotwire has also recently introduced a modest green initiative – offering carbon offsetting at the point of purchase.

What are some of the other online companies doing? LastMinute has a link to a page on carbon offsetting under “useful links” on the home page of the site. Opodo has a ‘green stance’ link at the bottom of the site. Both pages are easily found – one hopes Expedia and Travelocity will follow suit.

It’s a step in the right direction but I’m inclined to agree with my fellow bloggers – this feels like a token effort and there should be a lot more promotion from the home pages of these sites. As Terracurve puts it: “It seems Expedia is, so far, less interested in doing the legwork and would rather pass the responsibility off solely to the traveler. If a traveler finds a green hotel or a hybrid car? Great. If not? Great.”

Meanwhile, if you are interested in sustainable travel, here are a few booking sites that do a better job of helping you find the perfect holiday to suit your conscience as well as your taste and budget:

Responsible Travel – UK-based site (but popular with U.S. users, too) with hundreds of handpicked holidays and an explanation of why each holiday makes a difference to the environment or local communities. It’s especially strong on activity or cultural holidays.

Rezhub – This site has a Green Travel Hub lets you book green hotels, low-emission or hybrid hire cars and green flights.

Whole Travel – Not a booking engine but a wonderful collection of links to sustainable holidays around the world (you book directly with the hotel and they make money from advertising).

Image: Christine Salek

In the land where I was born it’s hot and sunny and the middle of the summer holidays. I wish I were there right now. Meanwhile, it’s definitely still winter in the northern hemisphere – with much of Europe and North America blanketed with snow and blasted by Arctic winds.

Here’s a little ray of light if the cold is getting you down…it’s a brilliant time to plan your vacation for the year. Consider:

First, it’s fun. Whether you fancy frolicking in aquamarine waters by a white-sand beach or hiking through a forest of emerald green along the Appalachian trail, planning your summer vacation is a whole lot more enjoyable and productive than bemoaning the cold weather.

Second, winter’s also the best time to get good deals. Generally speaking, the farther in advance you book your flight, train, car hire, hotel, vacation home or whatever you need, the cheaper it will be. If you book through a travel agent, you may even be able to pay in installments to minimize the up-front pain.

Finally, with a little care and planning, you can minimize the travails of your travels on the environment.  With the benefit of time to research your options thoroughly and plenty of choice, you can take the time to do it green. You can also book the vacation now so work gets planned around it rather than the other way around.

One way to reduce the environmental impact of traveling is to take longer vacations but to take them less frequently. If you have two weeks’ vacation allowance and you want to go away, it’s better ecologically speaking to take your two weeks all in one go, rather than chop it up into lots of long weekends or shorter breaks.

It’s also better for you, since experts around the world believe it takes a full two weeks to actually refresh your body, mind and spirit and therefore benefit from the holiday physically and psychologically. The same principles apply if you are lucky enough to have more vacation time – the European habit of taking off the entire month of August and disappearing to a country bolthole is a perfect way to ensure maximum rest and relaxation with minimal eco-pain. (If you are American and feeling hard done by in terms of vacation time, then consider supporting this campaign for minimum paid vacation).

If you are booking a longer vacation than you normally take, here are a few tips to bear in mind.

If you are flying or (even better) taking the train, bear in mind that midweek off-peak departures are usually cheaper. If you can leave or return on a Tuesday or Wednesday that’s perfect – there is no rule that says you must take your vacation days Monday to Friday. This doesn’t work with long weekends but it works fine for longer trips.

Consider renting an apartment – it’s usually cheaper than a hotel and since you can cook your own meals, do your own laundry and won’t have a daily maid, it’s certainly greener, too. There are plenty of apartment rental websites around – Holiday Rentals is one or a quick search on Google will return results for your destination.

Another green – and cost effective – option is home swapping. Since I live in a rented property, I don’t have experience with this but I know people who do. Here’s a great guide on how to do it, and what to watch out for.

If possible, plan for an even longer trip – if not now, then one day. Follow the inspirational lead of families such as Soultravelers3 – a mom, dad and young girl on an open-ended, multi-year, round-the-world trip. You don’t need to be loaded – the parents took early retirement and the family lives on less than $25,000 a year. Here’s how.

Image: visualpanic

A year in Lifestyle – from dire rumblings over biofuel to the unprecedented eco-promises of President Elect Obama, from ravaged coral to eco sunscreen, personal sustainability to green careers. It’s been a whirlwind 12 months…and here’s why.

January: we first look at the menaces of urban tumbleweed, plastic hotel toiletries, greenwashing, and pondered the wisdom of using silicone cookware and fuel in place of food.

February: Kim checks out Japanese holistic toothpaste; salmon stocks crash in north California; we suggest shedding some light; orangutans swipe chopsticks for a good cause; Freecycle helps us get household essentials entirely for free; a mousetrap even mice might like; catalytic converters lose their green credentials; Luanne finds a coral cemetery; travel journals are an Art form – look!; and the bamboo that helps you read in the bath.

March: the first Seattle Green Festival; find out what “Touski” means; See Spot Recycle; not all City Slickers are lost in the country; it’s been a good, green year for laptops; how to lunch on brown bags (or green up your lunch bag); greenwashers on the run; my number 1 fan; AllTop launches; the joy of spring asparagus; how easy it is to give; nobody’s mowing the lawn; the Wabi Sabi way; cleaning without nasty chemicals; bringing back Slow Shaving; magical (not magic) mushrooms; a chat with Aaron “King Corn” Woolf; where else to keep strawberries?; one angry bird; vitamins for the needy; and how does your house score?

April: picnicking with (not against) the environment; You Are Beautiful; what is carbon offsetting anyway?; sustainable scrubbers; sardines are the new salmon; hogging rainwater; giving the almost-green a nudge; the complicated ethics of fur; how to spot if a restaurant is eco; upcycling the softest of brushes; what’s for Earth-dinner?; stain removal without skin removal; how to celebrate Earth Day, quick!; exactly how bamboo is sustainable and green; Harry Potter turns over a new leaf; the sense in embracing the ridiculous; when “reducing” apparently doesn’t mean “less”; the sudsless car wash; the right way to arrange a steamy tumble; and flagging down the right kind of (luxury) cab.

May: 60,000 pounds of shrimp every day – it has to be Las Vegas; plug those sizzling leaks; sneaky, sneaky plastic; chewy rope for furry friends; lunches you won’t want to wait for; sexy soil; greenscouring; the unacceptable nature of animal food-farming in America; the busy, buzzing farming assistants under mysterious threat; how (and how not) to charm a green goddess; plastic – out with the new, in with the old; the Why of rising prices; LEED-certified ELEMENT hotels launch; and lastly, lots of sex.

June: George W. Bush is “honored” by green activists; we’re unimpressed by the Eco Kettle; how to throw a party right; feeling good about eating meat; first steps (first revolutions?) with bikes; political greenscouring abounding; how we’re becoming Nature’s noisy neighbors; how much of our groceries get thrown out?; even matches can be re-thunk; the tranquil – and threatened – Joshua Tree National Park; gardening with the wind; the science of Shh!; Earthship ahoy; eco-friendly sunscreen; why individual choices matter; Do-It-Ourselves cities; the grass is always greener if it’s not faux; and Method get a makeover.

July: the enduring problem with palm oil; the first worldwide climate change pressure group; pack smarter, not lighter; a sustainable spread; 25 ways to fill your piggy bank; the unfairly-maligned clothespeg; as much soda as you can make; festival of destruction?; good habits start young; your SUV is redeemable; what’s cookin’ in the White House?; green buildings you can munch on; pingg!; 30 unusual compostable items; greenwasher is Bond villain; 10 ways to avoid eco-snobbery; marine conservation that works; hitting the spot with eco sex toys; new urbanism; a yoga mat that in every sense isn’t square; and 10 eco gifts that aren’t crunchy, preachy or political.

August: eco-friendly dining venues; curly light bulbs, explained; You vs. Junk Drawer; scoop the poop; Germans champion the passive approach; tips on first date butterflies; in the future, electricity will be weird; on your bike!; making sure your shade makes the grade; a very Italian recession; 15 life-changing books; green gadgets you won’t be able to keep your hands off; school supplies for budding greenies; worlds of meaning; 9 inventions they said would never work; eating out of palm leaves; Barnstable’s beach smoking ban; environmental art you’ll never forget; and lights out for England’s churches.

September: the rinse & return of milk bottles; shoes that never get wet?, e-book readers finally arrive; capping escaping caps; what the stars (the twinkling kind) can tell us; building a 21st-Century home; recycled specs; the gift of an eco action pack; SGF seeking SGM; crayons!; Mom, I think I solved the energy crisis; autumn yard decor; chain stores shrinking?; the navy shower; models wearing parachutes, and other madnesses; Greenbottling it; Solay cleaners; Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics; and 15 glimpses into houses of the future.

October: 10 lean, green fashion and decor deals; VroomVroomVroom; October Fair Trade roundup; the Virtual March; a dangerous love of olive oil; the innate profitability of organic farming; Starbucks in hot water; guilt-free roadtrips; of oil and ANWR; gits for an eco hostess; TripAdvisor’s More Than Footprints; greening your junk, 16 creative ways; Nokia’s wooden phone – well, maybe; 10 green collar jobs for 2009 and beyond; interview with Starre Vartan; a better Halloween (here too); 7 endangered species we’ll be seeing more of; USBCELL; cloth diapers fill with controversy; 10 tips for personal sustainability; 10 ways to unlock your inner green goddess; sustainable sushi; save the Angel Oak; shoes that fall apart for a good reason; and biomimicry – how we’re learning from the best.

November: prison inmates gathering moss; traveller’s gadgets; rain harvests; eco promises from the new guy in the White House; more worries over cellphones; the power of Maatiam; Nature’s healthy architecture; Facebook friends frenzy; Oceana Adopt-A-Creature; 12 DIY projects; the magic of England’s Cornwall (home of Eden); 10-4 10-4, top restaurant on the road; One Million Acts of Green; Smart Biking, smartphones and smart networking; Amazon rationalize their packaging (and about time); creative bookworming; the well-named Good Hotel; soldiers and civilians plant 6 million trees – in one day; 7 ways of giving meaningfully; Eco-Libris; eBay’s environmental record gets spotty; party punch; Madeleine Pickens and wild mustangs; mulching Nature’s cast-offs; and the real cost of 10 everyday items.

December: Africa’s Last Eden; are e-book readers truly green?; Vroom, Woosh, Dig, Sizzle!; Canadians losing their bottle; interview with Robyn Griggs Lawrence; the generation that knows best; 9 reasons not to buy pets from a pet store; elephants are better off in the wild, suggests study; getting there greener; environmentalism 2.0; a viral Brighter Planet; Go-Ahead Group set standards for travel; 7 outrageous PETA stunts; pocket markets take a stand; a new perspective on camel humps; the marvellous Bicycle Commuter Act; your plastic “friend” goes green?; the Surfrider Foundation; 10 reasons to love being on a train; electronic recipe books (at 20 times the price); eco board games; Dubai cons the environment; humane veal?; Australia’s Sunshine Coast; one teenager makes a difference in Darfur; questions to ask your printer; and Vegan Hoppin’ John!

Image: Sir Mervs

The Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia is a popular holiday destination. It’s easy to see the appeal, with lovely beaches and national parks alongside good restaurants and boutique shops. Perhaps most famously, it’s home to Australia Zoo, made popular by Steve Irwin the “Crocodile Hunter”. It’s an area that is gorgeous in its natural beauty and although it has avoided the high-rise monstrosities of the Gold Coast south of Brisbane, it’s hardly an undeveloped paradise.

In the hinterland it’s a different story. As you travel inland, you leave the beautiful beaches behind but also the suburban shopping malls and resorts. Instead you trade it for the breathtaking sight of the Glasshouse Mountains and eco-villages such as Crystal Waters Permaculture Village near Maleny.

Permaculture is a system of sustainable farming – or gardening, depending on the scale – that combines regular organic principles with an extra design layer. The key is to design the garden so that it works as an eco-system and is self-balancing and self-sustaining. Permaculture principles can be applied as effectively in an urban garden as a family farm.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I lived in Crystal Waters for a year when I was in high school and I have several family members there. To me, it’s not a tourist destination but part of my family heritage.

However, it’s certainly open to visitors. It’s best to make contact in advance as it’s difficult to see what’s going on without a tour. But it’s worth the effort. You can stay in the visitor’s area as a paying guest and it’s a wonderful place to relax for a few days – swimming in the waterholes or “billabongs” in the Mary River, watching wallabies feed at dawn and dusk, visiting the monthly markets in the village area, and exploring the surrounding rainforest. Or, if you want to learn more about permaculture you can exchange volunteer labor in return for lodging and board as a WWOOFer or “willing worker on organic farms”.

Of course, you don’t have to go all the way to Australia to learn about permaculture – it’s a worldwide movement and wherever you are living, from Costa Rica to Cardiff, Wales, there are plenty of opportunities to learn.

Image: britannica