Electric/Green Speedboat [Whimsy]

Sure, this isn't necessarily travel related. But it's a video about a boat, which travels. So there! And it's eco-friendly, which is something that everyone should embrace.

Sandals Negril Gets Green Recognition

The Sandals Negril Resort recently received Green Globe's Platinum certification for its achievements in sustainable tourism. Platinum is the highest of four certifications, outranking, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The recognition comes just more than 10 years after the resort received its first Green Globe certification. In the three years following their initial recognition, every Sandals property was revamped and retrofitted to reduce environmental impact, subsequently earning Green Globe certifications.

Green Globe director Claire Hendrie presented the award to Sandals' CEO Adam Stewart on February 5th.

"Looking to the future, we are changing the way we run our hotels to suit Mother Nature," Stewart said. "We created a division called Earthguard, composed of personnel with expertise in operations, design, engineering and the environment."

Any design project at the resorts must first pass muster by Earthguard to ensure that environmental preservation and protection are top of mind, according to Stewart.

"Anything we are designing from the onset has to be designed with environmental standards in mind," Stewart said.

Besides "greening" the resorts themselves, Sandals is trying to incorporate sustainable practices into all aspects of their business. For example, a new biodiesel refinery is being built to support the three Sandals properties on St. Lucia. If the initial efforts are successful, more "green" programs are expected to follow.

Hands-on Education for the 21st Century Student

Forget reading boring textbook drawl to learn a subject. Anthony’s Key Resort in Roatan, Honduras is taking ecotourism to a new level through its cooperation with various American universities including the University of Minnesota, Birmingham Southern, and Drury University. These academic institutions send professors and students to the resort for weeks at a time to study at the property’s own Marine Science Institute while getting hands-on experience through daily dives and snorkel adventures. How’s that for hands-on learning?

Private laboratories onsite help students to study specimen from the water while classrooms provide a location for daily instruction. A museum boasts exhibits with contributions from the national ministry of tourism. Who would have thought studying for an exam involved swinging in a hammock by the crashing waves on a sandy beach? But, at Anthony’s Key, cramming has never been more relaxing.

The evenings see a variety of live entertainment that bring the cultural roots of Honduras to the eyes and ears of students while the culinary offering takes Central American cuisine to their taste buds from experienced chefs.

Students clamor for the opportunity to partake in these courses. The business of ecotourism is booming in Latin America, and Anthony’s Key Resort is a great example of the next generation of responsible tourism.

San Francisco, Washington Are Targets for New GM Hybrid Development

GM is scrambling their pretty little corporate jet owning faces off to look good in the public eye these days. 

One of the main aspects they're focusing on (finally!) is electricity powered cars. You know, those kooky little "hybrid" things. The Chevy Volt is the next in line, and it's being aimed at certain geographical areas.

GM said that it working with the municipalities of San Francisco and the Washington, D.C., metro area as "early adopter markets" that will create incentives to buy electric cars and build an infrastructure to support them.

"Collaborating with communities such as San Francisco and metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C.--where there's already an interest in plug-in vehicles--is another important step toward raising customer awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of vehicles such as the Volt," said Ed Peper, GM North America vice president, Chevrolet, in a statement.

So, um, yay? Or something. I guess it's awesome that GM's making this huge huff about bringing electric cars into the limelight but, uh, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, GM? I've had to sing about Earth day since I was in like fourth grade ... and that wasn't exactly yesterday.

But, ridiculousness of automakers aside, how does this affect you, the traveler? Well, batteries for these puppies are really expensive. But, interestingly, once a lot of people stop using a ton of gasoline, guess what will happen to the price? Yup. You got it. And then suddenly it becomes a lot harder for airlines to justify their per ticket costs against what they need to operate planes.

Denver B-Cycle Program Expanding

Denver's Mayor, John Hickenlooper, recently announced plans to expand its bike-sharing program. The Denver B-Cycle program is already underway, but the current proposals would see the program expanded significantly by summer of 2009. The bikes would be free of charge and rented out on a daily basis from 30-40 different "stations" around the city.

Conveniently located near hotels, light-rail stations, college campuses and museums, bike rental stations are easily accessible to both visitors and residents. All that is required is a swipe of your credit card, and you leave with a bike of your own. Bike rentals are entirely free as long as the bike is returned to the rental location by 10 a.m. the following business day.

The Denver B-Cycle program already has 500 bicycles for public use and plans to add plenty more. With more than 850 miles of paved bike paths, Denver is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the US. As part of its efforts to expand the availability of bikes, the city will also be adding bike lanes and "shared" lanes for bicycle traffic.

Alcatraz Does Its Part to Help the Environment

Alcatraz Island/Prison is a cool place to visit, especially if you're a huge Nick Cage fan (in which case we all invite you to permanently stay there) and loved The Rock. It's so popular, in fact, that approximately 1.4 million people visit it each year.

And since everyone one of those people has to be ferried over from San Francisco, it can leave a pretty large carbon footprint. But Alcatraz Cruises is helping out with that.

To help reduce this environmental impact recently launched their very own green solution - the Hornblower Hybrid ferry. The multi-hulled hybrid boat uses two wind turbines and a solar array to generate power for its navigation tools, lighting, and even part of its propulsion system.

Note the diagram above, except with less Beetles-esque cartoony graphics from the 1960's. Now, if you're into science, feel free to head over to their website and download the fact sheet and press release and whatnot. And if you're really gung-ho about visiting an old prison in an eco friendly boat, you can email the folks to set up a tour.