Whole Travel Blog

Whole Travel Beta went live last night at 11:23 pm!!!  Our team has worked really hard all summer to get to this point and I know everyone is excited to launch! Please visit our site at www.wholetravel.com, and send any feedback to feedback@wholetravel.com.  We are eager to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Also, check out some of our press coverage from yesterday and today:

“Whole Travel Launches and Shifts the Paradigm for Online Travel with Revolutionary ‘Blue Sky’ Search Technology”, BusinessWire

“Whole Travel Launches Rating System to Keep Eco-Friendly Hotels Honest”, TechCrunch

“Some Interesting, New, or Improved Websites”, Tribune Media Services

The newest in eco-friendly destinations?  Eco-clubs.

Earlier this summer in July, the world’s first eco-club, Surya, opened in London.  Surya doesn’t charge cyclists and walkers for entry and the club’s energy needs are powered not just by solar and wind power, but by club-goers on the dance floor through the use of piezoelectric technology.  The club is the work of millionaire property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr. Earth.

A similar club opened in Rotterdam last Thursday: At WATT, dancers generate power to light the floor, drinks come in recyclable cups, and toilets flush with rain water. Read the rest of this entry »

You want a really cool vacation? Like a really awesome, life changing experience? Live with a host family. Sure, five star resorts can pamper you, but nothing can compete with the hospitality you’ll receive in another person’s home.

Last summer, for example, I was fortunate to live with a large family in rural Honduras for six electricity-free weeks. I was there with an organization called Amigos de las Americas, teaching children in Spanish about health, hygiene, and the environment. 
Read the rest of this entry »

Condé Nast just released its September issue with a special spotlight on the power of travel. It features Matt Damon on the cover and the story of how his 2006 trip to Zambia inspired him to create the H2O Africa Foundation which partners with a variety of other foundations to focus on clean water. With hundreds of children dying each day due to dirty water, Damon emphasized the importance of clean water, saying that it  “put people on the first rung of the development ladder.”

With its slogan “Travel Right, Do Good,” the issue highlights social responsibility through travel with such articles as “How to Be An Ethical Traveler,” “How to Do the Right Thing,” “The Green Traveler’s Handbook” as well as several profiles and forums.

Find the complete coverage here.

There has been a huge amount of media buzz this past week and a half surrounding the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. There have been rumors, scandals, debates and comparison - all typical signs that a presidential race is rapidly approaching. This year, however, much attention has focused on the Democrat’s highly publicized goal of producing “the most environmentally sustainable political convention in modern American history.”  For an environmentalist–skeptical, pessimistic and distrusting–this might seem like just an attempt at securing the votes of a gullible electorate, but a seemingly good-faith effort was made at “greening” most every part of the convention, from energy sources and waste reduction to transportation and community support.

To me, the question that arises from the convention is: How does Barack Obama’s campaign make the same effort as the Democratic National Committee at achieving carbon neutrality and environmental benignity? Needless to say, Barack Obama and John McCain are both logging plenty of miles in their campaign airplanes, traveling from one end of the country to the other rallying members of their respective parties. But from what I’ve been able to find online, there have been only three presidential campaigns ever to make the promise of carbon neutrality: Tom Vilsack, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton after Earth Day. With these three candidates starting the trend, it doesn’t make sense that Obama wouldn’t follow suit. Making a statement like this would raise awareness that the impact of plane flight can be mitigated. Besides, I’m sure Obama would sway more than a few fence-sitters by declaring his campaign to be carbon neutral.

There has been a huge amount of media buzz this past week and a half surrounding the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. There have been rumors, scandals, debates and comparison - all typical signs that a presidential race is rapidly approaching. This year, however, much attention has focused on the Democrat’s highly publicized goal of producing “the most environmentally sustainable political convention in modern American history.”  For an environmentalist–skeptical, pessimistic and distrusting–this might seem like just an attempt at securing the votes of a gullible electorate, but a seemingly good-faith effort was made at “greening” most every part of the convention, from energy sources and waste reduction to transportation and community support.

To me, the question that arises from the convention is: How does Barack Obama’s campaign make the same effort as the Democratic National Committee at achieving carbon neutrality and environmental benignity? Needless to say, Barack Obama and John McCain are both logging plenty of miles in their campaign airplanes, traveling from one end of the country to the other rallying members of their respective parties. But from what I’ve been able to find online, there have been only three presidential campaigns ever to make the promise of carbon neutrality: Tom Vilsack, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton after Earth Day. With these three candidates starting the trend, it doesn’t make sense that Obama wouldn’t follow suit. Making a statement like this would raise awareness that the impact of plane flight can be mitigated. Besides, I’m sure Obama would sway more than a few fence-sitters by declaring his campaign to be carbon neutral.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts, owner of the Westin, W, Sheraton, and St. Regis hotel chains and one of the world’s largest hotel companies, announced plans earlier this month to open a franchise of their eco-friendly Element Hotel chain in Palmdale, California by June 2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since architect Adam Kalkin debuted his Push-Button House, I’ve been intrigued by sustainable architecture. Kalkin’s Push-Button house is a dwelling made from an old shipping container. With the push of a button, the sides of the container unfold, and the container transforms from a metal box to a sleek and sophisticated living space. The Push-Button House debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2005 and eventually spawned a Push-Button Cafe c/o Kalkin and Illy Coffee (great for caffeine addicts like myself).

Now California construction company Logical Homes will be expanding on Kalkin’s idea by making houses constructed from old containers available to the public. Ecofriend writes:

Logical Homes in California is gearing up to offer nine models of container homes for construction around Southern California. They are estimated to be about $100 cheaper than the average cost of per-square concrete construction in that area. Ranging from 640 to 3,250 square feet, these corrugated metal shipping containers are enhanced with large windows and custom paint. Energy-efficient appliances and bamboo flooring add to the eco-equation inside, while recycled denim insulation helps keep heating and cooling demands to a minimum.

Conveniently, these types of homes are also hurricane proof and fireproof, and much less susceptible to flood or water damage. It would be great to see a hotel develop a property using this model. It’s not just eco-friendly, it’s economically feasible too! And Kalkin and Logical Homes have me convinced that sustainability does not have to come at the expense of good design or comfort.

A Logical Homes prototype

From American cyclists arriving in Beijing wearing surgical masks to front-page photos of gray, haze-obscured Olympic venues, the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games was congested with complaints and controversy surrounding Beijing’s poor air quality. Focusing a significant amount of energy on the faults of the Chinese government, major American media outlets featured Chief Medical Editors and Air Quality Correspondents in order to highlight Beijing’s “poor preparation” and “failed attempts” to purge smog from the city’s skyline. Throughout this process, there was little mention of the drastic and progressive measures that the city of Beijing undertook in an effort to successfully reduce pollution for the duration of the Games. Where was the praise for the 1.1 million cars removed from Beijing streets from Aug. 8 – Aug. 24? Where was the recognition for shutting down polluting factories & harmful construction? Where was the applause for lowering city-wide pollution by over 50% in a period of only one month?

Beijing's Bird's Nest Olympic Venue surrounded by blue skies!

Read the rest of this entry »

Michelle Higgins’ recent article from the New York Times discusses the increasingly popular biking vacation:

Eco-travelers have long embraced low-impact travel, biking from campsite to campsite or taking cross-country jaunts on buses powered by veggie-oil to make a point. But the high cost of fuel is inspiring even more mainstream travelers to embrace a new kind of road trip this year — the gasless vacation.

If gas prices make you squeamish, remember that there are so many great places to explore on your bike. Consider biking to a local B&B for a weekend retreat, instead of driving. And check out Adventurecycling.org, which has a ton of trip ideas, complete with guided routes and maps.