-
In some circles, travel itself is considered, well, politically incorrect.
After
all, claim the self-righteous - who brandish photos of a garbage-strewn
Machu
Picchu or the traffic-snarled roads of Yosemite - we'd all have a lot less
impact
on the environment if we'd just stay home. Still, we can't imagine
spending our
two weeks vacation spreading compost. Here then, solutions for
ecoconscious travelers.
H y p e r - G r e e n G e t a w a y s
In Eco-Journeys: The World Guide to Ecologically Aware Travel and
Adventure, Stephen Foehr gives plenty of tips on ecofriendly
traveling
and suggests nearly 300 wilderness destinations for responsible travelers.
Explore the Amazon by dugout canoe, hike Mount Kilimanjaro - and feel a
lot less
guilty doing it. Physically disabled travelers will also find plenty of
tips for
getting off the beaten track in Foehr's well-thought-out presentation,
including
detailed information on accommodation and getting around. US$15.95.
Available
through the Adventurous Traveler
Bookstore: (800) 282 3963, or +1 (802) 482 3546.
E a s y G l i d e r
Road trips are bad trips for the environment, unless your vehicle is
nonpolluting - an increasingly available option. Ford, for example, is set
to
begin selling a "glider" version of its 1996 Ranger truck - glider because
it
comes fully loaded with everything but an engine and a gas tank. The
pickup - whose fossil-fuel version is already the most popular truck in
North
America - can be bought only by qualified electric vehicle modifiers.
After these
middlemen have installed an electric motor and charger, you'll be able to
buy the
finished product. One caveat: it's not really suitable for the
"Gun-control means
using both hands" bumper-sticker set. Electric-ready Ford Ranger -
available
sometime in the next year from Troy Design and Management, Troy, Michigan:
+1
(313) 537 3880. (In 1998, Ford itself will begin selling its own complete
electric
version, the Ranger EV. It will sell for approximately US$30,000.)
S o l a r I s B a c k
Solar power never did outlast the hype - we're still burning coal and
splitting
atoms. But if you take your laptop along on trips, you can actually start
relying
on the energy source that renews itself every morning. Really. The durable
vinyl
cover of the lightweight Sun Runner Powerbook solar battery pack unzips to
reveal
rows of silicon photoelectric cells - just like those cool collectors on
satellites - that allow your Mac to run continuously in sun or light
shade. The
unit operates under adverse conditions too - Power Express spokesperson
Lloyd
Middlekuff says even a couple of test bullet holes weren't enough to shut
it
down. Good news for the extremely, uh, adventurous. Sun Runner Powerbook
for
Macintosh 100 through 180: US$189. For Mac 520, 540, and Duo: US$354. Power
Express: (800) 769 3739 or +1 (415) 529 0133.
P o p B o t t l e P u l l o v e r
Wear your trash on your sleeve in garments made from Wellman Inc.'s EcoSpun
polyester fleece. Every year the environmentally correct textile giant
turns 2.65
billion two-liter plastic pop bottles into 265 million pounds of fiber.
Most of
the bottles come from curbside recycling programs, saving space in
landfills,
conserving almost a million barrels of oil annually, and avoiding the
production
of nearly half a million tons of toxic air emissions. Wow. Top-of-the-line
outdoor outfitter Patagonia uses the recycled fiber in its coveted
Synchilla
garments (like the classic Snap-T). This pullover won't pill, comes in 12
color
combinations, will keep you ultrawarm on the road or at home, and weighs a
mere
21 ounces. Let's see, that would be how many pop bottles? Snap-T, US$82.
Patagonia: (800) 638 6464 or +1 (406) 587 3838.
By Laurel Wellman
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