Lee Foster (fostertravel.com)

Carbon Offsets as the New Indulgences in Travel

I hope the traveling public will show a measured response of respect and skepticism to the new "carbon offset" presentations about travel products.

The entire "green" movement in travel is so fraught with the prospect of chicanery that vigilance is desirable.  We have environmental problems on a huge scale--that is a given.  We also have creative people addressing those problems in travel in a responsible way--that is to be desired.  But there is also the huge possibility of the desire for profit masquerading as virtue.  Every single assertion and situation should be looked at with some intensity.

For example, today I received a press release about a small ship in the Galapagos celebrating its "carbon offset" contribution.

Seeing the Galapagos is one of the major environmental treats available to the world traveler, as I recount on my report about visiting there, which I have been able to do twice.  See

http://www.fostertravel.com/temp-GALAPA.html

Regarding carbon offset, in other words, here is the thinking: we have sinned by creating this huge consumption issue of sending travelers to the Galapagos.  We will redeem ourselves by investing some money in a "carbon offset."  The amount invested is not stated, so one does not know if the investment is trivial, as a marketing ploy, or substantial.

"Carbon offsets" run the risk of being the new "indulgences."  In the Middle Ages, as students of theological history may recall, the Catholic Church sold indulgences.  If you've sinned, you could redeem yourself by buying indulgences.  All had sinned, as is human.  But indulgences might keep you out of hell or reduce your time in purgatory.  Since the time frame was all eternity, the investment was considered appropriate.  In today's terms it might be seen as risk avoidance, possibly for a long time.  Selling indulgences was a profit center for the Catholic priesthood of the time.  It also provoked a young German, Martin Luther, to nail a few theses to a door of a German church and start some corrective actions.

If the "carbon offset" is highly focused, then I think it should be supported today.  For example, if a Galapagos cruise "carbon offset" goes to immediate solar and wind installations on the Galapagos, making them more sustainable, then this would be a good thing, assuming the Galapagos has the solar gain and the wind energy resource to harvest.  That is another issue.  We don't want wind power installations in becalmed environments, just for virtue.  We don't want solar panels installed, with virtue, in total cloud cover environments.  Each claim to virtue needs to be assessed, and supported thankfully when found to be economical.

There is a lot of technical know-how required to evaluate the complex world of the Galapagos and all the yachts/small cruise ships that service it.  Can more efficient engines power the yachts? Can better desalinization systems solve the drinking water issues?  Those would be legitimate "carbon offset" targets.

The outfit behind this press release is EcoVentura and their Galapagos reservation people at Galapagos Network.

Vastness of the Cruise Industry

I was struck this week by the vastness and prosperity of the cruise industry.

I have been following cruising for some time and have a dozen cruise articles on www.fostertravel.com if you select Menu of 200 Destinations, then Worldwide, and then Cruising.

Yet the robust growth of this aspect of travel continues to astound me.

I received this week the annual book on cruising put out by the Cruise Lines International Association, whose 24 members represent 97 percent of the cruise capacity in North America.

Their website, incidentally, has a major consumer information component, so if you are interested in cruising, become aware of www.cruising.org.

An overview of where cruising is going is just amazing:

-This is the fastest growing element of the travel industry.  About 500,000 people took a cruise in 1970.  More than 12 million cruised in 2006, and the 2007 estimate is 12.5 million.

-The cruise industry's economic benefit to the US economy was estimated at $35.7 billion in 2006.

-The number of new ships continues to grow, reflecting an optimism about the future.  Nearly 40 ships were built in the 1980s, nearly 80 in the 1990s, and roughly 100 new ships will have been introduced since 2000 by the end of 2007.

-What the cruise ship experience is continues to become more diversified.  Though there are mega-ships, there are also many new small niche ships, such as those focused on nature.  Cruising now means more ports of call than ever before.  Your cruise ship may now have wifi, a rock climbing wall, multiple themed restaurants, and all the spa and fitness amenities imaginable.

-No one seems to thing the audience has been exhausted.  Only about 17 percent of US adults have taken a cruise.

-The average cruiser is now 49 years of age, down from the stereotype "older" market of the past.  Average household income of cruisers is $104,000, a dramatic figure in itself.  Florida, California, and Texas are the big three states for cruise patrons.

-Another amazing aspect of cruising is that about 90 percent are booked through travel agents.  In fact, cruise bookings account for more than half of all the vacation sales income for travel agents.  As travel agents struggle to survive in the new economy, cruise sales have been their salvation, as other sectors work directly with consumers and bypass the travel agent.

I've cruised on some big ships in the Caribbean, where the ship was the destination.  I've also cruised with small ships in Alaska, where getting close to humpback whales was the main point.  I've even cruised down the Yangtze to experience China.  You can see this in my write-ups on www.fostertravel.com.  The diversity of the cruise experience in 2007 provides an option for almost every taste.

Michael Frome, Conservationist

On a few occasions in the past, while at major gatherings of travel journalists, I have been in the presence of Michael Frome, the noted conservationist.  I always sensed that he was a man of substance in shaping the American environmental landscape, but didn't know too much about him.

Recently, however, I became aware of two of his books, HEAL THE EARTH, HEAL THE SOUL (Bartram Books, Milwaukee) and REBEL ON THE ROAD (Truman State University Press).

Looking at these books is an inspirational read.

Frome returns again and again the central theme of his journalistic life--that he could never be just an "objective" journalist, that becoming an advocate for wilderness, national parks, and conservation was his calling.

In the HEAL THE EARTH book there are affectionate portraits that Frome has penned over the years to the great pioneers in the American environmental movement.  To those of us who did not know these personalities, their life stories are intriguing.

There is a lot to learn in these pages.  Though I grew up in Minnesota, for example, I didn't know that Hubert Humphrey was an author of the original Wilderness Act.

Frome has been around longer than most of us, thriving now at age 86 in Wisconsin.  It is touching to read of his plane ride as a WWII -era airman across the Amazon, when that area was indeed a trackless wilderness. 

Frome knew the politics and the players, large and small, in the developing American environmental movement.

Early on, Frome took to heart Thoreau's comment, "In wilderness is the preservation of the world."  After internalizing those comments, there was no allowance for mere dispassionate reporting on the American great outdoors.  Frome became the advocate.  He always had opinions, and editors hired or fired him on that basis.

The REBEL ON THE ROAD book is more of an autobiography, just as the HEAL THE EARTH is more of a collection of philosophical reflections.

The subtitle for REBEL ON THE ROAD says it all:  WHY I WAS NEVER NEUTRAL.

If you seek an engaging look at the philosophical writings and life story of one of the great American conservationists, pick up these two books by Michael Frome.

The Pleasures of Minneapolis Saint Paul

I recently had an opportunity to visit the Twin Cities again and update my article on the "quality of life" vision of these two cities.  Of particular interest to travelers is the developing Riverfront District of Minneapolis, which now has a Mill City Museum, explaining the flour milling story.  You can walk out on the Stone Arch Bridge and see the present configuration of St. Anthony Falls, the only cataract of rushing water on the entire Mississippi.  Because this waterfall could be harnessed to create mechanical power, flour mills were built in Minneapolis, and the city became the flour milling capital of the world.  Adjacent to the Mill City Museum is the Guthrie Theater.  I enjoyed dinner in its Cue restaurant and then saw a performance of 1776.  The Guthrie is one of the outstanding repertory companies now flourishing.  One specialty of Minneapolis, incidentally, is fine dining in its major cultural venues.  The other restaurant I savored was Wolfgang Puck's 20-21 in the Walker Art Gallery.  The Walker now hosts a special exhibit about Picasso's influence on American art .

Hearst Castle Passes 50 in 2008

Hearst Castle will celebrate its 50th year as as a California State Park in 2008.  Recently, I had an opportunity to encounter Hearst Castle again as part of a look at San Luis Obispo County.  My full writeup, photos, and audio slideshow about the area is now online.  It is remarkable to realize that more than 30 million people have visited Hearst Castle as a State Park.  There is no other State Park in California with such an attendance figure as far as I am aware.  Hearst Castle was the palatial hillside home of newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst. Hearst parlayed a mining fortune into a publishing, art-collecting, and movie-producing empire. At a time when Americans identified culture and grandeur with things European, Hearst purchased just about all the cultural artifacts, from monastery facades to tapestries, which were not nailed down in Europe. He brought them to California and installed them in his castle. Encountering Hearst Castle is a half day experience, at least, and by guided tour only. Allow time to see the big-screen movie "Hearst Castle, Building the Dream" to get a background perspective on the motivations and personality of Hearst, starting with his romantic look at European castles as an impressionable young boy. From San Simeon you could head north on Highway 1 to savor the scenic Big Sur Coast.      

Nature Adventures in Canada's Gaspe Region of Quebec

Recently I had an opportunity to explore the nature adventures possible in Quebec's Gaspe region.  See my full writeup here.  I will always remember the cacophony of the 57,000 nesting pairs of large white birds, northern gannets, on an island called Bonaventure Island.  As I hiked across the island to the site, it was encouraging to learn from the park ranger accompanying me that the recovering fishery in the St. Lawrence Seaway allows these gannets to increase their numbers incrementally each year by about three percent.  Besides seeing the gannets, I enjoyed whale watching (saw some diving humpbacks), canoeing (down one of the clearest rivers on earth), sea kayaking (to see seals), and, perhaps most unusual of all, fossil viewing (to see the wonderful "Devonian period" fish-evolution fossils at Miguasha Park, which show how some fish developed lungs about 380 million years ago and climbed out onto the land.)  For all these nature adventures, Canada's Gaspe region of eastern Quebec is the site.  If you plan to replicate my experience, think July or August of some future year.

Pleasures of Molokai, Hawaii

What I found on Molokai pleasantly exceeded my expectations.

I enjoyed two nights of kupuna, or elders, entertainment by the local people with ukuleles, song, and hula at the Molokai Hotel (every Friday night) and at Molokai Ranch.  Of all the Hawaiian islands, Molokai is the place where the local people provide the entertainment most directly, integrated into the traveler experience.  There is a family feeling.

Lawrence Aki led me on an engaging hike into Halawa Valley, where he is re-developing the taro fields.  This has become his life's work, teaching visitors about Hawaiian culture and protecting the ecosystem.  We walked past the heiaus or sacred sites, 12 of which are in this valley.  We ended up at the long, diaphanous Halawa Falls and swam in the cool water.

Molokai Ranch has a new-style lodging option called a "tentalow."  This is as green as lodging will get.  Each of the tented bungalow units, set adjacent to a lovely beach, has its own electric solar cells for light, its own passive solar hot water unit, and its own composting toilet.  Only water needs to be brought in.

Ray Riegert's recommendation of the mule ride to the leper colony was a good one.  On a mule I made the long descent from the top of the mountain ridges to the seaside location of the leper colony.  The seacliffs seen on the switchbacks are as dramatic as the Napali Coast on Kauai.

I'll do a full-scale writeup on Molokai eventually.  These are a few of the elements I will emphasize.

Ray Riegert's Hawaii Book

Recently I flew out to Hawaii with an old friend to look at an island new to me, Molokai.

The friend was Ray Riegert.  He was not actually on the plane, except in spirit.  I looked over the Molokai chapter in his book Hidden Hawaii as the plane headed towards the islands.

I was perusing the remarkable 25th-year edition, the 13th edition, of Ray's well-received book. It is amazing to realize that this volume has been around since 1979.

I found what I had hoped for in Ray's Molokai chapter.

As a fellow practitioner in the guidebook world, what first stands out for me is the thoroughness of the research.  It seemed as if Ray and his associates had been to every little beach and hiked every trail a dozen times.

From this breadth of experience a reader could appreciate the qualitative comments, such as Ray saying, "I love to wander the windswept beach at the edge of Halawa Valley, or hike deep into the valley, which has been inhabited by Hawaiians for 1,300 years."

Every traveler wants to make the best choices about what are the high points to consider.  Ray is clear on this in Molokai.  A visit to the former leper colony is at the top of the list, though there are no roads to get there. One could fly there, hike there, or take a mule ride in.   Ray has firm opinions, "As far as I'm concerned, the mule ride is the only way to go."

I had already planned to do that on my visit to Molokai.

Detailed coverage and firm, guiding opinions--that's what Ray Riegert has given his readers now for the last 25 years.  It is a notable record of author-reader continuity.

Sacramento Revisited

I have returned to a familiar area, Sacramento and the Delta, to peruse it again, and I find it better than ever.  I will update my article at some point.

I have done books that include this CA region.  It is good to know that this element of my coverage is more vital than ever.

Here is what I learned:

-I paid rack rate at the Hilton Garden Inn in North Sacramento, near Old Sacramento, and found the experience excellent.  A nice, clean room with free Internet, an agreeable morning buffet, and a pool that I would have enjoyed if I had had more time.  It is interesting to see the way the chains are establishing these small properties, easy in and out, no fuss, self-service.

-Old Sacramento is as vital as ever.  I paused to look again at the Pony Express statue, the western terminus of the Pony Express.  Then I walked over to the river and gazed at the Delta King, the authentic remnant of the riverboat era.  Finally, I was pleased to see that the great Railroad Museum continues to be well managed and staffed.  Many, many volunteer rail buffs are there to guide people through the museum.  To see some of the restored locomotives is to understand how these huge "iron horses" were both work horses and gaudy artifacts of their day, true objects of both beauty and power.

-Finally, the restaurant scene in Sacramento has matured in a pleasing manner.  I enjoyed Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento, the glorious Biba's Italian restaurant near Sutter's Fort on the eastern edge of the city, and, finally, the most happily mature restaurant of all, Waterboy, in central Sacramento, with its emphasis on a pure California identity.  These three eateries were joys to experience for me and my special group of comrades.

Then I ventured into the Delta, and made two major discoveries, which are worthy subjects in and of themselves in future weeks.  As a tease, there will be reports coming up on Jeff Hart's Delta Ecotours out of Grand Island.  These are open to the public for a couple of boat outings each month.  No one knows the history and natural history better than Jeff Hart, who is a passionate participant in the future of the Delta.  Secondly, one new awareness for me is that the most valuable crop in the Delta may be the wind.  The Solano wind generator field out of Rio Vista is the "greenest" back country drive in California.

Anticipating Sacramento

Anticipation is an important aspect of travel as we look again at a destination we have known.

This weekend I will look again at Sacramento, California, and the Delta.

I will, of course, update my website coverage on Sacramento, CA.  I will be attentive to what has changed, partly for updates on my book titled NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HISTORY WEEKENDS (Globe Pequot).

Will the world-class California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento have new exhibits since my last visit?  This is the best site for any traveler who wants to understand the sociological impact of the railroad on the development of the American West. 

When I walk around Old Sacramento and look again at the statue to the Pony Express Rider, I will have a new awareness.  I have been living in an era of rapid technological change, with many people displaced by tech innovations.  Old Sacramento was the western terminus of the Pony Express, which began in St. Louis, and ended here.  Think of the shock as the Pony Express riders became aware that a telegraph line could replace them, and then a railroad line would render transport of written information by horse totally irrelevant.  The railroad was called the iron horse, wasn't it?

The dining scene in Sacramento has matured since my last visit.   I will sample Biba's, a highly recommended Italian fine dining venue.  I will also go to a fresh California cuisine site, Waterboy.

When going to Sacramento, I always want to emerge with a better understanding of the Delta, one of the magical places in California, with its thousand miles of inland waterways.  I will do a Delta Ecotour with biologist Jeff Hart and probably learn much.

My anticipation builds.  I will report in next week on the results.  May all our travels be infused with wondrous anticipation, and may our travel experiences be rewarding.