Beyond Good Hospitality Ten years ago, the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square didn’t even have smoke-free rooms. Now the Philadelphia hotel has air that’s swept clean of such pollutants as mold, pollen and bacteria every 34 minutes. What’s more, the cut-glass front desk is 100 percent recycled, there’s a stand of oxygenating palms in the atrium lobby, […]
Ecotourism is an idea whose time has come, but it’s too early to declare victory. For the traveling public, the challenge is to find the environmentally and socially responsible companies that can provide a great holiday. And that’s where the concept of certification—eco-labeling—comes in. All tourism certification programs are voluntary, market-driven initiatives, which means companies […]
Progress and Protest QUEBEC CITY—"Ecotourism operates in a fragile environment," said Klaus Topfer, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). For the delegates from 132 countries gathered for the World Ecotourism Summit in the lovely capital of Quebec City, Topfer’s words carried considerable understatement, as well as several meanings. The conference touched on […]
Through a new partnership with ecotourism operator Manaca (www.manaca.com), E: The Environmental Magazine is able to offer its first-ever environmental travel opportunity, a 13-day visit to Europe guided by E Editor Jim Motavalli. While there will be plenty of opportunity to relax and sight-see, the theme of the trip (including visits to England, France, Austria […]
Ecotourism Destinations That Go the Extra Mile If you’ve ever wanted to try an eco-tour, this is the year to get up and get out. Never has there been a better opportunity to see nature up-close and personal while also giving something back to the communities you visit. This is not a "Best Of" list—there […]
Natural Alternatives to Toxic Coloring Agents I was born to be a redhead, but that’s not the color I got. The first time my hair dried to the glorious shade of red on the box of dye, I was hooked. I’m not alone: more than 50 million women in America dye their hair on a […]
The Growing Confusion About Eating Soy Foods While it may still be a newcomer to American diets, the soybean is an old friend in China: 5,000 year-old records show that it was a staple in the Chinese diet even then. During the U.S. Civil War, soldiers brewed the beans as "coffee berries" when real java […]
Modern Bacteria are Resisting Treatment by Antibiotics When penicillin was first discovered to cure diseases in the 1930s, it seemed a miracle. Some thought you couldn’t get too much of a good thing. One Asian brothel routinely fed penicillin prophylactically to its workers, hoping to prevent infections. But some Neisseriea gonorrheoeae, the bacterium that causes […]
Mold spores float around inside & out but usually don’t cause problems for us — except when they settle into our homes & expand…
Jonathan Rogers travels to the Turks & Caicos in the British West Indies to relish in the sounds of silence…
