| Pacific & Indian Ocean | ||
| 1 | Tahiti / French Polynesia | 93.8 |
| 2 | Fiji | 89.5 |
| 3 | Indonesia | 88.5 |
| 4 | Palau, Micronesia | 77.8 |
| 5 | Philippines | 73.3 |
| 6 | Great Barrier Reef, Australia | |
| 7 | Maui, Hawaii | 68.9 |
| 8 | Cocos Island, Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Big Island, Hawaii | 57.1 |
| 10 | Egyptian Red Sea | |
Day 1-3 As you land in Fiji, the magnificent vistas barely prepare you for the adventure ahead. Eager to get in the water, we head to Beqa Adventure Divers in Pacific Harbor for an orientation and introduction to the SRMR, recently established to protect and study the resident population of sharks, and in turn aid in the long-term conservation of sharks worldwide. Their structured dives offer divers and researchers the unique opportunity to watch these amazing creatures in their natural habitat in a well-controlled setting.
Day 4-11 Under the instruction of professional researchers, observe and study shark biology, behavior and physiology, as well as the physical characteristics of the resident sharks of the SRMR. Then take your newfound knowledge into the field as you scuba dive with silvertip, grey reef, black tip reef, bull and tawny nurse sharks. Experience the thrill of studying these amazing creatures up close as they cruise along the reef slope and ledge that drops off into the abyss of the Beqa Passage. Don't forget your camera! Collect and input data for the Swiss Shark Foundation's studies on resident sharks, noting how many species of sharks you see on dives, the male to female ratio, who fed and who of the named population showed up. Begin to identify the different sharks by name - Hook, Crook, Big Mamma and Blackbeard - and perhaps have the chance to name one yourself. Learn about the relationship between the reserve and local villages, and how the project overcame challenges to create a successful balance between shark conservation, dive tourism, the interests of village fisherman, the local economy and the government. Take a day to dry off and venture to the village of Wainabia to ask the Chief's permission to hike Shark Fin Hill. As you hike through the rainforest to the top, learn about Fijian culture from local guides and the impact the SRMR has had on the community.
Day 12-14 Voyage across the lagoon to the once volcanic island of Beqa where you are welcomed into the Rukua village by your home stay family. After a formal introduction to the chief by the village spokesman, partake in a kava ceremony and feast at a traditional lovo while listening to locals tell stories of the ancient Shark God, the fierce Dakuwaqa. Watch the Beqa fire walkers or hike up to swim in majestic waterfalls. Learn about village pastimes such as cooking, weaving and dancing. Play games with the friendly local children and give back to this beautiful place by assisting with a community service project.
Day 15-21 Back at the SRMR, we continue our shark studies as we compile, summarize and discuss our surveys and field research for our final projects. Talk about the role of sharks in the food chain and how they are critical to ocean ecosystems. Examine the negative impact of long line fishing, as well as the misrepresentation of sharks from Hollywood movies to folk tales and myths. Learn about the Shark Tagging Program and how it looks at the migratory movements of sharks. Soft coral dives in the Beqa Lagoon abound with over 250 species of fish from tiny critters to large pelagics... Breathtaking! Encounter blue ribbon eel, lionfish, jacks, giant groupers, octopus and scorpionfish on unforgettable dives.
Day 22-24 We complete our trip with a visit to a river village and an overnight whitewater journey down the "River of Eden" in the dramatic Navua Gorge. The roaring rapids cascade down a stunning canyon lined with black lava rock, vibrant jungle and dazzling waterfalls. A feast on our final night gives us the opportunity to celebrate all we have learned and experienced on our extraordinary South Pacific adventure.
A new search engine project, ClimateGift.com, has just made its online debut. Dedicated exclusively to the environment, 50% of gross revenues generated by the search engine's users will go directly to benefit some of the nation’s top environmental organizations, including Reef Check.
ClimateGift.com is a fundraising tool that will work 24/7 to help provide funding for these organizations to help them reach their organizational goals. All you have to do is use ClimateGift.com the next time you search the web. Websites and blogs can also make an impact by putting a ClimateGift.com search widget on their site for their users or direct them to ClimateGift.com to develop their custom home page. In addition, its AJAX portal option offers users a means of customizing their home page as well as access to a wide variety of information and tools from across the Web. Each organization’s portal includes specific widgets and news that support its initiatives.
“If role modeling a green lifestyle is our message, then young people are the perfect messengers.” -- Debbie Levin, President, EMA
Young actors, actresses and musicians entertain, of course, but they also serve as role models to millions of people. They are the subject of admiration and inspiration to scores of people in their formative years. EMA works with young celebrities to reach the impressionable youth market with powerful messages concerning the health of our planet. "gen e" attracts an extremely high media profile which directly impacts the environmental awareness and education of millions.
Young Hollywood’s passion for the environment is priceless and EMA is committed to showcasing this synergy in unique, attention-getting ways to the youth around the world. Whether seen driving a hybrid, wearing organic clothes to a movie premiere or planting a tree, chances are EMA was involved! Some other “gen e” activities include:
A stylish Hollywood dinner party hosted by Mary-Kate Olsen where celebrity EMA Board Members ‘mentored’ the group on how to live a sustainable lifestyle. Attendees include Mischa Barton, Joshua Jackson, Jesse Metcalfe, Nicole Richie and other young celebrities. The event was covered in Teen Vogue.
EMA Board Member DJ AM spins at the first annual EMA E! Golden Green Party, ditching his gas-guzzling car for a new Lexus hybrid. TreePeople planted a tree for every party attendee including: Pink, JC Chavez, Jon Heder, Amy Smart and Sacha Baron Cohen. The event was covered by E! Entertainment Television, InStyle, USWeekly, People and more.
I am person who likes to stay organized. I love reducing clutter and organizing the things I use in an efficient manner. But there is one thing I never seem to be able to stay on top of: Piles and piles of papers. It seems that no matter how often I go through my desk and declutter, piles of unnecessary paper can build up in just a few short days.
As a business owner, I get daily offers for credit cards, legal counsel, software and more. As a mom, I get "free" magazines, catalogs, coupons and newsletters. The vast majority of this stuff just goes directly into the recycling bin. What a waste! Of course there are some catalogs and offers that request, but I would love to not receive most of it. Especially the stuff I never requested.
Forest Ethics, a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting forests and the environment has determined that junk mail contributes 51,548,000 cubic metric tons of greenhouse gases each year. That’s the equivalent of over 9 million passenger cars! As the organization likes to point out, "The average car travels 12,000 miles per year-as opposed to junk mail, which gets us nowhere!" Good point.
If you’re sick of junk mail and want to do something, join Forest Ethics in their effort to create a ‘Do Not Mail’ list, similar to the overwhelmingly popular ‘Do Not Call’ list that protected many family dinners from the dreaded telemarketing call! To support the cause you can sign the petition and post a link on your website! Visit DoNotMail.org for more info on eliminating junk mail.
John Glen DiGuiseppe, Founder/CEO of Investors Hospitality Management (IHM), has just announced the launch of new green hotel booking website GreenHotelBookings.com.
Throughout the travel industry, the hospitality sector has increasingly become far more aware of not only its own responsibility to the environment as well as surrounding individual communities, but to the desires for travelers to be able to choose “greener” options in their travels. Hotels, inns, B&B’s and more have taken to adopting programs such as the utilization of eco-friendly products and supplues, robust recycling programs, energy efficiency, water re-use, and much more.
Meanwhile, certification programs sprout up on a weekly basis; some are government funded (both state and federal agencies), while others are private organizations, aiming to become the next “standard” in green travel. There are many green hotel certification standards with varying levels of compliance.
However, this next standard has yet to be adopted, so consumers have had no place to go that easily displayed all the hotels that met at least one of these qualifications. Greenhotelbookings.com, a new website by John Glen DiGuiseppe, Founder/CEO of Investors Hospitality Management (IHM), is an “attempt to help both the hotel operators and the consumer by providing a place where they can both find what they are looking for.”
Property managers can locate information about certification and be listed on GHB. On the other hand, consumers can search for qualified properties that meet their particular requirements.
GreenHotelBookings.com recommends that hotels pursue certification from outside agencies, however, has established it’s own three tier program to categorize properties that are using eco-friendly products and procedures in their operation. The tiers provide a measure that property owners can use to identify their current level and examine the requirements for other levels they may want to achieve.
Green Hotel Level I:
Green Hotel Level II:
Green Hotel Level III:
“This is not a referral program nor a fee-based system but a free, actual verifiable green hotels booking engine, which, through its affiliation with bookings.com, Expedia, Orbitz, etc., provides reservations services in more than 18 languages for domestic and international visitors in quest of supporting sustainable hospitality in worldwide hotels and luxury estates,” DiGuiseppe says. “IHM conceived, developed and trademarked www.greenhotelbookings.com as a dual-focused site which both provides varied certification levels of green hotels, offering consulting to assist venues with methods to acquire higher sustainability accreditation, while simultaneously providing a free international booking system.”
“Over 50 percent of travelers book their travel online,” says Sean Kane, director of operations for IHM. Noting that many smaller hotels do not realize the significant percentage of this business opportunity, IHM has carved yet another niche into its portfolio of hospitality services to capture market share from Asian and European travelers in response to the economy’s current forecast.
“Through IHM’s service, hotels can strategize and/or adjust rates for distressed inventory within a 24/48 hour time period to maximize occupancy and sell rooms,” Kane says.
