Simple Tips for Driving and Flying Green

I spend a ton of time driving to and from climbing spots, and flying to and from climbing spots. There are a few simple practices that I have adopted in my travels to help my traveling become a bit greener.

1. Keep my own coffee mug in the car. That way when I stop at Starbucks to get coffee, they can use my mug, and not use their paper cups.

2. Use Google Maps on my cell phone. Almost every cell phone has the ability to either download a Google Maps app or connect to Google Maps. Use your phone to get Google Maps directions to your destination rather that printing out all the directions and maps. It saves a ton of paper!

3. Bring an empty reusable water bottle to the airport. You can’t bring water through security, but you can bring an empty bottle! That way when you get into the terminal, you can fill your bottle up at the water fountain and save having to buy and use a plastic bottle of water at one of the airport stores!

Nothing fancy about it, but every little bit counts!

Happy Adventuring!

Brandon Hensinger

Ascent Adventure Consultants- Bringing Adventure to Life

Buy Reusable Non-Plastic Bottles

I most definitely think that everyone who is interested even slightly in being Green, and protecting our environment needs to be aware of “Greenwashing”. Not only does the purchasing of reusable bottles like Sigg bottles or the like reduce the amount of plastic in use, but it also cuts down on the need for travel to the store to purchase the bottled water, which leads to less production by these companies of the bottled water. There is a great article that you must read:

Greenwash Watch: “Eco” Bottled Water

I’d be interested in seeing how many people are willing to make the switch to using Sigg Bottles. I will! If you will, please leave a comment that says “YES!” showing your support.

TAKE ACTION: Obama to Increase Appropriations for Public Land??

Because the past 8 years has left public land managers and forest managers with meager funds to maintain trail management teams, search and rescue teams, and more, there has been limited access to some of the country’s most beautiful and precious outdoor recreation resources, for activities such as hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and camping. Understandably so, since without the infrastructure to support this type of land use, the land managers have no choice but to restrict the activities. This is something that the Access Fund specifically targets and works on with these land managers, however the Federal Government has made it extremely difficult because ultimately they are the ones providing the lack of funding.

BUT NOW THE GOOD NEWS….

Barack Obama, along with promoting an excellent energy plan, and making the oil companies use their windfall profits to help consumers, is also planning on increasing appropriations for public land….and therefore will most likely help to give access to many, many areas.

Their administration needs our support to get this done. Please visit Outdoor Alliance and choose to Take Action, and send letters (via the website) to Barack Obama, to help open up access to these public lands.

Along with a better energy management and energy use system, the funds that are going to be provided to these land managers will help conservation of our natural resources, including “roadless areas” that will be protected. This country is taking a turn in the right direction!

Thank you and Happy Climbing

Brandon Hensinger

Ascent Adventure Consultants- Sustainable Rock Climbing in North Carolina

The Government….Becoming Greener?

Today, I posted my first of many blog postings on WholeTravel.com. Whole Travel is a GREAT resource that, per their website “is for researching and booking directly with the world’s best green hotels and resorts. We’ve searched the globe and put our findings into a streamlined site so that you can start and finish your travel planning in one place.”

A few months ago, I read an article about the state of North Carolina allowing mining and development that will greatly impact the state’s streams and wetlands. Many people and organizations protested, but to no avail. It looks like the permits will be granted. Read the info here.

Then, like a breath of fresh air, this morning I read an article on USA Today that was very encouraging. In West Virginia, the EPA has decided to hault all mountaintop coal mining permits so that they can evaluate the projects’ impact on streams and wetlands! They even denied permits that the Army Corps of Engineers was requested to fill streambeds and wetlands with mining waste!

It is great news to see that the wilderness and resources that we love are finally being protected by the government rather than being destroyed. West Virginia is one of the Eastern United States’ best resources for outdoor adventure and wilderness experiences, and it would be sad to see the mountain tops blasted and the streams filled with waste. I think that with the government becoming “greener”, and with the push of eco tourism in the travel industry, we will see our natural resources, and our outdoor adventure opportunities protected and increased over the next several years.

Anyone who is reading this blog should consider becoming part of an organization that lobbies and promotes sustainability and green-living. One of my favorite all around resources is WeCanSolveIt.org. Check it out.

Carbon Footprint of Beer and Wine?

As outdoor enthusiasts, many of us are concerned with our carbon footprints. Have you ever considered what the carbon footprint is of your beverages of choice (beer, wine, etc.)? I read an interesting article at grist.com that discussed this very thing. You should read the entire article.

The results surprised me. The footprint of the production of the beer and wine is minimal. However what creates the greatest footprint is how you travel to obtain the beer and wine. Do you drive far to purchase it? Do you purchase beer imported from far away? Then consider purchasing local brews and local wines that can be purchased at nearby grocery stores.

Just an interesting thought!

We Can Solve It- Success Story

Have you checked out wecansolveit.org? The “We” Organization defines its existence as follows:

“Climate change is occurring now, and is already affecting our natural environment, our national security and our quality of life. But, there are effective, achievable solutions for addressing the crisis. An important step is to repower America by producing 100 percent of our country’s electricity from energy sources with zero carbon emissions — within 10 years. Making this switch will generate millions of good American jobs, cut energy costs, safeguard national security, and protect the climate. We need business and government leaders at all levels to help adopt policies and practices now that will enable America to switch to energy sources with zero carbon emissions. We need policies that encourage energy efficiency, renewable energy, and a unified national electricity grid.

We can repower America in a short time frame. We put a man on the moon in just eight years. We quickly retooled our factories to produce tanks, trucks and airplanes for World War II. We mobilized for civil rights and women’s suffrage. We’ve done this before, and we can do it again”

www.wecansolveit.org

One of the best ways to get motivated to take action and become involved in programs like this is read success stories. For example, check out the story on how the people and government of Colorado are joining together to make a difference:

How did Colorado voters become climate champions? They helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions just by going to the ballot box.

In 2004, Colorado was the first state to establish a climate-friendly RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) through a voter-passed initiative. An RPS is a requirement that a certain amount of electricity in the state come from renewable sources like solar, wind, and geothermal energy.  In Colorado’s case, the RPS specified 10% renewable energy by 2015.

Three years later, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter went a step further and doubled the standard to 20%. Large investor-owned utilities in Colorado must now obtain 20% of their electricity from renewable sources and small utilities must provide at least 10% renewable energy by 2020.

“By doubling the RPS, Colorado is reaffirming its commitment to maintaining national leadership in renewable energy development,” said Interwest Energy Alliance Executive Director Craig Cox.

Greenhouse gas reduction has become a state-wide effort in Colorado as more people pitch in to help reduce the state’s emissions. As American Wind Energy Association Western Representative Ron Lehr said,”Renewables are now bipartisan and mainstream. The people have spoken truth about power.”

This is just one example of how individuals, organizations, businesses and governments are helping to stop climate change. There are thousands more across the country and around the world – and it’s through these efforts that we’re going to be successful. We can’t afford not to succeed in this unprecedented challenge to our planet.

YouTube – ascentadventure’s Channel

We have a YouTube Page!

 

YouTube – ascentadventure’s Channel.

The Blog in 2009

Hey everybody! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

Ascent Adventure Consultants has some REALLY exciting things planned for 2009. One of them is the plan for the blog. We will be following a weekly schedule, having each day be dedicated to a different topic. What are those topics, you ask? Here they are:

1. Mondays- Trip Reports
2. Tuesdays- Fitness and Training Tips
3. Wednesdays- Business and Corporate Training Advice
4. Thursday- Climbing Techniques and Tools
5. Friday- Environmental Issues and Advice
6. Saturdays- Miscellaneous Items that We Want to Write About!

So make sure to check back to read what interests you!

Escaping the Global Village: Part 1

Have you ever heard of the Global Village? This is a term coined by Marshall Mcluhan, describing the way that technology, specifically the internet, has allowed people and cultures all over the world to seemingly be part of “one village.” We can communicate with each other faster than ever before, we can build relationships with people on the other side of the globe, we can do business with companies everywhere. This global village has continued to develop throughout the past century, and will continue developing into the foreseeable future. Who knows what lies ahead that could draw us even closer together than current technology allows!

This is indeed a wonderful thing. But there are a few things can be potentially dangerous about it. Paul Michelman on the Harvard Business Blog has written a great article and started a great discussion on how this has caused us to become obsessed with work and slowly makes us lose our private lives. He says:

“[The] notion is that the M-F, 9-5, three-weeks-of-carefully-planned-vacation work-a-day life is an anachronism in today’s information economy. Most of our work…can be done anywhere, anytime. Why force people to toil within meaningless barriers of time and space? [T]his idea [is presented] in the name of freedom — we should have more flexibility in how we get our work done and how we choose to live our lives.”

Over the next few days, I will discuss the following topics, with a goal of helping us to avoid the pitfall of becoming so obsessed with work that we forget to enjoy our lives.

The Global Village has:

1) Caused us to be focused on work from the moment we wake to the moment we lay down to sleep

2) Placed expectations on us to respond to every contact/email/phone call instantaneously, and causes us to place those same expectations on others

3) Caused us to begin forgetting how to relate to people and build relationships without technology

4) Made it hard for people to escape from the normal routine of life

Ultimately my goal in discussing this is to begin some dialog on how pursuit of outdoor adventure and enjoyment can help us to reconnect to what we have lost as a result of this “villagization”

READ PART 2: Click Here to read “Work/Life Balance”

Becoming a Sustainable Community

OutdoorEd.com had a great post on their blog, written by Rick Curtis. 

In it, Rick discusses how through involvement with the University that houses his program, he and his student leadership team spent months making their business and their operations more sustainable. The things they did included establishing better re-use habits when on the trail, establishing better recycling programs in their day to day use of resources, and analyzing what type of equipment they purchase, where it comes from, what it is made of and the manufacturing process, just to name a few. All in all, they developed a more sustainable program, which ultimately will contribute to the health of the environment and the effectiveness of their program. 

As I reflected on this, I began to think about how Ascent Adventure Consultants could become a more sustainable program, as well as how Ascent Adventure Consultants could be more involved in the community to help the community as a whole become more sustainable. What an honor it would be to be involved in making our community a better place to live. I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts on ways we can do this together as a community.

To give you some ideas of what we will be doing as a company, you can refer to the Princeton University Sustainability Manual.