Driving east beyond the Cape of Good Hope and the true terminus of Africa, Cape Agulhas, where the convergence of the Indian and The Atlantic Ocean dance to support untold stories of life and struggle in the ocean – the land of South Africa opens up. For the wild beasts of the continent, roads represent interruptions in natural corridors, obstacles that herd, and grazing animals must transect in order to get to ungrazed lands, water, and mating grounds. The result is a smattering of civilization and wilderness in conflict at times, and wildlife management replaces the natural order.

Now, it is the dry season, and at this time, the few watering holes represent the gathering points for species in the wild. Here there are elephants, hippos, hyena, rhino, zebra, lion, gazelle, cheetah; all the usual suspects that remind me of my youth spent staring at the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom show on TV. A lot has changed since then.

Throughout the countryside, there are game reserves and game parks, the former, similar to national parks in the United States. In national reserves, there is no take, but in other places massive swatches of land are bought up to create the appearance of the wild, where hunters will come to track and kill large game. These areas are all fenced in with electric wire to keep the prized beasts from moving out. European, Arab, and American hunters alike will pay top dollar to kill large beasts. I’m told it costs up to 30k U.S to shoot an elephant. Lions can fetch up to 50k. Animals are specifically bred for this purpose and roam on massive hunting parks where hunters can hire a guide to track animals the old way, and claim their prize with a gun. Exporting of the tusks and such is difficult in the United States but I was told by a taxidermist in Namibia that other than the U.S, taking prizes home from these beasts is not as difficult.

In the Northwest of South Africa, Kruger National Park – the most healthy environment and one private game park, where no hunting is allowed – has emerged as model for restoring things to their natural populations. The place is called, Londolozi, started by the Varty family and is perhaps the most exclusive safari spot in this region. Dave Varty wrote an incredible book about the project entitled The Full Circle. Celebrities visit it often, and accommodation costs 1k per person per day. It is so wild that guests are escorted from their rooms to the dining area, as it’s far too dangerous even amongst the hotel buildings to wander the grounds, especially at night.

For the animals that populate the area, the natural order reigns, and the cruelty of nature is law. The game rangers are selected in Top Gun fashion and undergo a series of very rigorous and dangerous tests to be hired. The park is massive and a prospective ranger is asked to transect it with only a knife – and stay alive amidst some of the biggest predators known to man. If confronted by a lion, the ranger must hold his ground, staring the lion down. I’m told that the lion will often charge and stop, testing the ranger, sometimes up to three times. If it happens a fourth, typically the man is doomed. Another test is meant to teach the ranger the true difficulty of being a predator in the wild. Killing one’s food is one thing, but eating it is another. Many animals will compete for a hunter’s kill, and protecting one’s meal means surviving to the next one. To pass the test, a ranger is given a rifle with three bullets and is asked to hunt and kill an Impala, at least 1.5 kilometers from camp, gut it, and carry it back on his shoulders fending off any competitors. Killing an Impala farther away means more distance to cover. And the smell of fresh kills excites predators for miles upon miles. Night or day, the ranger must return and I was told of one story where a ranger, covered in the animals blood, successfully fended off a pack of Hyena tracking him.

On more of a budget, I traveled to Addo National Elephant Reserve, and took a driving tour with a guide. The herd was over 400 and the reserve was set up to protect the animals from poachers. Elephants were everywhere and would often walk with in feet of our vehicle moving to the next food source – in English, my guide referred to the tree as the Bacon Tree (which to me sounds magical) and told me that elephants can feed up to 22 hours a day in order to survive.

Leaving Africa means another month at sea for me, back to the plastic pollution work and a constant life of discovery. Blessed.

Editor’s Note: This is part 11 in a special series. Voyage with Stiv and catch the exclusive each week here at EcoSalon during his months-long journey into the heart of the South Atlantic Gyre and beyond.

Image: flowcomm, Sara&Joachim

The post Africa and The Elephant appeared first on EcoSalon.

On the east side of the Cape of Good Hope is False Bay, so named I presume because ancient mariners rounding her would think they’d gain the passage to the east, when in reality, the terminus of Africa lies just beyond to the east at Cape Aguhlas. From Cape Town, it’s just a short drive to another world of Africa, one that’s beyond the world of humans and wild. I find that writing about this place makes word and phrase choice sound a bit too intrepid or romantic. But that’s what this writer feels at the end of a continent, a place with 60 percent of the biodiversity that’s found throughout it. In short, it’s wild. Yes, at times it’s difficult to get past the disparity, the political and economic residue of apartheid but seeing that, too, reminds one of America’s problems with race and resource distribution, too.

But here there are the penguins. Here there are the baboons. Here are the vast open spaces with exposed rock that’s been beaten by millenia of wind and rain. The microclimates steal the senses, much like San Francisco’s landscape in weather but without the buildings. Here is where two oceans meet. The Atlantic is much colder than the Indian because of a dominant current that skirts the west coast of Africa that originates in the Antarctic. The difference in temperature and salinity makes for upwellings of nutrient rich waters that feed ocean and land animals alike.

Just off the coast are some of the sharkiest waters on the planet, and as we drive we see black flags at beaches with a silhouette of these great creatures, alerting surfers and snorkelers to their presence. The regular road signs alert us to animals that I only have seen in zoos – like baboons, penguins, ostriches – and a deery animal with horns called a Schonbock.

At a beach reserve named Boulders we find the penguins. Hundreds of them walk about, no more than 18-inches high. These are called African Penguins, previously known as the Jackass Penguin because of a donkey-like honk that they make. There are bachelors and bachelorettes alike, as well as several mating pairs. As they go about their business, just watching their awkward terrestrial movements inspires joy. They are some of the cutest things I’ve ever seen in my life. As we continue towards land’s end of the Cape of Good Hope, we happen upon a family of baboons along the side of the road. Signs warn travelers not feed them, as doing so makes them accustom to humans as a food source which often ends tragically. A fed baboon is a dead baboon we’re told, and house break ins by the creatures is not uncommon. As we watch from the care window, the dominant male in his majesty keeps look out after his clan, and the babies are playing like children do. They wrestle, they tumble, and on has stolen a flower from the other and is playing keep away with it.

The wind is howling, also a symptom of converging ocean currents. Many ships have foundered on these rocks, the winds blowing them to shore. I myself have gotten lost in South Africa, lost in love with landscape, the people and the complex convergence of the two.

Editor’s Note: This is part 10 in a special series. Voyage with Stiv and catch the exclusive each week here at EcoSalon during his months-long journey into the heart of the South Atlantic Gyre and beyond.

Image: stuart001uk

The post The Cape Side of Good Hope appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you are well acquainted with EcoSalon, you know we don’t shy away from controversial issues. In fact, we welcome them. Rarely is there one right answer, and remaining open-minded in the face of difficult discussions is what EcoSalon strives to achieve.

And 2010 was no exception. It was indeed a stellar year for serious and many-sided environmental discussions. We hope you enjoyed the controversy, I mean year, as much as we did!

Here’s our greatest hits list for 2010:

GINK (Green Inclinations, No Kids) – Want to help the environment? Stop procreating. Turns out, going childless is the greenest choice of all. GINK describes women who decide not to have kids for any number of reasons, but mainly they consider the childless choice a huge gain for the environment. And furthermore, did you know that women can find peace, contentment and even happiness sans baby? Amazing!

Gulf Series – The BP Oil spill last April was tragic and terrifying to witness from afar, but when one of our writers traveled to the Gulf of Mexico and reported back, we got much more than we bargained for, including the devastating details of the aftermath and cleanup.

Gyre Series – Plastic pollution is collecting in the earth’s waters. It’s a catastrophic problem and one that we followed first hand (well, almost) while sailing the South Atlantic Gyre. Actually, Stiv Wilson, one of our editors, went on the adventure and yes, he lived to tell us all about it. In fact, the saga continues.

Politics versus Science – It was a big year for politics and science, with solar panels reappearing on the White House, emails leaking with twisted facts and figures, and a newly elected Republican Congress and the resurgence of climate change denial. One battle after another. We faced the Global Warming deniers and naysayers but in the end it seems, Americans still trust science. Phew!

Fur? Leather? Vegan? Oh yes! – Debate and controversy ran rampant in the fashion arena this year, and no one came out wrong. The fur versus leather discussion continued, while vegans consistently said no to anything animal. But if anything artificial and man-made only adds to the mess we’re in, why not wear fur? So many questions, all sorts of answers. In the end it comes down to personal preference and hopefully, an earnest attempt to pay attention to the planet.

Gender & Sexism – 2010 was also a big year for the ladies, or wait – is it gals or women or dames? It was a big year, as in, we’re still not making as much, still being asked why we’re not married and having babies, and still can’t be both smart and pretty. Further complicating the matter, green itself has been accused of sexism! How’s that for progress, eh?

Apple – One of the most anticipated events of the year was the launch of the iPad. We also saw a plethora of eco-friendly iPhone covers, and others made of rosewood, plants and bamboo. But no matter how green our gadgets, will we always wonder whether we can live without them? Yep, probably.

Food Revolution – 2010 saw schools saying adios to junk food (and Sara Palin getting mad about it), urbanites saying yes to farming, and more discussion about the problem that is the global food system. In other news – the concept of being a foodie rose in our consciousness this year, as people became increasingly fascinated with culinary culture and great cuisine. From food carts to all things pork to urban wineries, the foodie has arrived – your table is ready!

Electric Cars – It was a year to remember for the electric car. With the new EPA fuel efficiency labels meaning business, car manufacturers did the same. It seems everyone who’s anyone had an entry into the electric lineup – Mercedes and BMW, the Nissan Leaf (which was already sold out in the U.S. by July) and the Chevy Volt. And it appears we’ll be seeing more charging stations in the next year as well. Good thing!

Gorgeous Green Living – 2010 was full of talk about prefab, small spaces and McMansions, but EcoSalon saw a subtler, deeper theme at play: how green, vintage and good taste combine to make gorgeous living. We immersed ourselves in all areas of art and design and garnered loads of green lessons from what we found. We researched and scoured the web to bring you design insights, ideas and inspiration. Because in these not-so-stable times – when we can control our spaces, our immediate surroundings, but not much else – a visceral dose of art and color and gorgeous is oh-so-wonderful.

and last, but definitely not least…

We decided that Green Needs to Grow Up – It cannot be coddled nor supported uncritically. We owe it to ourselves and our future generations to insist upon good standards and good products in green. So when things like deodorant and amusement parks announce they are green all over, we investigate. We’re tired of greenwashing and false advertising, and you should be, too.

Images: Deepwater Horizon Response, kevindooley, Stiv Wilson, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, jessjamesjake, xjyxjy, Robert Scoble, bokchoi-snowpea, Lisa Cohen (via Living Inside), CoCreatr.

The post Top 11 Hottest Topics of 2010 from EcoSalon appeared first on EcoSalon.

And 2010 was no exception. It was indeed a stellar year for serious and many-sided environmental discussions. We hope you enjoyed the controversy, I mean year, as much as we did!

Here’s our greatest hits list for 2010…

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

GINK (Green Inclinations, No Kids) – Want to help the environment? Stop procreating. Turns out, going childless is the greenest choice of all. GINK describes women who decide not to have kids for any number of reasons, but mainly they consider the childless choice a huge gain for the environment. And furthermore, did you know that women can find peace, contentment and even happiness sans baby? Amazing!

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Gulf Series – The BP Oil spill last April was tragic and terrifying to witness from afar, but when one of our writers traveled to the Gulf of Mexico and reported back, we got much more than we bargained for, including the devastating details of the aftermath and cleanup.

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Gyre Series – Plastic pollution is collecting in the earth’s waters. It’s a catastrophic problem and one that we followed first hand (well, almost) while sailing the South Atlantic Gyre. Actually, Stiv Wilson, one of our editors, went on the adventure and yes, he lived to tell us all about it. In fact, the saga continues.

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Politics versus Science – It was a big year for politics and science, with solar panels reappearing on the White House, emails leaking with twisted facts and figures, and a newly elected Republican Congress and the resurgence of climate change denial. One battle after another. We faced the Global Warming deniers and naysayers but in the end it seems, Americans still trust science. Phew!

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Fur? Leather? Vegan? Oh yes! – Debate and controversy ran rampant in the fashion arena this year, and no one came out wrong. The fur versus leather discussion continued, while vegans consistently said no to anything animal. But if anything artificial and man-made only adds to the mess we’re in, why not wear fur? So many questions, all sorts of answers. In the end it comes down to personal preference and hopefully, an earnest attempt to pay attention to the planet.

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Gender & Sexism – 2010 was also a big year for the ladies, or wait – is it gals or women or dames? It was a big year, as in, we’re still not making as much, still being asked why we’re not married and having babies, and still can’t be both smart and pretty. Further complicating the matter, green itself has been accused of sexism! How’s that for progress, eh?

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Apple – One of the most anticipated events of the year was the launch of the iPad. We also saw a plethora of eco-friendly iPhone covers, and others made of rosewood, plants and bamboo. But no matter how green our gadgets, will we always wonder whether we can live without them? Yep, probably.

Food Revolution – 2010 saw schools saying adios to junk food (and Sara Palin getting mad about it), urbanites saying yes to farming, and more discussion about the problem that is the global food system. In other news – the concept of being a foodie rose in our consciousness this year, as people became increasingly fascinated with culinary culture and great cuisine. From food carts to all things pork to urban wineries, the foodie has arrived – your table is ready!

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Electric Cars – It was a year to remember for the electric car. With the new EPA fuel efficiency labels meaning business, car manufacturers did the same. It seems everyone who’s anyone had an entry into the electric lineup – Mercedes and BMW, the Nissan Leaf (which was already sold out in the U.S. by July) and the Chevy Volt. And it appears we’ll be seeing more charging stations in the next year as well. Good thing!

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

Gorgeous Green Living – 2010 was full of talk about prefab, small spaces and McMansions, but EcoSalon saw a subtler, deeper theme at play: how green, vintage and good taste combine to make gorgeous living. We immersed ourselves in all areas of art and design and garnered loads of green lessons from what we found. We researched and scoured the web to bring you design insights, ideas and inspiration. Because in these not-so-stable times – when we can control our spaces, our immediate surroundings, but not much else – a visceral dose of art and color and gorgeous is oh-so-wonderful.

• «
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• »

…and last, but definitely not least…

We decided that Green Needs to Grow Up – It cannot be coddled nor supported uncritically. We owe it to ourselves and our future generations to insist upon good standards and good products in green. So when things like deodorant and amusement parks announce they are green all over, we investigate. We’re tired of greenwashing and false advertising, and you should be, too.

Images: Deepwater Horizon Response, kevindooley, Stiv Wilson, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, jessjamesjake, xjyxjy, Robert Scoble, bokchoi-snowpea, Lisa Cohen (via Living Inside), CoCreatr.

The post Top 11 Hottest Topics of 2010 from EcoSalon appeared first on EcoSalon.

War, science denial and Fox News. It’s what’s going on in the world, but it’s not especially merry, merry. If you’re feeling anxious about the eco conversation turning an ugly shade of green at the family Christmas dinner, rest easy. It’s not all doom and gloom. (Besides, there will be plenty of time post-feast to take on Uncle Ulysses on Wikileaks, your sister Sue on why being green doesn’t actually make you a commie, and cousin Clive on the South Atlantic Gyre.)

So, for your dining pleasure, I submit to you three news items everyone can be happy about:

1. Good for flora…

How is this for a dream headline: “Amazon deforestation in dramatic decline, official figures show.”

This is from the Guardian, which reported this summer that data from satellites shows that large areas of forest destruction was about halved in the period between August 2009 and May 2010, compared with the same period a year earlier (to about 930 square miles from about 1860 square miles). The story notes that the Brazilian environment agency, Ibama, said “the drop was due to the increased use of satellite data to spot the felling of trees and new tactics to deter loggers, including ending their ability to hide under cloud cover.” Along these lines, we recently reported here that Google’s announcement this month of its Earth Engine will allow for even more monitoring and measurement of changes in the Earth’s environment. With its eye in the sky, the system will “function like a watchdog camera, supporting the development of ‘monitor, report and verify’ (MRV) efforts to stop global deforestation.” Go, trees!

2. Good for fauna…

Things are looking up for some pretty cool endangered species – you know, the sexy ones that get lots of press and for which even your most “who-cares” relatives have a soft spot. Consider first the mountain gorilla, the number of which in national parks of three African countries has risen by 26 percent in the last seven years, says a recent census. Next, how about those tigers, whose on-the-brink status has led to a recent summit among the 13 nations where the animals still exist in the wild. The takeway was $300 million raised to save the animals (including a cool million from actor Leonardo DiCaprio), as well as agreement to attempt to double their number by 2022. And finally, there’s the canary in our global coalmine – the polar bear – for which The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has just designated 87,000 square miles along the north coast of Alaska as protected “critical habitat” as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups (although a lump of coal to the Obama administration for declaring polar bears merely “threatened” today).

3. And good for us…

Hooray for the home team on the emissions front. As a result in an increase in United States fuel economy standards, a new EPA report is showing a 14 percent per mile drop in carbon dioxide emissions over the last six years, and a 16 percent drop in gasoline use, with a rise of 3.1 miles per gallon to 22.5. In fact, “C02 emissions have decreased while fuel economy has increased every year since 2005, reversing the trend of the previous eight years.” This doesn’t mean we’re all to breathe easy and lose our discipline on this issue, but good news is good news.

So there. Eat, drink and be environmentally merry. A little more champagne, please! Go ahead and top off the glass.

Special thanks to the Great News Network (GNN) for reminding me that all’s not dire on the environmental front.

Images: Sara&Joachim, Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel, wwarby, ^riza^

The post 3 Green Holiday Dinner Conversation Starters (That Everyone Will Like) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Yes, that’s an N.W.A. reference. Here’s another, less controversial one:

“Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all the plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”  – John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

I’m barely getting through my days right now without the aid of antiquated gangsta rap and John. I’m in the hustling trenches. Wake up. Write, then market. Phone call, email, phone call, email, wait, wait, email telling you to wait, phone call, rinse, repeat. Support our mission! Give us money! Yes, you’ll get pro photo assets. Yes, we’ll shout you out. Yes, we work with the UN, yes, big media is going to cover it. Yes, we’ll rock your brand as long as you give a demonstrable, objective crap about the earth. We’re here. We’re epic, we’re leaving soon. Give us money.

This is my life for the next four weeks. It’s good, though: I believe in what I do. Perennially on the road, I’m fund hunting via iPhone (I once filled out a 12-page grant application on it). Red into the black, that’s my mission. Float the boat.

So, no reports this week from far flung locales. I’m at home doing the dirty work that makes this plastic trash studying in the ocean work possible. And I’m antsy. I can’t hunch over my computer saying “I need to do more yoga” one minute longer, reading about Sun Chips ditching their compostable bag because it’s just too noisy. Or Coburn, the small-minded bastard, not having an issue with shark finning. It’s crazymaking. Forget ethical integrity so we can snack quietly and enjoy a tipple of exotic broth.

November 1, I leave for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to join my 5 Gyres team to prepare for our departure to Capetown, South Africa, aboard our trusty lady, The Sea Dragon, to study plastic pollution in yet another oceanic gyre. Then I’ll hang in South Africa doing events and presentations (and surfing) for the month of December. Next, it’s up the coast of Africa to Walvis Bay, Namibia, to an island named St. Helena, then to Montevideo, Uruguay. I’ll be “home” February 11, 2011.

The crew will consist of our usual suspects and we’re in the throes of selecting the fresh meat. Sailing across an ocean is no joke, and you need to vet your crew if you’re going to occupy a 72 by 15 foot space for 30 days straight. And our ship is a working vessel. No whiners or dilettantes allowed. We take journalists, artists, pro surfers, industry reps, students, teachers – if you come back and fight for the cause, then it’s worth you seeing something that very few people on earth even imagine exists: A plastic trash vortex in the middle of the ocean.

If you’re a plastic warrior and have some skills, talk to the Ed. at EcoSalon and I’ll get you on the ship. It’ll change your life. It did mine.

These are the areas we study. What you’re looking at here is a computer model of buoys that drifted in the ocean for 10 years, pinging their locations everyday. This is their path. The gyre, as we say, is the red parts. Some are more concentrated, some are more diffuse. All have an incredible amounts of plastic in them.

If you have an interest in this subject (which I so warmly refer to as our little marine disaster of incomprehensible scale), I’m going to be reporting via satellite on what we find “out there” in an area of the world’s ocean that has never been studied for plastic pollution a few times a week.

Stay tuned. And fight everyday. Even just a little.

The post F@$K tha Plastique, Goin’ Straight South Atlantic Bound appeared first on EcoSalon.

As travelers, we look for beauty when we go to remarkable and offbeat places. But to truly understand the world, we’ll look at the dark side of foreign cultures, to better inform our own impact. What we find, no matter how far we travel is that we are all connected. The following is a short film of what plastic pollution from Europe to North America looks like once it enters the Atlantic Garbage Patch.  How does it get there?  Rain + Litter + Sewer Systems or Runoff = Ocean Garbage.

The post My Synthetic Sojourn to the North Atlantic: A Short Film appeared first on EcoSalon.