Have you ever thought: ‘Boy, I’d like to change the world!’?  I’m sure we could brainstorm several pages of things we could do (and hopefully are doing) to change the world, but I’d like to focus on the power that travelers have every time they make a choice on where to go and what to do.  The travel industry operates under similar economic rules that most businesses must follow: if no one wants your product or service you either change or you die.  Sure, marketing can help you convince your customers that they want you, but, especially with sustainable traveling, most businesses are trying to catch up with the trends.  The new green revolution has incredible potential to change the world, or it could be too little too late.  The consumer has the ability to chart the course of this new journey by asking tough questions on every purchase (or choosing not to purchase) he or she makes.  When traveling, when was the last time you asked if the food served at the restaurant is local and organic?  What about the water consumption of the lodges.  Or even assurance that the labor standards do not allow for exploitation of the folks who clean the hotel or maintain the grounds.  If more people started asking these tough questions it wouldn’t take long for hotels and restaurants and others in the travel industry to start paying attention to these and other sustainability measures.  Better yet, if consumers decided to only support the businesses that met such values, it wouldn’t take long for there to be an industry standard.

I am not one opposed to government regulation, but the speed of government does not usually match the pace we need to take to address the large environmental and social justice problems of our time.  Writing a letter to your representative is always encouraged, but when you vote with your dollars there is a chance your say can reach those in industries quite a bit quicker than any law or regulation.

As a company, EverGreen Escapes is working to do some of this homework for you.  Every partner we choose to partner with must demonstrate how they are working towards sustainability.  As time goes on, those that live up to this commitment will continue to get our business and those that fall short will not.  Currently, we are researching how we can be carbon neutral and waste free.  This is not only what we demand of ourselves, but what our customers are demanding of us.  Because of YOUR commitment to sustainability, you are holding us accountable and pushing us towards the cutting edge.  Keep up the good work.   

Our children are born seemingly perfect.  It never fails to amaze me how much energy is condensed in eggs and seeds, those tiny expandable, sometimes microscopic, packages that form the next generation.  We named our first child Atom in honor of the incredible amount of potential energy possessed by small things poised to grow. The age old debate, nature vs nurture has finally succumbed to “a combination of both.” More...