Traveling "green"

What the heck does it mean to travel green anyway? We get this question a lot around here, and it usually surfaces alongside some of the following comments:



- Traveling green? (Blank stare) I can't ride a bike to Europe.
- Green travel? Is that like only going to places with rain-forests and pine cones?
- Are you guys with the Green Party? Do you work for that Al Gore guy?
- Are you guys those people that go camp out in trees chanting "Mother Earth" as loggers try to fell conifer trees?

So for the record to the above, no, no, no, and finally, NO. So what does green travel mean then? Well, it can mean a lot of things but Jessica and I believe that we ought to minimize the harm we as travelers do on the environment through flights, car and train trips, hotels rooms etc. We also believe that rather than just visiting (and often jeopardizing) the places we travel to, we should give back to the local communities we all love so much around the world.

One solution: We think carbon credits are a great way to minimize the impact of travel on the environment. Sure, they're not perfect, but it's better than nothing. A couple of things to make sure you look out for with carbon credits:
1. Make sure that credits are going towards projects that can in fact, make a difference (not just reforestation efforts).
2. Make sure those projects aren't all in one place should (heaven-forbid) a fire wipe out the area etc - similar to the investment strategy of not putting all your eggs in one basket.
3. Make sure the company's records have public audits to show where (and in what amount) their money is spent. If you'd like to see an example of a company doing a great job at this, please click here. To learn more about Pangaea's program, please click here.

And lastly, our vision of the most important piece of making travel sustainable: Give back! What better way to protect the cultures and environments we as travelers visit than to invest in their development, protect their lands and resources, and ensure the beauties of this world are around and thriving for future generations. Read more...

A carbon neutral city?

Here at Pangaea we deal a lot in carbon credits, in fact a good portion of our day is used discussing them. So this morning on NPR when I heard that a carbon neutral city is in the works, my ears perked up. That is until where I heard this city will be located in Abu Dhabi, then I almost crashed my car. Just kidding, but in all truth I was REALLY, REALLY surprised. For all of you non-geography people, Abu Dhabi is in the United Arab Emirates boarding Saudi Arabia and Oman and across the Persian Gulf from Iran.

I would not exactly pair the biggest oil producing region in the world with anything pertaining to environmental standards...but turns out I was wrong. The proposed city would be called Masdar City and will burn no gas or oil, so its contribution to greenhouse gases will be minimal. The entire city would be built towards the Northeast which will optimize the amount of solar energy that can be gathered in a day. Cars would also be banned within the city and instead something called a personalized transit system (PTS) would be used to get from place to place. Designers envision the PRS (which is very similar to a 6 person car) to run off solar and battery power.

The country has made this project city a priority to try and better position themselves financially when their oil runs out. I find this idea absolutely ingenious and really quite surprising at the same time. It is a very ambitious project which skeptics have claimed is impossible. What do you think about a city completely eliminating its carbon footprint?
For the NPR version click here. Read more...

"Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today."

Jessica and I often find ourselves in a Groundhogs Day-esque conversation that goes something like this:

Random stranger: "So, you own a travel agency... that's great!"
Jessica and I: "Actually we're doing something different, it's not really an agency, we do x, y, and z"
Random stranger: "Oh.... I see...." (confused look)
(Pause)
Random stranger: "So what is it you do again?"

In honor of Bill Murray, or maybe because print lasts longer, we are going to lay out for all you loyal readers the niche we have created for ourselves and why we think it makes us unique... and frankly, just totally rad.

First off, if any of you are ever going to book a tour or cruise, come to us! Even if you know the cruise line you're going to take, when, where and how - we are your people. Here's why: If you let us book the tour/cruise for you, we'll share in the proceeds with you. Yep. We get paid by the cruises and tour companies to bring them clients. That means, if the cruise costs you $3,000 and you let us book it, it still costs you $3,000. *But* we'll give you money on the back end to outfit yourselves for the trip. What's the catch you ask? There isn't one.

Secondly, we got into this business to make a difference. We think the travel industry does a tremendous amount of harm to the environment, cultures and sites it visits. A round trip flight from Washington DC to Paris burns over a ton of harmful emissions into the atmosphere alone. Yikes. So, we've partnered with a number of organizations to do something about it. The first is Carbonfund.org. Moving forward, every client that books their trip through us will be receiving carbon neutral travel. What this means is, we will be purchasing carbon credits to offset the damage clients' trips are doing on the environment. When you travel, your plane, cars, trains, boats and even hotel rooms all release carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels which are causing the Earth’s climate to change and warm. These harmful fuels will have catastrophic results if we do not act to reduce them. What's better than Pangaea choosing to do this? Unlike other travel companies that claim to do this for their clients, we are offsetting EVERY portion of their trip (flight, hotel, cars/boats/trains) not just one or two pieces, and we are doing it at our own expense. That's right. We pay for all of it out of our own pocket. As if that's not enough, we've offset our annual business impact here at Pangaea.

Next, we will be also giving back to several leading global conservancies supporting various environmental causes. We will soon be posting the details of this program as well.

Lastly, we can do the simple stuff! If you want a hotel booked, an international flight quote, or a custom made adventure, we're here for you! Read more...