national geographic

World's Ten Best Biking Trails

Julia — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:12:57 -0400

This list comes from a travel guide that National Geographic released, called, Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips.

For you world travelers out there, you better get started...!

1. Route Verte (Canada)

2. Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (U.S.A./Canada)

3. Ruta Austral (Chile)

4. Munda Biddi Trail (Australia)

5. Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)

6. Gran Fondo Campagnolo (Italy)

7. Luchon/Bayonne (France)

8. Route du Comte Jean (Belgium/France)

9. Land’s End/John O’Groats (Britain)

10. Cape Argus Pick’n Pay Cycle Tour (South Africa)

Harrison Ford: Love Affair with the Environment

deborah — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Harrison Ford doesn't just play swashbuckling action-adventure heroes. He's a real life environmental hero as well. The National Geographic website features an interview with the Indiana Jones star where he discusses how his love affair with the environment goes way back. In fact, when he's not acting Harrison is a strategic guide with Conservation International, an agency he hopes will influence major corporations in "effective" ways.

Harrison Ford also talks of:

Visiting Venezuela with his sons.
When he began his appreciation of nature.
His love of flying.
His search and rescue team.
Being in a helicopter crash.

What I like about Harrison Ford is how we don't hear about how he spends days rescuing stranded tourists or his role with Conservation International. To me, the true heroes are the ones who do their good deeds quietly without having their publicists broadcasting their exploits to the media. The low-key approach usually means they're doing what they can to make a difference and not to make the evening news or promote a movie. Yes, Harrison Ford does have a movie coming out, but his role in the conservation goes beyond Indiana Jones. In 2002 Harrison won the Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Harvard Medical School's Health and the Global Environment for his contributions to environmental causes.

Harrison Ford lives in Jackson, Wyoming on a spectacular 800-acre ranch where he can truly appreciate nature and the environment. As a former city girl I can only dream of living in what must be a wilderness filled with bird and bison and running streams. It's wonderful to be able to live one's dreams, it's unselfish to give of yourself so future generations can live theirs.

Image: PR Photos

Runners: Wake Up and Smell The Green

tdupuy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

As a marathon runner I go through athletic shoes once every two-to-three months. Running shoes are generally only good for 300-to-400 miles. Worn out shoes can cause injuries.

And yes I have heard of those that run barefoot. They claim that it is ‘natural’ to do this. To which I say there is nothing ‘natural’ about running 26.2 miles when nothing is chasing you. My sport of choice is beyond ‘natural’. There is a link between the popularity of marathon running and the advent of EVA foam and Ibuprofen.

Anyway, I should trade my shoes out more than I do but I find the waste an embarrassment. They pile up quick. Then I have all these tired, dirty and sad looking shoe mounds in my closet. There are lots of places that recycle old running shoes.. The track I work out at has a program to turn old running shoes into - a new track! And the circle continues…

So being such a heavy consumer of running shoes means finding a brand that works for you and a brand that is the least egregious on the environment. National Geographic’s Green Guide has researched the issue and broken down the good and the bad (what no ugly Nat Geo?) of the major athletic shoe makers.

What’s interesting is that Nike, bruised from its sweatshop rep in the ‘90’s, is now a leader in the reduction of toxic chemicals and shoe recycling. And now they are (gasp) finalists in the Ceres-ACCA awards.

"The Ceres-ACCA awards recognize companies and organizations that report sustainability information in the most complete and credible way," said Ceres President Mindy S. Lubber."We are looking for organizations which document their key impacts and clearly explain changes in performance, positive or negative, and set a vision and targets for future progress."

As for my brand of utter and undying loyalty? Lets just say that they’re made in the USA and that is buying locally.