Being Green Shopping: Being Green Shopping
by maribeth
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Online Boutique Recommendations: Holidays 2010
Marmot Skier from Alpen Schatz
Are you overwhelmed yet? You know, about all the holiday hoopla. I try to keep it as simple as possible and still, I sometimes feel myself stressing about the handful of items scratched onto my holiday to-do list. This year poses even more of a challenge—for me and other Americans—since many of us are more cost conscious and environmentally aware than ever before.
I’ve always been an advocate of buying quality, not quantity. Call it the French way, if you want. It’s also very European to be green and it’s great to see Americans implementing that approach into their lifestyle—especially their shopping habits—more and more. We all know about bringing our own bags with us when we shop, but what approach should we use for online shopping? And is online shopping even green?
I’m not sure how to answer that last question since I’m a huge proponent of shopping local. But let’s face it, you can’t buy everything locally, especially when you live in a remote mountain town like Telluride, Colorado. Plus it’s fun to source speciality items on the Internet from time to time. And what about Aunt Harriet, brother Mike and all the other assorted friends and family members on your gift-giving list—you know, the folks that live a bazillion miles away? I think it’s much easier to turn the packaging and mailing chore over to an online boutique.
Art & Culture Being Green Colorado Springs Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Telluride: Art & Culture Being Green Colorado Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Photography Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
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Colorful Colorado
Telluride’s Valley Floor
Wow. Wow. Wow. What an extraordinary end of summer/fall it has been. We’ve had nearly three weeks of breathtakingly-beautiful weather here in the Rockies and the forecast promises more sun and warmth for the upcoming week. The colors have popped. It looks like the leaves in the San Juan Mountains, the range located in the southwestern corner of Colorado, will be peaking this weekend. Usually when that happens, a snowstorm blows in, but this year we’re to be blessed with more fine leaf-peeping days throughout a good part of October. Scenery like this makes me wonder why people battle the crowds and traffic jams of New England for their annual fall foliage tour. I recommend you sign up for the wide, open spaces and shimmering aspens of the Rockies next year!
Art & Culture Being Green Music & Dance Telluride: Art & Culture Being Green Music & Dance Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
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Phish in Telluride: The Day After the Day After
Phish Phans Philing into Telluride Town Park
Well, we did it. Our little mountain town has survived—very well in fact—the invasion of some 10,000 Phish fans. Aside from a smattering of arrests (mostly drug-related), an excess of garbage (which has already been expediently cleaned up) and a few trampled flower beds, most appears pretty much back to normal.
Sure, here in T-ride we’re accustomed to putting on big festivals, big doings that see the population of our town nearly quadruple in less than forty-eight hours. But this was Phish, the widely popular jam band that enjoys a spectacular following everywhere they go. Even Phish fans have to obtain concert tickets through a carefully orchestrated lottery; their shows consistently sell out in record time and those that make it to the event are die-hards, devoted followers that think nothing about crisscrossing the country to take in a show. Especially if it’s in a venue as stunning as Telluride’s Town Park, a setting as celebrated as the numerous artists that have played there.
Psyched to See the Show
My first glimpse of dedicated Phish fans en masse occurred late Sunday afternoon, the last day of the Telluride Jazz Festival. The crowd more than doubled, shifting from mountain casual to urban hippie as Phish fans poured into this mellow gathering in Telluride Town Park. I knew already that despite an abundance of tie dye and weed, these folks came from every ilk, every socioeconomic background, every corner of the U.S. Already I suspected many of them to be closet hippies, the kind of people that wore suits and serious expressions most days to work yet their real drug of choice was attending a Phish concert, an enviable outlet that leaves even the most seasoned concert goer in awe.
That’s just how I felt Tuesday night, the second night of Phish’s two-day stint in T-ride. (I had skipped Monday’s show and, in fact, decided only Tuesday morning to attend the second when my boyfriend, Steve, threw a ticket my way. The whole town was buzzing about the event, so how could I stay home?)
It was a gorgeous evening, one of the prettiest of the summer, perfect for baring skin and parading about in all manner of costume-y outfits. And of those there were many. From sequins to tinsel, feathers to beads, face paintings to piercings and tattoos, the entire scene provided some of the best people watching of any concert I’ve attended.
And as the puffy clouds stretched across orangey-pink bands in the faded blue jean sky, the sun set out far beyond our cathedral canyon. My hunny and I remarked about the number of people turning to this gorgeous vision, gazing skyward in amazement, snapping pictures on cell phones and cameras, craning their necks to take in the full glory of this Kodachrome moment.
Our Cathedral Canyon
“I think they’re trying to figure out how much of what they see is real or a hallucination,” my hunny quipped.
Indeed I had never seen so many trip-y looking people. A thick cloud of smoke clung to the air and the smell of pot, tobacco and clove cigarettes permeated the entire park as people swayed and bobbed to the pulsating beat of the music. The crowd roared from the minute Phish took to the stage, mouthed almost every word of every song and communed with one and other as though they were at a massive neighborhood block party (albeit a pretty out-there one). And although the vibe felt relatively mellow, the enthusiasm exhibited among these hardcore fans reverberates through the mob as fast as a rumor spreads that this iconic jam band is coming to town.
“I can’t believe this is all legal,” I commented to my hunny.
“Most of it isn’t,” he replied.
Lighting Up
Really, in all the concerts I’ve ever attended—from my first biggies in Saratoga Springs (SPAC) which included Fleetwood Mac to Grateful Dead in Boston during my college years to the Rolling Stones and Police in Paris to the countless in Telluride including Dylan—never had I taken in such a scene. Still though, everyone seemed to be in possession of themselves. This must have been what Woodstock was like, I thought to myself. I didn’t know a single song but I had fun, I felt glad to take in such a display.
The mood became more uproarious after the set break when the band broke out with Party Time, a riotous song which prompted fans to toss massive quantities of glow sticks and rings into the audience. Although this jolly show of neon further enhanced the sensational lighting effects of the show, I couldn’t get past how awful it was to mindlessly throw all these toxic, plastic vials about. Clearly a lot of Phish fans lack some real environmental awareness. I had never seen this happen anywhere before, especially not in T-ride. (And if they ever come back here, I doubt they’ll repeat this offense again.)
I actually learned yesterday on the local news that cleaning up from these shows entailed the biggest effort ever. Fortunately we have crews that know how to restore our park to one of the most pristine public places in the country. They combed the last blades of grass for the pesky debris that remained including cherry pits, cigarette butts and bottle caps. Phish fans have a lot to learn from our festivarians, especially from the Telluride Bluegrass devotees, a crowd that’s well versed in protecting the environment. But hey, they’ve been coming to our beautiful mountain town for nearly four decades.
All things considered, you did good Phish. Just next time, tell your Phans to leave the glow sticks at home and to better pick up after themselves. Oh, and maybe you could turn the music down a little. That was the loudest concert I ever attended and it feels like my ears are still ringing. Liked the improv though. And, of course, the super-friendly, groovy, free-spirited people.
Phish Jamming on Telluride Town Park Stage
Thank you to Merrick Chase, from Telluride Photography, for the above images. To view the entire two days of Phish in Telluride (and more!), visit the Telluride Photography Web site and blog.
For more on Telluride festivals, read Summer in Telluride: A Sea of Festivals and More.
Being Green Cycling Paris Tours: Being Green Cycling Paris Tours
by maribeth
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Tour Mania Versus Zee Segway
The Segway Peloton of Paris
I’ve been thinking about whizzing around Paris these days.
It’s July and I’m consumed with The Tour. I’m referring to the Tour de France, as I’m sure you might have guessed.
I love watching the undulating ribbon of the peloton weave its way through France, but it’s in Paris on the last day of this epic bike race that this colorful procession mystifies me the most. I think it’s because Paris is so familiar to me: I’ve walked the great length of the Champs-Elysées countless times, wended my way around the expansive place de la Concorde, strolled beneath the arcades of the rue de Rivoli from Concorde to Palais Royal. Seeing the Tour de France posse (caravan, cyclists, team cars, press and officials) dominate this familiar terrain mesmerizes me the most. How incredibly fitting it is to have some of the world’s finest athletes power over the same routes reserved for royalty and heads of state.
If you’re not able to be in the City of Light on the final day of this great race, I encourage you to at least catch part of the last stage on T.V. Even the lively commentary of the sportscasters can’t drone out the pack’s thunderous rumble over the cobbles, the resounding swoosh and whir as they travel along Paris’s centuries-old streets.
If you’re at all like me, you’ll also be envious of the racers having the streets of Paris to themselves. Quel bonheur! Can you imagine how great that feels, pedaling through these historic streets at lightening speed?
There’s nothing like experiencing a place from a bicycle or I suppose, even a Segway. I’m reminded of this every time I hop on a bike but it really hit home recently when a friend told me about how he breezed around Paris standing head and shoulders above the masses. He had taken a Segway tour and visited a good number of Paris’s best-loved sites and monuments in a flash, without the inconveniences of sore feet or having to get on and off a bus a ton of times.
Being Green Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Podcasts Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel: Being Green Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Podcasts Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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Sleek and Sustainable: Two Stellar Colorado Properties
Style-y Dining at Eight K at the Viceroy Snowmass
What does it mean to stay in a green hotel? In the case of The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain and the Viceroy Snowmass, it means stepping into a swanky world where sustainable luxury reigns supreme. I stayed at these two stunning resorts this past off-season and was highly impressed by their look and commitment to preserving the environment.
While on the premises I observed a certain amount of sustainable practices on my own, but I yearned to find out more. I posed the question “What makes a hotel green?” to Jeffery Burrel, Director of Operations of The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, and to Jeff David, General Manager of the Viceroy Snowmass, in a recent Travel Fun interview and was interested to hear about what goes into the development and operations of a sustainable property. And I bet you will, too. Here’s a short list of the environmentally-conscious building strategies and operational practices implemented in these and most other LEED-certified properties:
-Many of the building materials are sourced locally. Expect lots of rich stonework and other natural elements.
-Some of the building materials come from post consumer/industrial recycled content. The roof of The Westin Riverfront, for example, is made of recycled automobile tires.
-Lots of glass, made up of high-performance windows, assure sweeping views.
-Low and non-emitting paints, adhesives and carpets are utilized throughout to ensure healthy indoor air quality.
-Much of the resort’s electricity comes from renewable sources.
-Low-flow fixtures help to conserve water.
-High efficiency appliances are used in the kitchens.
-Housekeeping products tend to be non-toxic and non-allergenic.
In addition to the above, each resort implements a variety of other green-oriented practices. At The Westin Riverfront I particularly appreciated the recycling bins in the kitchen and their huge emphasis on fitness. “We have more health and wellness space than banquet space,” says Jeffery Burrell. Indeed I was totally won over by their outdoor saline lap pool which to me, is better than swimming in the ocean. (There’s no black line in the ocean. And if you’re a serious swimmer, you want the black line.) You can bet, too, that their saline natatorium is far better for your health and wellness than swimming in most chlorine-saturated pools.
The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa
At the Viceroy Snowmass, I noticed that the kitchen appliances were unplugged on a daily basis, a smart practice that I’ve since adopted at home. This was also the first hotel where I found 16-ounce bottles of amenities in the bathroom. What a great idea! (See below for more of my thoughts on hotel amenities.)
Don’t for a moment think that cutting-edge and down-to-earth are mutually exclusive in either of these resorts. At both The Westin Riverfront and the Viceroy Snowmass, I was especially impressed by their friendly and efficient service. I also liked their many little touches such as the aluminum water bottle presented to you upon arrival at the Viceroy and the employee name tags stating each person’s passion at The Westin. Both of these features—especially the name tags—provide nice opportunities to engage warmly with the hotel staff.
And best of all, each of these resorts boast outstanding spas and restaurants that you can enjoy even if you’re not a guest of the hotel. In fact both the Restaurant Avondale at The Westin Riverfront and Eight K Restaurant at the Viceroy Snowmass are immensely popular with the locals. As for their spas, zen and nature have never come together in such a sensuous manner in both of these healing spaces.
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Beauty Being Green Shopping: Beauty Being Green Shopping
by maribeth
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Brand New Me: Surveying My Potions, Lotions and Other Pampering Paraphernalia
Farmaesthetics Sustainable Beauty
After having read my posting on “Bag It” and picked up on my vow to greatly reduce the amount of plastics in my life, you can bet I’ve been thrown into near panic mode as I attempt to put my new, ecologically-friendly beliefs into practice. I won’t hide it. I’ve been frequently disgusted. Everywhere I look I see plastic. And although I’m most concerned about the environment, I can’t help thinking about the plethora of phthalates I’m ingesting and applying to my skin.
Before even evaluating my fridge and pantry, I headed directly to my bathroom, that near sacred space where my vast array of cosmetics and skincare products stand prettily at attention—on my vanity and in my cabinets—ready to satisfy my most basic and frivolous beauty needs morning, noon and night. I hold up my nearest and dearest containers (sadly, primarily plastic) to the light, peering at the bottoms in an attempt to make out a number framed by a triangle of arrows, the ubiquitous symbol used to identify all kinds of recyclables from categories of plastic to cardboard. Almost as in Bingo, my heart sinks each time I come up with one without a number. I become truly indignant. How dare they? I eye these once favorable items with a suspicious look, vow to never buy them again and resign myself to the fact that they must be tossed in the trash once empty. (Their only other use might be in my own personal stash of reusable plastic containers, a collection that seems to be growing day-by-day.) Indeed I now think only a selfish person, a fool or someone that is for the most part clueless (my former self) would pick up or purchase an item that doesn’t reveal any discernible recycling capability.
I don’t consider myself a vamp, but I do possess a strong attachment to certain cosmetic and skincare items. There’s a core collection that I feel would be hard to live without: apricot face scrub that I became addicted to in highschool, Jason bodywash, the list goes on. My glossy, high-end products come and go, but I’ve often deemed many of my mid-level goods near irreplaceable and sadly, I’m beginning to slowly find out that some of these are unacceptable by recycling standards. Even with the supposedly recyclable items, it’s doubtful that most of them are recycled in the safest and most efficient ecological manner.
I hunt feverishly around my bathroom in search of products that embody the true green spirit. I’m looking for glass. Thankfully I find it in some of my favorites: Katresha Oil, Farmaesthetics Fine Herbal Cleanser and Nourishing Herbal Cream and Kneipp Herbal Bath Oils. Suddenly I make the connection that many of my most therapeutic creams and potions are also the most natural as well as the most environmentally-sensitive in their packaging. They also happen to smell the best and have some of the most hydrating effects on my skin. My nightly ritual, in fact, alternates between Katresha Face Oil and the Farmaesthetics Nourishing Herbal Cream, depending on my mood. (I like to trade off between the oh-so silky feel of the former with the intense aromatherapy effects of the latter.)
In digging through my stash, I discover Sweet Milk and Orange Peel Exfoliate, another Farmaesthetics product, that, when mixed with their Fine Herbal Cleanser, is sure to produce far superior results than the plastic tube of apricot scrub I’ve faithfully been employing for well over twenty years. I can do this, I thought.
My attention quickly shifts to my bowl of lipsticks. I dig through them furiously until I find a little glass pot of Farmaesthetics Lip Softener along with a biodegradable tube of lipstick made of corn from Cargo’s PlantLove collection. I love both of these products dearly but they seem frightfully outnumbered by my bundle of unecological-looking lipsticks and lip glosses— from big names and small—that dominate my collection of lip luxuries. I pick up a couple and study their heavy black plastic and gold-embellished sheathes. Clearly it would take eons for these containers to break down in the environment. As in “Bag It,” I’m forced to ask myself where is all this going anyway? It’s not just going away. I sigh as I turn to my mascaras and eye shadows.
Within the depths of my beauty collection though I do find hope. Between Katresha, Farmaesthetics, Kneipp, Cargo and certainly more, I realize there are some great green products to chose from that serve us and the environment exceedingly well. I look forward to seeing my bathroom move from a more plasticy-look to one of sleek, elegant glass. And I’m sure it will effect my look inside and out as well.
Art & Culture Being Green Mountain Living Telluride Travel: Art & Culture Being Green Mountain Living Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel
by maribeth
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Brand New Me
Plastic Mania at MountainFilm
My life is forever changed. From now on I will live every day in a more conscious manner in an effort to break myself of the plastic addiction that I have clearly been suffering from for the better part of my life. I will approach every aspect of my life—from a beauty product purchase to how I deal with recyclables—with a new awareness about how my actions effect the world, my health and the health and well being of those around me. I embrace this brand new me and hope you’ll come along with me on this journey.
I’ve considered myself a green person for quite some time. I think I first began to recycle when I moved to Paris in 1984. There was a glass recycling receptacle on every street corner which made it easy to adopt good practices of sorting garbage. When I moved back to the States over ten years later, recycling was in full swing yet I still had to make the effort to load up my car to drop off my recyclables at a recycling center a few miles away. In the beginning I thought my other environmentally aware efforts bordered on compulsive or at the very least quirky: rinsing Saran wrap, Ziploc bags and foil and then hanging them out to dry a gazillion times over, cutting open tubes of cream and the like to scrape out the last remaining bit of product, you get the idea. Other habits such as covering a dish with a plate in the fridge (instead of plastic wrap) just seemed to implement a dose of common sense. And in the past couple of years in addition to living a very simple life that involves limited travel (yes, it’s true, especially in cars) and minimal waste of any kind, I’ve been careful to cart my own water bottle along with my personal supply of shopping bags whenever I leave my home. At least most of the time.
After having seen the movie “Bag It” this past weekend at MountainFilm here in Telluride, I realized that none of the above has been nearly good enough. It answered the question that most of us dare not think about: Where does all this plastic go anyway? It does not just go away. It is polluting ourselves and our world in more ways than you could imagine. Filmmaker and Telluride local Suzan Beraza takes us on a marvelous journey from our pristine mountain town to the floating “island” of plastic and other debris swirling around in the north Pacific gyre, estimated to be more than twice the size of Texas. The story is told through another Tellurider, Jeb Berrier, our resident thespian and funnyman, who relates this grim tale with well-proportioned doses of humor, wit and intelligence. The human factor rises exponentially when a major event in Jeb’s personal life forces him to look even more closely at the effects of plastic in our world. “Bag It” is indisputably the most entertaining and moving documentary I’ve ever seen. It has informed and motivated me enough to want to really make a difference in my life and hopefully to spread that message to others through this blog, my own example and my Travel Fun radio show. (I’ll be having Suzan on as a guest sometime soon—she has some great green travel tips as well!)
This is the kind of information, inspiration and yes, hope you get at MountainFilm. It’s more than a film festival. It’s an extraordinary four-day happening also filled with art exhibits, book signings, student workshops, social gatherings and presentations by outstanding adventurers, leaders and keen observers from a variety of realms. It’s about celebrating the indomitable spirit of all while calling attention to what is possible in the world. I was blown away by the opening day symposium that tackled extinction, a problem we now face at an alarming rate. The biosphere is hanging in a delicate balance and only we can bring about that change. (Consuming less energy would certainly help to create that shift for example. Did you know that plastic bags and bottles are made of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas?)
Stimulating Conversations Galore at MountainFilm
Since it’s MountainFilm, I was also awed by movies of great mountain adventure such as “The Wildest Dream,” the tale of George Mallory’s obsession with Mt. Everest and Conrad Anker’s obsession with Mallory. Another outdoor exploit took me to the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East in the film “Eastern Rises,” an entertaining documentary about the fly fishing trip-of-a-lifetime for a group of funny dudes.
Conrad Anker (rt) and His Climbing Partner, Leo, on the Summit of Everest
“I am,” the film by Hollywood heavyweight Tom Shadyac, also greatly moved me. As with many of the other films in the festival it provided insight into how one can truly achieve happiness in our culture of consumption and how we can be more connected to the world we live in. Both “I am” and “Bag It” received the Audience Choice Award for Favorite Film at MountainFilm 2010. Click on the above links to see trailers of these memorable films, many of which may be purchased on DVD and/or viewed in a theater near you in the upcoming months. Note that “I am” is so hot-off-the-press that there’s not yet a Web site for it.
There's Something for Everyone at MountainFilm
I must wrap this up now since I have much work to do. In addition to the usual, I now have to do things such as figure out how I can dispose of my garbage without using plastic bags and yes, even whip up a batch of yogurt since none of the ones available to me are sold in recyclable containers. (Apparently making yogurt at home is super easy.) Plus it appears that not everything is being recycled the way it should be, so it’s just better to try to wean myself off of plastic as much as possible. I have renewed hope though. I perused the What You Can Do list at the “Bag It” Web site which provides many answers and resources for creating a life less plastic. Most of all I’m buoyed up by the great wave of energy that rolled through this past weekend’s MountainFilm. Suddenly I don’t feel quite so ill about the oil spill in the Gulf. Maybe it’s a huge wake up call for us all. No one need feel totally disempowered, we can each begin to turn things around in our own way.
Check out more of what I’ve written on MountainFilm here and in my Ken Burns posting.
Know that MountainFilm goes on tour, so keep your eye out for it in case it comes to a city or town near you.
Thank you to MountainFilm and Melissa Plantz, Merrick Chase and Jennifer Koskinen for the above images.
Art & Culture Being Green Four Corners Podcasts Telluride The Rockies Travel: Art & Culture Being Green Four Corners Podcasts Telluride The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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The National Trust and Us
Richard Moe: Our Nation's Top Preservationist Enjoying the Great American West
People don’t want to go to a place that has lost its soul.
—Arthur Frommer
Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, shared the above quote with me in a recent Travel Fun interview. As our nation’s leading historic preservation organization, the Trust has saved the soul and character of countless places in its sixty years of existence. From main streets to historic sites, this bipartisan organization works tirelessly toward preserving our country’s heritage.
As a part-time resident of Telluride, I’ve had the privilege of chatting with Dick Moe about historic preservation and some of his favorite destinations several times. He loves his time in the West and makes Telluride his base every summer for visiting some of the most significant cultural sites in the United States including Canyon of the Ancients in southwestern Colorado. In our interview, he also talks about other exciting locales in the region such as Durango, Silverton, Chimney Rock and the Rio Grande Gorge in Del Norte.
As for Telluride, it’s clear that it stands a cut above all other Rocky Mountain destinations. “Telluride has done a better job of preserving its historic character than any other mountain town,” says Dick. He also shares his thoughts on the Telluride Valley Floor, a 500-acre parcel of open space that he fought hard to preserve.
The Trust’s programs on sustainability and historic preservation are also discussed in our interview. Currently the organization is committed to a sustainability program that focuses on the environmental value of “recylcing” older buildings for new uses and retrofitting them for greater energy efficiency.
Heritage tourism is the fastest growing part of tourism, already a huge industry in our country. The National Trust has offered tours all over the world for quite some time but they’re expanding their reach with Gozaic, a one-stop shopping portal for heritage travel. You can hear what Dick has to say about this in our chat as well.
Listen to the entire half-hour interview I conducted with Richard Moe by clicking on the play button here:
People want to experience what’s real and genuine in communities.
—Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Note that at the same time of this story posting, Richard Moe announced his retirement from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has been the longest serving president in the sixty-year history of the Trust. He plans to continue to hold that position until a replacement is found, likely in the spring of 2010.
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 202-588-6000 and 800-944-6847, www.preservationnation.org; you may become a member of the Trust and receive their award-winning magazine six times a year for as little as $20.
