LiveGreenNOW

This ecotraveler believes in reading the signs of nature…with a rare Blue Moon occurring on December 31st, it may well be the best time to actually MAKE those REsolutions to save the planet in 2010 and beyond.

The “local food” movement is the effort to consume locally grown/produced goods as part of a larger sustainability concept. The American public’s interest in eating local has grown recently, and it has even sparked some debate. However, those who love to travel usually agree that one of the pleasures of exploring new places is sampling foods specific to the region you’re visiting. On a recent trip to Nicaragua, I enjoyed the local cuisine and ate quite well while doing so.

Tourism is Nicaragua’s second largest industry. Most Americans know Nicaragua for its turbulent past. However, Interpol ranked Nicaragua with the lowest crime rate in Latin America. Today travellers are heading to Nicaragua to experience its beaches, lakes, volcanoes and cities.

The countdown has begun, with only a few more hours left of a decade that will hopefully be known as the last of the disposable decades. That is, the end of pouring all our Post-War convenient garbage into the bowels of the planet. You can do it; we all can do it at work and at home.

Scary fact: the textile industry produces more than just fabrics; it produces a ton of pollution from its required toxic chemicals that take a heavy toll on both people and the planet. Clothing factories expel large amounts of contaminated wastewater into streams and rivers, and chemicals into the air. Additional waste materials are dumped into landfills where they stay, forever. And we haven’t even begun to mention the hazardous sweatshop, questionable work-environments. Not such a pretty fashion magazine layout, is it?