Sustainable Travel Organization

I love to travel to the far corners of the world and gain some insight into the cultures of distant peoples with whom we share the planet. However, my conscience sometimes bothers me. Like an increasing number of Americans, I am increasingly concerned about what we're doing when we travel, particularly when our travels impose First World standards of luxury and comfort on the landscapes of developing countries. Five-star resorts in remote places are beautiful and seductive, but the price other people pay for our taste for indulgence can be stiff.

My conscience and my concerns involve the environmental, socio-cultural, and economic impacts of the travel and tourism that I fulfill me personally and are also key of my livelihood. I was therefore encouraged to learn about Sustainable Tourism International, whose slogan is "Leave the World a Better Place" and whose mission is to help protect and preserve the ecological and cultural environment. This not-for-profit organization is "dedicated to providing education and outreach services that will lessen the toll that travel and tourism takes on the environment and local cultures." And it does not concern itself only with developing countries but also with traveling, sometimes very luxuriously, in first-world countries but in a carbon-neutral way.

The website includes a directory that links to environmentally friendly travel providers, information and resources for purchasing carbon offsets, and an eco-certification program that is "designed to help travelers easily identify responsible tourism businesses and to help tourism businesses manage their impacts, and lower costs through resource productivity and waste reduction while contributing to environmental conservation and the well being of local people."

In the spirit of "think globally, act locally," STI's ReDirect Guides are comprehensive regional green business directories and resource guides that present consumers with a full spectrum of choices for more healthy and sustainable living. They are currently available online and in print versions in three regions: Portland, OR/Vancouver/WA metro area, Greater Salt Lake City and Park City region UT, and the Colorado's northern Front Range including Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and the surrounding communities.

STI's newest program is an affiliate credit card, called ReDirect Guide Visa issued by the FDIC-insured commeercial ShoreBank Pacific. The bank claims to be the first "eco-bank" and the card the planet’s first credit card that helps fight climate change by directing a percentage of every purchase to carbon offset programs and offers customers discounts from green businesses is now available.

None of this will solve all the world's economic and environmental lopsidedness, but it's a good start.