Only Six Hours Left to Help Roz Savage Row for a Bluer Future

Photograph courtesy of Phil Uhl

Here's your chance to do something REALLY nice for someone using your AmEx card that won't affect your monthly finance charge.

The indomitable Roz Savage, who just a month ago became the first woman to row solo from California to Hawaii, is in contention to receive a grant through American Express's Members Project Awards. The contest will parse out $2.5 million to people who are making a positive impact on the world. And while it may pale compared to a $700 billion bailout, the $1.5 million grand prize could help Roz go a very long way...even all the way across the Pacific.

On September 1, Roz completed the first leg of her three-stage challenge, a feat which will take her some 7,600 miles to Australia. Her primary objective is not the record, but to use her adventure to engage the public and create a perception that it is "Cool To Be Blue." She believes that we are all empowered as individuals to make a difference. While she makes no claims to be an environmental expert, as eco-adventurer she will raise awareness of the issues and communicate to her audience specific ways in which they can take positive action.

"We are bombarded every day by so much bad news relating to environment that it is easy for individuals to feel overwhelmed, helpless and hopeless, as if nothing they can do will make a difference," notes Savage. "But I want to spread the message that each of us as individuals has the power to make positive changes in our lives that will accumulate into a tidal wave of change for the better. People might think that their contribution to the environment is just a drop in the ocean. But a drop spreads ripples. Each and every one of us has the power to make a world of difference--one stroke at a time."

So we ask: Who better to get a piece of the purse than a self-made adventurer who quit her office job to row the world's great oceans and help make the Earth a bluer place?

AmEx cardholders have until midnight tonight weigh in. Click here to vote >>

Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales Mob Mentality: The Failures of Groupness

Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival

Illustration by David Plunkert

The power of groupness is not to be underestimated. It has been the downfall of organizations, blinding them to evidence that was there for everyone to see.

In the 1930s, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) was the most popular grocery chain in the United States, with nearly 16,000 stores. Its strategy was to focus on a single need: cheap groceries. After all, the Depression was on. A&P introduced self-service, no-frills,
cash-and-carry food with no credit, no deliveries, and no premiums.

By the end of World War II it was one of the biggest companies in the world. Then something strange happened: Leftover production capacity from the war created new industries. In that booming economy, people wanted more than cheap, plentiful groceries. They wanted more choices, more convenience, exotic foods, and new products almost weekly. They wanted bright lights, flashy decor, loud music, and even a pharmacy.

Ralph Burger, who ran A&P, dedicated himself to carrying on the company tradition, regardless of evidence that it was a doomed strategy.

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Music Thursday: TV on the Radio's Dear Science,

Editor's Note: Today we're launching a new weekly music column by Assistant Editor Ryan Bradley and in collaboration with National Geographic Music. Nat Geo Music has some amazing artists and projects that we love and will share with you. We at ADVENTURE believe that one of the best parts about travel is discovery, and bringing your discoveries back home with you, and music travels a lot better than food. We also believe that there is no such thing as world music, only good music that is from all over the world.

Brooklyn's Finest: TV on the Radio
Text by Ryan Bradley

TV on the Radio’s recently released third album, Dear Science, (comma included) is easily one of the best albums of the year and a pitch perfect record for troubling, chaotic times. Based out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn (aka Hipsville, U.S.A.), TV on the Radio are Tunde Adebimpe, Gerard Smith, Dave Sitek, Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton—artists, musicians, videographers—all creative types who are masters of sonic layering and triumphant vocal arrangements.

For Dear Science, their third studio recording, the group tapped another Brooklyn institution, Antibalas, an Afrobeat band whose horns manage to take TV on the Radio’s danceable anthems to untold heights. Probably the best example (or, at least, the most immediately awesome track) is the song “Crying” (its chorus: Cryyy-ya-ya-ya-ingg, cryyy-ya-ya-ya-ing), which is about death and culture devoid of meaning and various other social maladies. It’s also so funky and fun that you might forget what they’re singing about altogether. Which is fine. This is also a perfect reason why the album is worth listening to, dancing to, and listening to, again and again and again.

David de Rothschild: Voyage of the PlastikiBuilding a Boat of Out of Plastic Bottles

David de Rothschild, a National Geographic Visiting Fellow and founder of Adventure Ecology, will depart in March 2009 on a 7,500-mile voyage from San Francisco to Sydney (see the route map) in a boat made of plastic bottles. Find out more about the expedition in a feature article by Contributing Editor Paul Kvinta ("Voyage of the Plastiki," October 2008 issue of ADVENTURE). Check in here for de Rothschild's dispatches.

Boat Building 101
Text by David de Rothschild

Our main objective has been to create a vessel constructed out of plastic bottles that not only performs in the water, but also showcases smart and innovative design solutions that re-think waste as a resource. However, from the day of this project's inception to the day we started construction of the boat, our team has been confronted with huge challenges to overcome.

Our first major hurdle was figuring out how to maintain the integrity of the bottles. We did not want to simply melt down the plastic and re-mold it. The actual visible presence of bottles has been at the core of everything. Staying true to that idea has created an enormous learning curve, since water would actually flow through and around the bottles. This goes against the basic principle of boat building: keeping the water out. Here, we are letting all the water in.

But things are now on track. We have tested the prototype out in San Francisco Bay. The good news is, it floats. The bad news is that it only sailed backwards! We still have quite a way to go.

We are working with a number of experts in the boat-building field, including our onboard naval architect, to tackle these challenges and translate the initial conceptual design into a sailable vessel. Together we hope to create a vessel that will not only perform, but show how you can reuse waste as a resource using cradle-to-cradle philosophies.

The vessel itself will tap a number of technologies that are pushing the boundaries within alternative energies. We have broken the design of the boat into different areas--waste, energy, water, and habitat--so you will see a real cross-section of technologies. Some are actually available in mainstream markets, while others that are currently being developed in laboratories. I want to keep a few surprises back, but let’s just say there will be an element of human composting involved.



Read more about de Rothschild's voyage and other big thinkers in "ADVENTURE's Leading Edge" >>



Photograph courtesy of Adventure Ecology

The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro Petzl Warns of Headlamp Fire Danger

Text by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro

If you own one of Petzl's extremely popular Myo headlamps, do NOT use rechargeable batteries with it. There have been 13 cases of batteries overheating and sometimes bursting into flames (and two injuries), according to Petzl and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The company says there are no issues with non-rechargeable batteries. Approximately 322,000 units have been sold. Petzl's recall hotline is 877-740-3826. Contact the CPSC at 800-638-2772.

News: Elephant Pepper's Spicy Stab at Conservation

Text by Laura Buckley
Photography Courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society

There's a new recipe for protecting the threatened African elephant: chili sauce.

In recent years, African elephants have earned the nickname "the world's largest garden pest" by gobbling up to 300 pounds of crops in a single day (read ADVENTURE's award-winning feature about rogue elephants in Assam, India). So it's no surprise that the relationship between elephants and farmers is a bit rocky. But now, an innovative chili pepper product may help reduce this conflict.

Elephant Pepper, developed through the support of the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society, allows farmers to grow peppers as a valuable cash crop without fear of elephant "raids." Apparently, elephants dislike capsaicin (the chemical that makes peppers taste hot) and turn up their trunks to peppers. It's a win-win.

For those of you in New York City, check out any Food Emporium from September 19th through October 2nd for a taste (we sure will). "Now, U.S. markets and consumers can make a positive contribution to both elephants and those who live with them in Africa," said Dr. Loki Osborn, co-founder of Elephant Pepper Development Trust. Products for the chilli enthusiast, including Zambezi Red, Baobab Gold, Mozambique Masala and Zanzibar spice grinders, can also be ordered online. Sounds like a delicious way to help the planet to us.

Headliners: Adventure in 60 Seconds

A roundup of the latest adventure news, by Mindy Zacharjasz

Talk about a killer paint job: Kayaker Wave Vidmar sets off on a 45-day expedition down the rugged California coastline where he plans to create a visual record of the state–-and kayak every recurrent great white shark attack spot in California. His secret weapon? A specially painted kayak that mimics lion fish to keep the great whites away.

As Greenland Icecap season winds down (though not before British and Venezuelan teams could notch some final crossings), Antarctic , Himalaya, and Everest expedition teams gear up for season. Couldn’t make the Everest roster this time around? Try out the newest thrill instead: Skydiving from top of the world.

New York to Everest-region flight alone emits about 2.73 tons of CO2–-that's just under Belize’s per capita carbon emissions for the year. But green up plans are always in the works: Algae-based biofuels startup Sapphire Energy got a Bill Gates-funded pick-me-up, a speedy solar taxi stopped in NYC on its worldwide tour, and a energy efficient 217 mph Japanese bullet train hopes be to be finalized by next year.

In the mean time, check out how top electronics companies stack up on the latest Greenpeace green thermometer. Nokia takes the goal, Nintendo fails big time, and the rest you’ll have to see for yourself.

Field FAQs with Holly Morris Light Travel Reading Advice (and LIVE CHAT Tomorrow)

Holly Morris is a TV host (Treks in a Wild World, Globe Trekker), and the author of Adventure Divas and founder of the multimedia company Adventure Divas. Post your travel questions here and they could get answered in the magazine.

LIVE CHAT ALERT: Ask Holly Morris your burning travel questions tomorrow, September 19, at 1 p.m. EST. More info >>

Q: I’ll be backpacking through Southeast Asia for six weeks this fall, and my stack of country-specific guidebooks is almost as tall as I am. What’s the most efficient way to pack, readingwise, when heading out on global adventures?

A. At the risk of offending Lonely Planet, Moon, Rough Guides, and Rick Steves (don’t let the boyish smile fool you; the man’s a powder keg), I would not recommend loading up on 80 dollars’—and 80 pounds’—worth of books. I’ve tried that, and instead of serving me well, they nearly herniated my L7 disk before I even cleared customs. Opt instead for a single, comprehensive guide; or better yet, photocopy its pertinent pages and rely on Internet cafés for on-the-spot research and local people for updates and inside scoops.

Even better, think beyond guidebooks. I like to bring one light paperback—poetry or prose—from or about the region or culture I’m headed into. Africa? Dave Eggers’s What Is the What, or anything by Chinua Achebe. Indonesia? I’m partial to The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch. My New Zealand sojourn was fueled, in part, by Keri Hulme’s The Bone People. I also make it a habit to buy a blank journal of some kind once I’m in-country—a little Peruvian school notebook, say, or a Zambian diary made from elephant-dung paper. It’s a utilitarian keepsake that comes in handy for writing, sketching, or—in dire straits—wiping. So, my ultimate verdict: Whatever you decide to bring along as literature should pull its own weight. And remember, don’t judge a trip by its cover. Real adventure always happens between the lines.

Survivor: Gabon—Authentic African Drama in High Def

Text by Andrew Burmon

Photograph courtesy of Jeffrey R. Staab / CBS

A cloud of malarial mosquitoes is never kind. Jeff Probst knows this, having spent the better part of three months inside one to film the 17th season of Survivor. So before he takes the stage at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles to emcee the 2008 Emmy Awards this Sunday, Probst may spend a little extra time in the makeup room. Don’t blame him. Blame the Wonga-Wongue.

Probst has been living in the remote Wonga-Wongue Presidential Reserve, a tract of rain forest on the coast of the central African nation of Gabon. The park, which was established through the efforts of National Geographic's Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay, attracted an advance team for Mark Burnett, the reality television hegemon. Untouched beaches, roaming gorillas, impenetrable jungle—if they could just get Probst and the cameras in place, the season was bound to be a success. But reality has a way of impeding Hollywood's best laid plans. The very inaccessibility that makes Wonga-Wongue a perfect place for a reserve also makes it the most difficult conceivable setting for a television show. After accidents, mishaps, and few close calls, it fell to Probst to get the production back on its feet. No easy task in knee-deep mud.

Next Thursday, when Survivor: Gabon: Earth’s Last Eden finally debuts on CBS, audiences across America will probably be too caught up in another season of treachery and action to give a second thought to all that went into the show's production. That's just fine by Probst. It is supposed to look easy. ADVENTURE spoke with Probst while he was stationed in Libreville, Gabon.

Read the interview >>

Not a Drop to Drink: Flow Reviewed

Text by Andrew Burmon

Flow, the new documentary by French filmmaker Irena Salina (watch the trailer), is not the first attempt to alert the international community to the looming worldwide water shortage ... and it will not be the last. Over the last few years the debate over the future of water has begun to edge its way toward center stage, but failed to step into a spotlight already crowded by war, elections, and the scandal du jour. By surveying the many facets of the water debate, Flow effectively advocates for the importance of addressing water issues now, before it is too late.

Much of Flow’s appeal comes from Salina’s thoughtful reframing of old issues. In one of the film’s more interesting segments, she documents the conflict between community activists in Stanwood, Michigan, and Nestle's Stanwood bottled water plant, which sucked so aggressively that it created a localized drought.

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